Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-11-03
POSTAL ACCOUNTS.
Auditor Castles Report for the Last
Fiscal Year.
LARGE INCREASE OF BUSINESS
Recommendations Made for a
Larger Force.
THE FRAUDS IN CUB A

The report of Henry A. Castle. auditor
for the Post Office Department.. covering
the fiscal year ended June 80. 1900. is a
long and Important one, full Of comment
and recommendations. It shows that the
total revenues for the Post Office Depart
ment for that period were $102. 354, SO, and
the expenditures $1O7 go 29S, leaving de-
felt of $4.S94.71S. The amount of stamps,
stamped envelopes, newspaper wrappers
and postal cards sold during the year was
$94. obese. The amount Of second-class
postage collected from publishers and news
agents was $685. $50.
The inland mail transportation account
shows total expenditure Of $54, 7S1, 500,
and the foreign account an expenditure Of
81. 1856, 7O1.
The office Of auditor for the Post Office
Department is the counting house and
clearing house of the gigantic postal sys-
tenn of this country. The bureau has SIG
sions. The business handled by the bureau
during the year aggregated $715OOO,OOO.
which involved the handling of 34,OOOOOO
separate money vouchers
Big Increase in Business.
Mr.. Castle says that as this is his fourth
annual report, it Is an appropriate time TO
make comparisons showing the wonderful
increase of business In the postal system
The report continues:
The number of post offices in the United
States has increased from 1880 July l.
1896, to 1901 June 30, 1880; net increase,
6331.
The number of money order offices in
creased during the four years from 1885
TO 5o024; net increase, 10, 199
The number of domestic money orders is
sued, all of which find their ultimate rest
Ing place in the files of this bureau, in
creased from 23,962,O53 to So 163 $50 per an
mum; net increase, $500, 997. The auditors
clerks handle each of these money orders
as a voucher five times before the accounts
of issuing and paying postmasters can be
settled
The volume of money order transactions
increased from 1868 O0S92l.52 to s5D4, 49,,
1880; net increase, Sal, ISL, 800. %.
The revenues of the postal service in
creased from So, 400. 20S.I0 to $102 354 5I9.
20; net increase, $40 $50 T0.S9.
The expenditures of the postal service in
creased from 500. GIG. 64 to s107. 2i9, Dos ID;
net increase, SIG 623, C0l.23.
The total money transactions of the en-
tire postal service. including the money
der system. increased from $3.50, 13l. 42S. 76 in
1896 to s714. 1914, 191 % in 1900; net increase,
S118 $50. 764. 46. or 80 1-3 per cent.
The safe and proper management OF any
private or corporate business enterprise ex-
hfbiting such a marvellous growth In the
volume Of transactions as is here shown
would manifestly require liberal allow
ance for Increase of force in the vitality i'm
portant work Of verifying its enormous
financial transactions and holding them
strictly within due and legal bounds.
Increased Force Required.
An actual Increase Of oue-third In the
total volume of financial transactions indi-
Gates an Increase of at least one-fifth in
the actual amount of work to be performed.
since in many Of these items Of Increase
as, for example, the number OF money or
ders handled-the number of manipulations,
comparisons. checks and entries are cor
respondingly increased The clerical force
of the bureau July 1. 1896. was 4S5. To
have corresponded with the increase of
bona fide work 81 clerks should have been
added in the four years, but only 30 have
been added, or less than one-third the
number required by real increase of labor,
to say nothing of new features added by
reason of defects disclosed. Notwithstand-
ing this fact the work is as well advanced
today as it was four years ago. IhlS
almost incredible task has been accom-
plished by simplifying some methods with
out impairing accuracy and by greatly in
creasing the efficiency of the clerical force
through a better state Of discipline and by
wedding out at least 10 inefficient employees
This work of wedding out will stil go on as
long as l am responsible for the work OF
the bureau, but that will only keep the
average and aggregate efficiency up to Its
present high standard. new and better
clerks coming In as worthless ones retire.
must be largely increased in number II the
regular work is to be kept current, even II
the vitality important new work above sug-
gested shall not be taken up.
l have requested the Treasury Depart
ment to submit an estimate for twenty
five additional clerks and four messengers
the minimum requirement OF this bu-
reau for the fiscal year beginning July l.
1901 This force will all be required to take
care of the natural growth Of business, and
will probably be inadequate even for that.
If the matters referred to In preceding
section of this report as being now ne
elected are to be properly attended to forty
more clerks in addition to those just men
toned should be provided for in the coming
appropriation bill.
An Additional Deputy Auditor.
I have also requested the Treasury De-
partment to submit an estimate for an addi-
tional deputy auditor at the salary now
paid, $500. The magnitude OF the labor
performed. the enormous amount Of money
involved the very heavy responsibility in
Cured, the unceasing vigilance required in
the executive heads of the office to keep
pace with the steady expansion OF the ser
vice and guard against numberless chances
for fraud or error constantly occurring, all
combine to emphasize the necessity for this
provision. The number of signatures re-
Quired annually Of the deputy auditor ex-
ceeds $50. 900. That work should be divided
so that some sort Of supervision can be ex-
these signatures, the aftixing Of which
must now be almost purely mechanical. II
the signature means anything 1t should
mean that the signing official has given at
least a fragment or fiction Of attention to
the paper he is signing. Such attention Is
now manifestly impossible. especially since
the major part Of this work must be done
during the first half Of each quarter. There
are numberless questions constantly arising
which can only be properly passed upon by
the auditor or his deputy. Due cons!dera-
ton of these important matters requires
subdivision of the work such as Is now
impossible. In number of transactions.
number and Importance of complicated
questions to be settled, and volume of busi-
ness done, as well as in total number OF
employees, this office exceeds those of the
five other auditors combined. 1t Is GER
tainly a very modest request that one addi
tfonal official be provided to assist in this
great and rapidly growing work.
Rural Free Delivery.
1.-The extension Of the free delivery sys-
tenn to the rural districts is one of the
most useful and popular of recent postal
improvements. and is in every respect
perfectly legitimate outgrowth of the regu-
lation service. Although the appropriations