The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1900-06-22
Twenty Years Progress.

In looking over the postmaster gen
erals reports for the year ending June
30, 1889, find the gross receipts from the
sale Of stamps ard such Ike for the ter
ritory of Washington was but 81, o;5. s..
This amount represents less than four
months sales of the Seattle postoffice of
today. For the week commencing April /.
1879 the number of pieces Of all classes
of mail matter. as shown by an account
Friday evening at the present time there
are deposited In the Seattle postotrice for
local delivery, more weekly papers, pub
lishd in Seattle than the total mail mat
ter OF all kinds mailed per day In the
winter of 1873.
I'm the registry department we are now
registering more pieces OF mail in Seattle
alone than were registered In the whole
territory twenty years ago.
There are many other changes that
have occurred in these years. In 1880 II
cost cents to send a one-ounce letter
in the United States Now a letter OF
the same weight can be sent from Maine
TO next door to the North Pole, or to
"On looking over the reports for the
year ending June 30. 1852. the first time
the gross receipts appear in the postmas-
ed to $685. The gross receipts for the
$50 600.
ION September I. 1857. the free delivery
service was inaugurated with FIVE car
riers. and on July /. four additional car
riers were appointed. Today there are
thirty-ax carriers in town. while the
clerical force amounts to forty-one clerks
in the office and nine additional clerks
in local stations in the city
There are many times now when we
sell more stamps in one day than we sold
In 1880 In two months
Present Condition of Service.
1.-THE Seattle postoffice now, instead OF
being on a side route, is the terminus of
all steamboat routes on Puget sound, to
Alaska. and also the transcontinental
no ~
and the Orient. We have i've railroad
routes and five electric routes IN this city,
which handle tons OF mail daily. The sec
ond-class matter. consisting of newspaper
publications and such like, mailed in Sc
attic, amounts to more than leo. 600
pounds per year. Through pouches are
Bennett and Dawson City. Many orders
payable in British Columbia and the Yu-
kon territory are served through this Of
fice. as are also orders payable IN Japan
from states west OF Wisconsin Other
registered pouches are made up on the
principal cities of the United States. and
with Victoria and Vancouver. Is c. The
money order business amounts to nearly
8. 600 900 per month.
The old rivalry between the North
western cities has been fast dying out.
and much aid to the local office ia rem
dered by its neighbors. II was only few
days ago that we were instructed to send
TO Inspector Clum, at Nome. 5000 one
cent stamps $50, 600 two-cent, $3.50 Ave-
cent and 800 books OF forty-eght stamps
each. We found ourselves short OF one
cent stamps and Postmaster Cromwell. of
Tacoma, very kindly loaned them to this
Office on his own responsibility. Many
such courtesies are now extended between
the offices. and all work together so har-
moniously that the system has been great
ly benefited
Jokers All Disappeared.
Routine work has greatly increased at
the local office. and everybody Is too hard
at work to have much fun. In the old