The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1902-12-05
POSTMASTER GENERAL IS
REPORT.
A Deficit in Revenue Compared
to Expenses of Two Million
Dollars Rural Delivery Well
Thought of-Abuse Of Sec
ond Glass Privileges.

today, shows that the deficit in
the last fiscal year decreased
1886. 077.67 as compared with the
preceding year.
The comparative financial oper-
ationS were as follows:
Ordinary postal revenue, for
1901, Sl09.5 3l, 1856; for 1902,
| Sll9, 95S, 229.40.
Receipts from money-order bust
ness, for 1901, 81, 66S, 659.29; for
1902. 81 ,SS9,Sl
Other sources, for 1901, $3.50,
755. 4}; for 1902, .....
Total receipts. all sources, for
1901, Slll.63l, 1913. 80; for 1902,
S12l ,S4S,047 %.
Total expenditures, for 1901,
Sllj. j54. 920,S7 for 1902, 1924,
7S5. 69107
Excess expenditures over re-
ceiptS, for 1901. IS, 923, 721. IS; Tor
1902, -, 937, 649.S1.
Speaking of the Rural Free
Delivery Service, the report says:
Rural Free Delivery Service
has become an established fact.
1t is no longer in the experiment
tai stage, and undoubtedly Con
greSS will continue to increase
the appropriation for the service
until all the people of the country
are reached, where it is thickly
enough settled to warrant it. The
estimates of the department are
to the effect that the available
territory for this service embraces
about 81 100000 square miles, or
one-lhird of the country's area
exclusive of Alaska. The IL, $50
routes now i'll operation cover
about One-third of the available
territory. From this it will be
seen that it will require 81, 600
employees additional to those now
in the service to cover this terri
tory. If Congress shall make the
necessary appropriations, it is be-
lieved that within the next three
years the extension of the service
will have been completed.
With the carriers salary fixed
at $500 per annum the annual
gross cost of the completed Rural
Free Delivery Service will APP.
prOXimate S24, 10000
Five years of experiment and
experience have demonstrated
that all the claims advanced III
advocacy of the extension of rural
free delivery have been sustained.
Official reports indicate that in
communities served by rural free
delivery, isolated farms have been
enhanced in value because of that
service at an average rate of at
least D per cent i'll the older settled
States, and in the more remote
States and territories, where pos
tai facilities h Ae heretofore been
few and far between, the increase
of value has been much greater.
1t was asserted that to bring
the farmers into close touch with
the markets would enable them to
obtain better prices for their pro.
duets. Specific instances have
been brought to the attention of
the department where the prompt
delivery of live stock quotations,
indicating a temporary glut in the
market, to farmers intending to
ship to the stock yards, by enab
ling them to hold back their ship
ments till the markets resumed
their normal conditions, has saved
to individual cattle raiSers more
than the total cost of one years
rural delivery over the routes on
which they lived. On the other
hand, in many instances, inform
alton of an advance in the prices
of particular farm products has
reached the grower, by means of
rural free delivery, in time to en-
able him to ma Ike a much more
profitable bargain with his com
mission merchant than he could
otherwise have done.
Lastly, all these material adj
vantages have been equaled if not
surpassed by the social and edu-
cational benefits conferred in re-
lieying the monotony of rural life,
by bringing city and country into
close connection, and giving the
farmer an opportunity of keeping
abreast with the rest of the world.
The abuse of the second class
privileges of periodicals, maya
zines, etc, brings forth some
caustic comments. This class is
exclusively for newspapers at the
rate of l cent pound and is
taken advantage of by publica-
tons other than strictly bona tide
newspapers. This class last year
constituted 60 per cent of the to-
tai weight of mail and produced
less than 4 per cent of the total
revenues.
In it For the Dough-
Capt. John S. Wise is quoted in
Wasn't n,fOn raoanflx- oo cov;n ~ Z.