Kansas City daily journal., 1896-12-08
NEEDED POSTAL REFORMS.
Second Class Mail Abuses should BE
Checked-Postofice Consolida-
ton Recommended

iOn Recommended.
Our postoffice department IS in good con-
| dition and the exhibit made Of its opera
tions during the fiscal year ended June so,
1896, if allowance is made for imperfections
in the laws applicable to it, is very satis-
| factory. The total receipts during the year
were Ss2.499 2OS.40. The total expenditures
were $9O.626 296.S4 exclusive of 81, ,55S. .S9S %,
which was earned by Pacific railroads for
transportation and credited on their debt
to the government There was an increase
of receipts over the previous year of S5.516-
BO.21, or IL per cent. and an increase of
expenditures of S3S36. 124.O2. or 4.43 per cent.
The deficit was $16T9, ,956.l9 less than that
of the preceding year.
The chief expenditures of the postal serv-
ice are regulated by law and are not in
the control of the postmaster general All
that he can accomplish by the most watch
full administration and economy is TO en-
force prompt and thorough collection and
accounting for public moneys and such
minor savings in small expenditures and in
letting these contracts for postoffice sup
plies and star service which are now reg
ulate6 by statute. An effective cooperation
between the auditors office and the post
office department and the making and en-
forcement of orders by the department re-
quiring immediate notification to their
sureties of all delinquencies on the part of
postmasters and compelling such postmas-
ters to make more frequent deposits of
postal funds have resulted in a proper
auditing of their accounts and much less
default to the government than heretofore.
The years report shows large extension
of both star route service and railway mail
service with increased postal facilities
Much higher accuracy in handling mails
has also been reached, as appears by the
decrease of errors in the railway mail serv-
ice and the reduction of mail matter re-
turned to the dead letter Office.
Second Class Mail Abuses
The deficit for the past year, although
much less than that of the last and preced-
ing years, emphasizes the necessity for leg
islation to correct the growing abuse of
second class rates, to which the deficiency
is mainly attributable. The transmission
at the rate of 1 cent pound of serial Ii
brarles, advertising sheets, house organs"
periodicals, advertising some particular
''house" or institution, sample copies and
the like ought certainly be discontinued.
A glance at the revenues received for the
work done last year will show more plain
ly than any other statement the gross
abuse of the postal service and the grow
ing waste of it's earnings. The free matter
carried in the mails for the department Of
fees, etc, of the government and for con-
gress in pounds amounted TO 9i.4So,1S9.
If this be Offset against buildings for
postoffices and stations the rental of which
would then compensate for such free post
al service, we have this exhibit:
Weight of mail matter (other than above)
transmitted through the mails for the year
ended June 80, 1896:
Class Weight. Revenue.
1-Domestic and foreign
letters post cards etc g., 3S73 ,342 $50, 624, ,464
2-Newspapers and peri
odiCals, 1C lb.......... .34S, ,9SS;6iS 1886, ,403
3-Books, seeds. etc. Sc
4-Parcels, ETC., 16c h.. 19.9J9.1S 3,129,321
Total ............ ...512, 977,326 s77.O44.257
The remainder of our postal revenue,
amounting to something more than 5000,
Coz. was derived from box rents, registry
fees, money order business and other SIM
liar items.
Reforms Urgently Needed.
The entire expenditures of the depart
ment. including pay for transportation
credited to the Pacific railroads. was SS2,-
1856. 1871. which may be considered as the
cost of receiving, carrying and delivering
the above mail matter. 1t thus appears
that though the second class matter con-
stituted more than two-thiris of the total
that was carried. the revenue derived from
it was less than one-thirtieth of the total
expense. The average revenue from each
poTnd of first class matter was SO cents;
from each pound of second class matter,
Sl2 mills (of the second class 50, ,34S, ,297
pounds was county free matter; from each
pound of third class. 1S 1-10 cents; from
each pound of fourth class. 10 6-1O cents
The growth in weight of second class
matter has been from 299 90 600 pounds in
in, nd tO alr
0O0 900 in 1896 and 1t is quite evident this
increasing drawback is far outstripping any
possible growth of postal revenues Our
mail service should, of course, be such as
to meet the wants and even the Conven-
fences of our people, at a direct charge
upon them so light as perhaps to exclude
the idea of our postoffiee department being
a money making concern, but in the face
Of a constantly recurring deficiency in its
revenues and in view of the fact that We
supply the best mail service in the world.
1t seems TO me it is quite time 10 correct
the abuses that swell enormously our an
nual deficit.
Serial Libraries should BE Barred.
If We concede the public policy Of carry
ing weekly newspapers free in the county
of publication. and even the policy of car
rying 1T less than one-tenth of thei, COST
other bona fide newspapers and periodicals,
there can be no excuse for subjecting the
service to the further immense and in
c-easing loss involved in carrying at the
nominal rate Of l cent a pound the serial
libraries, sometimes including trashy and
even harmful literature and other matter
which. under the loose Interpretation of a
loose statute, has been gradually given Sec
oni class rates, thus absorbing all profit
able returns derived from first class mat
ter. which pays three or four times more
hau its nd 10
loss to be paid by general taxation. If such
second class matter paid merely the cost
of its handling our deficit would disappear
and a surplus result, which might be used
TO give the people still better mail facili-
ties or cheaper rates of letter postage. I
recommend that legislation be at once en-
acted TO correct these abuses and introduce