Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1897-10-18
THE MAIL SERVICE.
An Exhaustive Review Of It's Recent
Operations.
There Are Now 32,4o1 Routes,
Covering 47O,O32 Miles - The
Average Cost SlO6.O8 Per Mile
OF Route-A Deficit This Year,
and Another Estimated for Next
A Kick on Railroad and Express
Practices

Washington, D. c., October 1.-THE
annual report of w. S. Shallenberger,
Second Assistant Postmaster General.
made public tonight, gives an interest
ing review Of the principal develop
ments in the entire postal transpOrta-
ton service of the United States and
connecting foreign mails. 1t shows an
aggregate of appropriations for this
large part of the postal service for the
current year Of s51,041,2 38; the prob
able deficiency is $5COO0O. making the
estimated expenditures this year SOL
Sal ,23S. This will be S1,623 ,045, or
three and one quarter per cent. more
than for the fiscal year just closed.
! The estimate for the fiscal year 1899
is S53, 337 ,260 which is 81, 796,021 more
than the estimated expenditures for the
current year. The annual rate of ex-
penditure for the inland mail service in
, the year just closed was $40. S62. GA and
for foreign mail service $1.791, ITO, af-
; ter deducting $25S,G29 for intermediary
service to foreign countries. The sum-
mary of all classes of service in opera
ton June Both last follows:
Number Of routes, %, 491; length of
routes. 47O,032 miles: annual rate OF
expenditures, 1882 ,074 number of
miles Travelled per annum, 42G,S50,479;
rate Of cost per mile travelled, 1854
cents; rate of cost per mile of length,
$106.0S; average number of trips per
week, $50. For star mail services the
estimate for the fiscal year ending June
80, 1899, is s5,495 600 Last year there
was an increase of 5,330,749 miles of
travel in star service, so essential TO
rural districts.
The current year deficiency Of $4,000
is estimated for the steamboat mail SER
vice. The estimates for the fiscal year
1899 includes steamboat service, $40
coo; mail messenger service, $4,000;
transportation by pneumatic tubes or
other similar devices. by purchase or
otherwise" 1925 zoe, and wagon service,
$4,000. Last year there was only one
pneumatic postal tube in operation in
the country, that in Philadelphia. Since
then four more contracts have been
executed in Philadelphia, New York.
Boston and between New York and
Brooklyn.
AS to foreign mails, the report makes
an estimate of 81 1901, 260 for trans
pOrtation and S142 900 for balances due
foreign countries. The aggregate cost
of this service was $2,049, 199, including
81 ,106,2 75 for transatlantic and $179,-
1872 for trans-Pacific service.
The report takes an important posi-
ton as to newspaper mail and plan
to make the profits on short hauls off
set the long runs. Gen. Shallenberger
says:
There seems to be no good reason
why the great bulk Of legitimate news
papers carried by the government at
great loss to remote places should lie
permitted to be taken away from the
mails by railroad and express compa-
MES whenever there is q short haul
that would make the carriage Of them
profitable to the government The
carriage of newspapers, packages, etc,
by railroads and express companies
may have been justified, perhaps,
years ago, when the railway mail SER
vice was less efficient, but with our
present facilities such as may easily
be obtained, | am convinced that the
department can and should carry the
great bulk of newspaper matter that
has been for years withheld from the
mails and sent in baggage cars and