The National tribune., 1903-07-30

The fallacy, of calling our postal system
self-suStaining, even if on the face OF the
books and Oh its present foundation 1t
should fail to show deficit at the
close of some fiscal year, does not
occur to casual observers, but is rec
ognized by all who study the subject. A
railway company doing business OF
nearly $l,000,000,0O0 per annum. which
| was required to pay no interest on bonds
or dividends on stock would be financial
phenomenon. 1t is conceivable that the
mail service might be so managed by a
corporation as to yield satisfactory re
suits and pay a small dividend, provided
| it performed no gratuitieS for the Gov
ernment as a condition of its existence.
As now managed the Post Office Depart
ment has no plant whatever. All it
owns in the way of personal property Is
mail bags. mail locks, letter boxes, car
riers' satchels, and Il few similar incon-
sequential items of equipment Even IN
public buildings it is the tenant of the
| Treasury Department.
Here is disclosed very large eXpendi-
ture which never figures in computing a
postal surplus or deficit. In all cities the
| United States owns imposing structures,
| where the local post Offices and other
branches of the Department have their
! capacious and luxurious homes without
cost to the postal revenues. The build
ings are constructed and paid for by ap-
! prOpratic'is expended under the direction
of the Treasury Department, no part OF
| which is charged against postal revenues.
No rentals are ever collected or computed.
More than this, all expenditures for heat
| ing, lighting, repairs, janitor service, and
supplies. are paid for from other appro-
priationS. The aggregate of all these
items. including a fair rental for quarters
occupied, would amount to several mil
lions of dollars annually, none of which
would be expended or needed if there were
no mail service. In addition to this should
be mentioned the cost of the Post Office
Department at Washington and of the
Auditors Office. embra, ling salaries Of
more than 900 officials and employees
| which are paid from appropriations for
what is termed the legislative. executive
and judicial service. and never appear in
postal estimates. accounts or balances.
| Five million dollars year would be a
| small allowance for the indebted expen-
diturcs of the Post Office Department,
along these lines.
| DEFECTIVE ACCOUNTING METHODS.
A perious feature Of the postal service
little understood, and, therefore, entirely
disregarded by the general pubic, is to be
| found in the multitude of defects inherent
! in the widely ramified accounting system
made necessary by such colossal bnsi-
ness institutiPp. n Few stop to consider
what the accounting feature of such n
| gigantic enterprise must have already de
| veloped into, MUCH less to prefigure to
themselves info Hihat tremendous proper.
tions it must expand i'll case 1.-THE of the
proposed new elements are added. BY the
nature Of things this accounting must all
be concentrated in one Bureau at Wash
| ingfon. Every. mPney-order Office in the
| United States issues orders on every other
office; before the, accounts of any such
Office can be SETTLED these orders must be
concentrated rs ,fouchers in one central
| bureau, where they are checked against
the accounts jf both the issuing and pay
ing Postmastefs, each being necessarily
handled several times before this neces-
| Sary function can be accomplished.
This bureau of examination and settle
nent is the Ofiice of the Auditor for the
Post Office Department in Washington
| All the other branches Of the postal serv-
| ice require the same concentration of re-
sporsiblity; reports must be received
carefully examined. audited. verified as to
additions, posted, and strictly correct ac-
counts kept with every agent of the vastly
| ramified system. including 10000 Post
| masters. many thousands of contra actors
| Special Agents, Inspectors. etc. Millions
| of vouchers must be handled and exam
med: in.erminable columns of figures must
be footed up; unceasing vigilance must be
exercised to. prevent imposition, check
embezzlements and defalcations, collect
unpaid balances, and. generally. to exer-
else financial scrutiny into all the enor-
| nous transactions Of the Department No
scientific system of keeping these accounts
has ever been devised: methods have been
evolved from the pressure of necessity as
new branches have been added: work has
been done as hest it could with inadequate
! 4
| ideas of what a protection of the public
| i'll, rests requires. Those best acquainted
| with the work see its manifold defects
| most clearly and most sincerely deprecate
the engraftment of untried excrescences
! which will still further elaborate and COM
| plicate the menacing attributes.
FAST FREIGHT POSTAL SERVICE.
| One enthusiast who looks with conf
dence to the Government to redress griev-
anceS. says: Il hope some day to see n
| Postal Savings Bank Department. and
| some day see a Government Postal Tele-
graph and n Postal Package Delivery.
| The great express companies are behind
the times, they have not kept pace with
the changed condition of things, either as
| to the Improvement in service or the low
ering of rates. While everything else of
moment has declined in values, express
rates are yet sem -prohibitive." There is
| no more reason why the Government
should take charge of the express bust
ness than there is for Governmental trans
action of passenger business Should we
jump from the four to the 11-pound lin
| IT, the next step-sure to follow-would
be a 3O-pOund package. The outcome
would be the absorption of the fast-freiglit
business of the country by the Post Office
| Department at rates entaling enormous
| loss.
PERILS IN THE MoNEY-oRDER SYSTEM
The money order is a useful and pop-
ular postal innovation, convenient for
great masses of the people The officials
of the Post Office Department in charge
of that branch work with zeal which
could scarcely be surpassed if they had
direct pecuniary interest in its success.
They do all in theif power to make it safe
and to rapidly extend its benefits. But the
whole business IS, conducted at a loss,
and it involves niany dangers and abuses
among them the aggregation of large
sums in the hands of Postmasters as re
serves" with hI'teniptations TO fraud and
embezzlement;1 the opportunity for theft
and forgery, from which the Government
is II constant sufferer, and others not less
serious. 70
One glaring abuse which has been cor
rected may be mentioned as n sample of
defective methodslsu'!h as ara liable TO crop
out under present conditions. For several