The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-11-06

post office department there to operate
business at q minimum expense. Tor
the fact is well known that in thickly
populated countries or States the post
Office business of any government can
be conducted at profit; 1t Is the scat
tered settlements and mail wagon
routes that entail the losses. The New
York city post office. for instance,
yields the government a profit of $4,-
900. 600 a year, the post office business
Of the State of Massachusetts 81, 500. 900.
and Pennsylvania and Illinois 81 .000,-
900 each, but in a majority OF the
States there is loss. 100000 in Kan
sas, 100000 in Iowa, $l,250, 900 in Me-
braska. 100000 in Nevada Cthe tOtai
receipts in that State are less than $780,
000), $150. 900 in Arizona. S200. 900 in Ala
bama, 100000 in New Mexico. where
the receipts are less than $100, 600: $780,
900 in Texas, S500,000 in Virginia, and
$500, 600 in Wyoming, where the receipts
are less than 100000. The net loss on
the post office business of the United
States amounted last year to $l0,000,-
600. the shortage being made up by ap-
preparations from the Treasury which
have averaged in recent years about
$6,000,000. In~ 1882, 1883, and 1884 the
postal revenues of the United States
came nearer being sufficient TO meet
the expenses than at any previous time
since the close of the civil war In
1884, indeed, the government made a
profit from its post Office business.
1t is not to be inferred from this that
the postal business of the United States
is unskilfully managed, for the OPP
pOsite of this proposition Is true. The
fact Is that the American theory of
post office matters is predicated on the
idea that this item of revenue Is not to
be regarded as government monopoly
managed for gain, but as q public con-
venience conducted by the government
with that end in view. Tue govern
ment handles and delivers letters,
packages, newspapers, postal cards,
and transacts & large business in money
orders as a convenience to the people
of the United States without any no.
tion of profit, for 40 soon as the rev.
enues exceed the receipts the govern
ment proceeds to cut down the rates.
BY this plan the uniform tWO-cent
postage rate has been reached, and ul-
timately, post office officials expect,
there will be a uniform one-cent rate
for mail matter throughout the United
States. In European countries a diff
ferent view prevails. They run their
post office departments as source of
revenue, and include generally the
telegraph, and in Germany the tele-
phone, service in crder to add to the
profit. In England there is in addi-
ton the savings bank system, the
English post Office department receiv-
ing cash deposits for individuals, the
gross amount of which Is now nearly
$500 000. 900. while there was Il loss on
the American post Office department
of $4,000, 900 last year the profit of the
English post office department for the
same period was $l5,O00oOo, and other
countries of Europe made a profit from
the post office, too. The net revenue
in Austro- Hungary was $5,OO0,0o0, in
Russia $1,000, 900, and the profit in
France was greater than In either of
the other two, $780, 900. The railway
telegraph system of France is under
the direction of the French post office
department, and yields a considerable
revenue. In Italy there has been since
1875 q system of post Office savings
banks, the lowest amount taken in
which is one lire GO cents). Interest
is paid on these postal deposits at the
rate of 81. per cent. There is 100000
900 on deposit in the postal savings
banks of Italy.