Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1899-10-12
Weight Of Mail Matter In tho United States

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Estates Government has not taken ,
complete accounting of the actua
total weights of the mail matter car
|ried by it for over twenty years
During the time since the last gene
raj weighing Of mails handled by tn,
railroads and other common carriers
the volume of our postal business
has increased enormously, and in re,
cent years the transportation weights
charged by these carriers have been
largely taken on faith, as the Pos,
Office Department could only esti
mate, but not accurately know, who.
ther it was being overcharged in tho
enormous sums that it annually pays
for mail transportation.
Some idea of the wonderful in.
crease of this branch of govern.
mental business is had from the fact
that an expenditure of $30,893, ,209.5d
for carrying the mails in 1883 had
swelled to $52,294, 1929 in 1893, an
increase to nearly double in ten years
In 1879 the total length of our postal
routes was 79,991 miles the last re.
port shows it to be now >174,777
The annual transportation over these
routes in 1879 was 90, ,497 ,463 miles
the last report showing a mileage OF
281 ,595,612. In other words, less
than twenty years has seen an in
crease of 116 per cent in the total
miles of route, and of 191 per cent
in the gross of annual mileage.
A partial idea of what this whole
system of the transportation in bulk
of our mail matter has grown to un-
der enlightened management, and
owing to the great increase in gene
raj literacy, is derived from the fol-
lowing statements taken from the
figures in the last annual report OF
the Postmaster General Of travel
ing post offices, on railway, steam
boat, electric and cable tramways, we
have 1858 lines, covering 167,755
miles, with grand total mileage OF
285,565,343. Over these and thro.
ughout the service were handled
6,349,662,320 pieces Of first class
matter, 5,876,O43,9OO pieces of infe-
rior classification, and sol, ,492, 400
pieces of purely city handling, a
grand total of 12,817,19S,7I0 pieces.
These, if only averaging the length
of a medium sized envelope, would
stretch 1,213,750 miles, or a little
over forty-eight and one-half times
around tho earth.
1t is scarcely to be wondered at,
when wo consider that an accurate
weight tally of this enormous bulk
of mail has not been taken within a
time during which it has more than
doubled in size, that there has been
considerable Congressional and ne ws-
paper criticism of former Postmaster
Generals for paying the immense and
rapidly growing bills for this trans
portation without question ; nor is it
to be wondered at that almost every
session of Congress for the past de-
cade has seen the introduction of
some bill looking to the curtailment
of these expenses.
The country is now to be con-
graduated on the fact that Postmas.
ter General Smith has set in motion
an inquiry into this whole matter,
from which will grow a clearer and
more comprehensive report to Con-
gress on this subject than has been
possible since the days of the Grant
administration. Three experts from
New York city, aided by others al
ready in w Washington, have been for
some days perfectipg plans and pre-
pairing circulars, blanks, tables, ETC.,
whereby on October 3 next every
post Office in the country will begin
weighing all matter passing through
it. There are nearly $4,000 offices,
and in each of these this weighing
will be kept up for thirty-fve con-
sooutive days. At the end of this
time each Office will forward to
Washington it's complete report and
from this enormous mass of statis-
tics will be compiled, by q special
staff, yet to be selected, a wealth OF
information that cannot fail to benefit
the service greatly.
1t is likely that this general stock
taking, if so it may be called, will
reveal many opportunities for econo-
my and kindred improvements in the
railway postal service. 1t will as.
suredly set at rest the moot question
as to whether bulk mail is being
hauled back and forth, charged fol
both ways, by certpin railways. II