The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1899-03-15
OVERAM|LUON ANDAHALF.
FOREIGN LETTERS PASSING IN
MAILS.
A Years Work in the Postoffice, Com
pared With What Has Been Done in
the Past.

During the year 1898 no less than
1,067, 52S ordinary foreign letters were
received and dispatched from our gen.
eral postoffice. During the same year
81 1886 registered letters were also han
died. In addition 612, 1928 packages of
newspapers and pamphlets passed
through. This makes a grand total Of
LII, 1872 pieces handled by the postof-
flee officials in connection with the or
binary foreign mails. Besides this there
is the whole inter island mail, which
exceeds these figures, and the soldier
mail, which also does not appear.
Compared with the previous year the
increase is large, being over 100000
The exact number of packages then
handled was 1,297, 9S7. While in 1894 the
total amount of foreign mail handled
was only 714,254 pieces. This shows
how the work of the postoffice has been
going on by leaps and bounds.
Taking the totals apart, one finds
that 476,907 ordinary foreign letters
were received and 59O,621 were dispatch
ed a total Of 1,O67, ,52S, as against 20S,-
276 received and 201 723 dispatch
ed in 1894, or total of 409,999, consd-
erably less than half the amount be-
ing handled in the latter year than in
1898.
There Is the same showing in the
matter of registered letters. OF these
11,O33 were received and 20.3O3 were
dispatched in 1898, total of 1885 while
in 1894 there were 6,604 received and
:, ,190 dispatched, a total of 1874, and
in 1897, 9,7S6 were received and 1882
dispatched, a total of 16,51S. So that
the registered letters of 1898 were near
ly three times the number handled in
! 1894 and very nearly double those in
1897. Another thing that should be
noticed is that previous to 1898 the
| registered letters received have always
| been in excess of the number of reg
| istered letters dispatched. But in 1898
[ the number dispatched was nearly
| twice as large as the number received.
In the case of printed matter 1898
| makes a showing of 455,82S packages
received and 157, 100 packages dispatch
I ed, total of 612,928. In 1894, 22S, ,342
| packages were received and 64,119 dis
patched, total of 292, ,461 packages. In
| 1897 there were 376,487 prints received
and 113,S07 prints dispatched, or a to-
! tai of 490,29
Again in this there is q noticeable
! feature and that is the increase in the
quantity of printed matter dispatched
| This is chiefly in newspapers. There
/ has therefore been q great increase In
| the circulation of the domestic neWspa-
pers abroad.
| Token all in all, the growth of the
| work in the postoffice is enormously
increased and the increase will go or
| during the next year. The postofice is
a good guide to the prosperity of a
country. Increase in letter writing
means increase in business. The larg-
er the circulation of letters, the larger
the volume of business.
While the work of the postoffice has
| increased and is increasing, the hell
has not been in proportion to the ad
| vance. and consequently there are
! growls as TO the amount of time TAX
en- up in distribution of mails. Every
one expects to get his or her letters il
a few minutes after tho mail arrives
| When the volume of work is considered
and the amount and kind of help is ta
| ken into Cors'dera ton, there should
be less grumblng at the actual ofTlci
ais and mayhap a little more consider
alton for them.