Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1902-12-09
PAYNE ISSUES ANNUAL REPORT.
Recommendations NJ ,de for Lepis,a.
4in.. Co.. ca r.f 80

AASAAS -. 4 ~ tt, OSlinaSt1r General.
IN his annual report, especially notes thar
the increase iii postal revenues not only
attests the wonderful prosperity Of the
people and the activity of business utter
ests that the extension of postal facili-
ties. carefully directed. results sooner or
later in Increased receipts and diminished
deficits" lie presents the following com.
parative statement of the financial opera
tons of the department for two years:
1901. 1902.
Ordinary postal
revenue sos, S31, as. 81 $119,@oS 30. Il
Receipts from
money order
business -. 1.eos, ess,es tssasi1sc
other sources 4So,'So.43 ,.,.....-..
Total receipts
from all
sources sIl1,ssl, 1850 sl2i.s4S,O47.2G
Total expendi-
lures they 1885. sao.s7 124.7s5.es7.oI
Excess expen-
dutires over
receipts ....S 1928. 72T.4s s 1881. 6sp. 81
The estimated deficit for 1903 is given
as $500, 22T and for 1904 as SIS, 242. $50.
The Postmaster General says that de-
lieits in the postal service are not to be
viewed with apprehension, as il is the
policy. whenever the postal receipts cx-
coed or come near the expenditures, TO
extend postal facilities and cheaper tie
cost of the service to the public. In this
connection is Dofed the continuing effort
to better the condition of postal employees,
involving wholesale promotions and re-
ductions of working hours of clerks in
postoftices
Of the rural free delivery the report
SAYS:
Rural free delivery service has become an
established fact, III Is no longer In the ex-
perimental stage and undoubtedly Congress
VIII continue TO Increase the appropriation
Tor this service until all the people OF the
country are reached where IL IL thickly
enough settled to warrant It, The esti
mates of the department are to the effect
that the available territory for this service
embraces about 100O,O00 square niles OF
one-third of the country area exclusive Of
Alaska. The 11,Q5o routes now In operation
cover about one-thsrd OF the available terri
torv. From this 1t Will be seen thae ii will
require 2I,oo0 employees additional 80 those
now In the service to cover this territory
II Congress shall make the necessary APP
preparations II II believed that within the
next three years the extension of tae serv-
Ice WI have been completed.
with the carriers SALARY fixed at 5000 per
anhum the annual gross cost of che COM
pleted rural free delivery service will np-
proximate $240C0,OO0. After the service
has been completed this increase ought not
TO exceed annually to 10 per cent ar In
about the same proportion as Obtains in
other branches of the service. The people
are demanding the service with Impatient
earnestness
The report states that the money order
business has largely increased during the
fiscal year, both III the number Of orders
issued and the amount of money involved.
The number of domestic money orders is
sued was 40,474327, amounting 10 1913.
551,2T9 The humber IF international
money orders issued during the year was
1,311,l1l. amounting to $22.974,4T3. The
number of international orders paid dur
ing the year was 307,6T9, amounting TO
s5.S21, 729.
OF the railway mail service the report
says:
At the close of the year there were /, $50
lines Of travelling postofhces, covering 49,
go miles In length. The number Of clerks
employed was 9,Isl, annual travel by them
In cars 221 ,5S9999 miles. TO accomplish
this S,Ts5 cars and apartments We're used
on the steam roads, besides twenty four
cars on the electric lines under the super-
vision of the railway mail service and So
apartments on steamboats, 1t is estimated
that these clerks handled 1902 $40, 64c
pieces Of ordinary mail aud "a, ia, ia pack
ages and cases of registered mail. The err
rors by clerks tn handling the mali as re-
ported indicate but one error made for
every 11,502 pieces correctly distributed.
There were 2S6 casualties to malt cars
last year, In which either mail OF clerks
were injured. Nine clerks were killed and
IS seriously and :i02 slightly injured. In
the appropriation act for the current fiscal
year provision was made for the first time
authorizing the postmaster general to pay
TO the legal representatives Of any railway
postal clerk who shall be Killed while on
duty or who being injured while on duty
shall die within one year thereafter as
the result OF such injury. the sum OF 81, COO.
The report closes with the following
recommendations for legislation:
That the extension Of free delivery to
towns of not less than 5000 population. or
$1,000 gross annual receipts, be author.
lied.
That substitute letter carriers in cities OF
10000 population and over by guaranteed
monthly earnings OF not less than $50 and
in cities Of less than $1,000 population not
less than S25.
That rural letter curriers' he allowed an
annual leave Of absence Of not TO exceed
Is days with pay.
That the maximum fee for n money order
be fixed at . instead OF 80 cents.
That section 3 OF the act OF June 10.
1888, chapter 446, providing that assistant
postmasters, cashiers and other employees
OF postofiices of the FIRST, second and third
classes shall give bond direct TO the United
States, be repealed and that statute be
enacted requiring such officers to give bond
directly to the postniasters. and holding
postmasters responsible under thet own
bonds for any and all acts and defaults oc-
curing at their respective offices.
That the Interstate commerce law be
amended to prohlbiG common carriers, to-
wit telegraph and express companies, or
any OF their employees, from aiding and
abettIng In the green goods or lottery swim
dies or any other scheme carried on partly
by mail and partly by common carrier and
which is In violation q the postal laws.
That the department. be authorized to
adopt q system OF postal checks.
That a statute be enacted authorizing the
receiving and dispatching OF certain classes
Of mail matter withons the necessity OF af-
fixing postage stamps 10 individual pieces
That an act be passed comforting upon
the department specific authority to intro
duce system Of reply postal cards and
envelopes
Authority TO print 10 book form the opln-
ions rendered by the assistant attorney gem
eral for the postoffice department.
That provision be made for new and suit
able buildings for the Manufacture and re-
pair of mail equipment, the quarters at
present occupied being entirely insufficient.
FORA GOVERNOR