The age-herald., 1897-11-16


 Receipts and Expenditures
 AS an introductory he shows the rev. enues and expenditures which are as follows: Ordinary postal revenue ....sS1 ,69S, ,2S1 CT Receipts from money order
 business ....... 9bi,lSl Oo Total receipts from all
 sources -.... .......... .....$S2, ,665. .462 B Total expenditure for the ser
 vice of t4le year, not in
 cludlng earnings of the
 Pacific railroads Gs1.575-
 S06.26) wlich are credited
 on their debt to the gov
 ernment ..... ...... 9 9,017,242 3S Excess of expenditures over
 receipts ........ $11, 4l1,719 6o In the expenditures are included pay ments under number of different items made on account of the previous year obligations that were unsettled and out standing at the time of making up the f ;ures for the last annual report of the partmemt-amounting to $295, ,954.52
 Deficit, and to What it is Due
 In explaining the cause of the deficit he says:
 "Examlnatfon of the detailed tables of receipts and expenditures which are presented in this report will. I think, demonstrate very clearly that the in- crease of the postal deficit for 1897 is largely @ reflex of the depressed busl- ness conditions which prevailed all oyer the United States during the first three quarters of that period. There has been mo extravagance of expenditure, except that rendered obligatory by law. On the contrary, the operations of the de- partment in all its branches have been conducted with a close regard to econ omy and proper business methods, and at an actual saving in percentage over the previous year. All its officers have besn held to a strict accountability, and have shown commendabIe zeal and fidel- dty in the discharge of their duties. There has simply been a falling off fin the amount of business done, or rather the increase of business which would nor mally result from the growth of popula- tion and wealth has been checked by ad- verse influences"
 Loss on Second Class Matter
 Referring to second-class matter and the losses thereon, he says:
 <, 'The injustice inflicted both upon the ro stal revenues and the peopl, ay txis, ang laws regulating the carrying of sec ond-class mail matter has been repre- sented to congress in reports from this department for ten years past with cum ulatiye force, but without effect fin rem edial legislation.
 By acts of congress passed in 1874 1873, 1885 and 1884, a privileged class has been created, entitled to the, use of the United States mail service either free of charge or at a cost far below the price the government is compelled to pay the railroad companies for the transportation Of the mails thus carried. The right thus conferred Is entirely distinct from the light to frank official documents. which is given to members of congress and the officials of the executive depart ments and ether public servants. It is bestowed upon persons engaged fin pri vate enterprises, and inures simply to their emolument. without any appieeia- b1e benefit to the public at large, while the cost of this service, now amounting to more than $26oO00o0 a year, Is de- drayed out of the proceeds of taxa ton drawn from all classes of the people.
 'The earliest concession-one to which
  public policy has ever been raised-was made to publishers of country newspa- pens, and permitted them to send one copy of their paper free to each sub soriber living within the county of pub aication. This was followed up by granting to publishers of newspapers the right to send out their issues beyond the limits of the county at a nominal price of 1 cent 8 pound. To this also no se- rious object on was made, so long as the exercise of the privilege was confined to legitimate newspapers
 But when, by subsequent legislation, paper-covered novels and reprints of books Were included under the cent-a- pound clause, as periodicals or supple ments;' when mere advertising sheets, with no genuine lists of subscribers is sued for the benefit of business firms. were allowed to go through the mails by the ton, free of charge, simply by brand ing them sample copies;' when any pub- ucation claiming to emanate from a fra fernal or benevolent society was given the right of transmittal at cent a pound and the same rate was established for the return of unsold papers and periodicals. the abuses of the system became appar- ent but the difficulty of correcting the evil seems to have grown in exact ratio with its demands on the trsasury."
 Growth of the AIaN
 In reference to the growth of this class Of mail the postmaster general gives the following figures:
 Pounds. Pounds 1S8S ..14S, ,000, ,000l 1893 .. .301 000 900 1889 .... ..190, ,000 000 1894 .. 300 00O. GOO 1899 .... ..205. 900 0o0 1895 .... ..312 900 0d0 1891 .232, 900 000l 1896 :. ... 34s 900 GOO 1892 ..262, ,000, ,00o 1897 .. .... .365 000 GOO
 Its Cost
 'The cost to the governins nt of trans nitting the 5000 900 pounds of coad- class madl matter carried during the