The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1897-10-21
POSTAL SERVICE.
There Are i,i64 Railway Postal Lines,
Manned by 1864 Clerks.
There Are AZ Steamboat Lines With 81
Clerks-Grand Total of Miles Travelled
by All Glasses of Service 2S2,S3O,O3l
Pneumatic Tube Mail Service.

WASHINGTON, Oct. lS.-An abstract
Of the annual report of the general SUI
perintendent of the railway mail serv-
Ice follows:
At the close of the year there were
|, l64 railway post Office lines, manned
by 6,S5l clerks; 33 electric and cable
lines, with l02 clerks; AZ steamboat
lines, with 81 clerks, making total
number of lines 1889, and total num-
Der OF clerks 7,Ol3. In addition to
these there were 81 clerks assigned to
duty at important functions and depots,
and 23s detailed to clerical duty in the
various offices of the service, making q
grand total of Z 1852 clerks.
The miles of railroad covered by rail-
way post Office car service was l54 ,225;
Of electric and cable, SO3, and of steam-
boat lines, 1859. The grand total Of
miles Travelled of all classes of service
was 2s2, ,S3O,O3l. There were 654 whole
cars in use and l7S in reserve, and Z, ,O26
apartments in cars in use and $40 in re-
serve.
The number of pieces of all classes
| of mail matter distributed on the cars
during the year was / ,57l $40, $50, eX-
| elusive Of registered matter and city
mail OF + yistcred matter there
were lG,2ouo63 pieces in all. The
amount of city mail distributed for
| stations and carriers during the year
aggregated lG2, 400 64O pieces The in-
crease of ordinary mail handled over
| the previous year was ST. per cent. A
comparative table covering period OF
| 10 years shows that there has been an
increase in the amount of mail handled
of 772 per cent and increase in the
working force of aS.6 per cent.
| There were $50 casualties during the
year, in which IA clerks lost their lives,
33 were seriously and IS slightly in
| jured. This is Il larger number of cas-
ualtics and fatalities than has occurred
| during any previous year since the or
ganization of the service. The passage
of a bill for the relief of the families Of
clerks killed in the line of duty; OF
clerks injured and untitled for service
permanently, Or temporarily, and for
the retirement on partial pay of clerks
who have served so long as to be unfit
ted for service, has again been urged.
The annual report of w. s. Shallen-
berger, second assistant postmaste r
general made public Sunday night
gives an interesting review Of the prin-
cipal developments in the entire postal
transportation service of the United
States and connecting foreign mails.
1t shows an aggregate of appropria-
tions for this large part of the postal
service for the current year of $5l ,04l, :
23s; the probable deficiency is $780,.
600, making the estimated expendi'
tnres this year $5l ,54l ,23s. This will
be 81 1923 ,O45, 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 ,2GO, which is 81, ,706,'
O2l more than the estimated expendi.
ture for the current year. The an
nual rate for the inland mail service in
the year just closed was $40, SG2 ora and
for foreign mail service 81, 70l, 17O, after
deducting sos ,020 for intermediary
service to foreign countries
Last year there was only one pneu.
matte postal tube in operation IN the
country, that in Philadelphia. Since
then four more contracts have brcu
executed in Philadelphia, New York,
Boston and between New York and
Brooklyn.
Concerning this new postal feature
Gen. Shallcnbcrgcr reports 1t is quite
possible to carry second, third anc
fourth class matter us well as first
when it can be made profitable. EX
tensions to stations several mile.
distant from the main office, event
ually, will save clerical force Il.
well as expedite delivery in distan
cities from IL to ~ hours. The mos
important source of revenue to the
department will be the large increase
of local correspondence and special de-
livery letters. The extension of the
tubular system will be necessarily SLOW
and probably confined to populo u:
centerS.