The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1901-11-28
Excess Of expsnditures over


receipts ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. 3,92S,3Z7i IS
O Postmaster Smith. in explaining the
abuses of second-class mail matter s1vs.
The law defines the characteristics
which shall distinguish and determine
second class matter, and II intends 10
limit the privilege and benefit of the
pound rate 10 legitimate newspapers and
periodicals which fulfill these statutory
requirements. But. in fact. thousands Of
Of publications which are in reality books
or purely advertising sheets or gift enter
prises and which the law never meant
to include within the second-class, have
crept in through evasions and loose con-
strJctons, untf this abuse has grown 10
colossal proportions and imposes a bur
den of many millions of dollars a year on
the government and the people.
The second-elass matter constitutes
nearly go per cent of the weight of the
entire mail Of the country, and yet. while
the postal revenue for the last fiscal year
was Sill .631. 1873, the second-class matter
paid only S4.2944 As of that amount. That
is While making Jhree-hfths of the mail
in weight, IL furnished only one twenty
fifth patr OF the revenue The transpor-
tation OF the mails is paid for chiefly by
weight The enormous dispropOrtion Of
ret1rn to cost in secOnd-class matter IS
thus apparent al a glance
OF the success Of the rural free delivery
system, he says:
The rural free delivery mas advanced
with increased strides. It's extension
during the past year has been nearly
three times as great as the whole amount
of service previously esta blished. The
number Of routes in operation at the be-
ginning of the fiscal year was 1726, and
at thee lose, 4,So1. During the current
year. wit han augmented appropriation
and a more experienced force, the work
viii proceed still more rapidly. At the
opening Of December 6.e09 routes viii be
running and under present plans the
number will increase by July /, 1902, to
$500"
Explaining the cost of railway trans
portation of the mails. an increase of
Si56. 90 in expenditure for the year is
shown.
Speaking Of the automobile as a means
Of mail transportation. he says:
THE first contract for the carriage Of
mails by automobiles was entered into
during the last fiscal year Tor service be-
tween the postoffice at Buffalo and the
station in the Pan-American Exposition
grounds. q distance of four and ore-half
miles. This distance was covered in
thirty-five minutes. and there We're seven
trips daily. The service rendered proved
satisfactory ard a contract VIII go into
effect January ]. 1902, for similar service
in Minneapolis. winch win afford "a still
better test OF the a6aptability If the au-
t0mobile for service i'm large cities
He says Of the railway mail service;
This service was extended during the
year so that on June 80. there were 1,S06
lines OF travelling postohices. covering
IS2154 miles and employing g iS2 clerks,
whose annual travel in crews amounted
TO Zlo.22l SO miles To accomplish this
S.774 cars and apartments were used on
steam railroads. twenty cars on electric
and cable lines. and seventy-two apart
mcnts on steamboats,. -uriug the year the
clerks Of the railway mail service hand
led 1f.1Si224,430 pieces of ordinary mail
and q .2S4Sz3 packages, cases. and sacks
Of registered mail. with a naverage or
only one error TO every I0,s26 correctly dis
tributed.
During the year there were more cas-
ualtics in the railway mail service than IN
any similar period since its organization.
the total number being 50. in which seven
clerks were killed and sixty three serl-
ously and 20 slightly injured.