The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-01-16
POSTOFFICE FIGURES
SHOW GRATIFYING GAIN IN GEN.
ERAL BUSINESS IN 1902.
BUSINESS IN MONEY ORDERS
WILL PUT GENERAL BUSINESS OF
YEAR AWAY AHEAD OF 1901.

Figures in This Department Not Yet
COmpiIed-Showing Made the More
Gratifying as Large Amount of
business Was Lost to POstOfIice
Through Removal of Plant system
Offices Registry Department
showed slight Falling on First
Six Months of Year, But Decided
Gain in the Inst Six - POstO1ice
Handles $4,000 Pieces of Mail Each
Day.
A statement of the business done in
the various departments of the Sa-
vannah postoffice during last year,
with the exception of in the money
order department, was completed yes
terday and makes on the whole
most satisfactory showing. In some
departments, it is true, less business
was done than during the previous
year but this is readily to be accounted
for by the loss of the very large bust
ness of the Plant System after its con-
solidation with the Atlantic Coast Line
and the removal of its offices from Sa-
vannah.
The loss alone, the postoffice au-
thOrities, say meant the loss of between
S., 900 and $4,000 to this office, which
would show that even if the figures
of the past year were no better than
those of the year before yet they
would mean that the general business
must have been materially increased in
order to wipe out this unusually heavy
loss. There is little doubt that the
money order department, when it's re-
port shall have been completed will
show very heavy gain over any for
mer year and this will more than
equalize any losses that may have oc-
Cured in any of the other departments
and still leave a good sized sum to swell
the entire business of the Office.
The Years Income.
Some idea of the general increase,
despite these drawbacks, may be gath
cred from the following figures: The
sale of stamps, etc, for 1902 was $l49,-
| S19.41, against $14S, 464.01 for the pre-
| ceding year; postage collected on sec
ond class matter $4,64473, against $4,-
256.2S for 1901; box rents, $2,063.6O,
against 81, 963.20 the year before; depos-
its from other postmasters, $3.50, 1885,
against $60,924.S7 for the previous year,
a gain for 1902 in each department, ex-
cept the last.
The additional amount of business
handled necessitated, of course, more
| assistance than was needed for the
former year. with the natural result
| that the expenses of the postoff1ce in
the way of salaries. etc, We're heayiegs
than in 1901, though the increase is
not a large one.
In the special delivery department
there was decided gain in business
last year over the business of 1901.
Last year 124T articles arrived for
| special delivery, against 10,5O9 the year
before; the number of articles deposit
ed for local special delivery were 25S,
| against 474; those actually delivered
| l2,453, against 10, 649, and those disposed
of otherwise, 276, against 3O7.
10000 Letters n Day.
An average of 10000 letters a day
were cancelled through the machine
| for that purpose, and this does not in
clude long letters and all other classes
of mail which, if added, would make
| total of at least $4,000 pieces of mail
dispatched each day. This refers only
to the mail sent out; including the
mail received at least $4,000 pieces are
handled daily.
There is much fluctuatiOn in the fig
ures of the different classes of regis
tered mail handled during the first six
months of the year that is in compar-
ison with the figures for the same time
the preceding year. The letters regis
tered in 1902 were 1881, against II, 131
| the year before; the parcels 2,233,
against 2,517. There was a falling off
also in both the number of registered
letters and parcels received for deliv-
| cry. In fact the total number of reg
istered articles handled were less in
| 1902 than the year before, in 1902 being
| figures refer only to the period ending
June 80 of each year.
Registry Business Increased.
There is a gratifying increase in all
| departments of the registry depart
ment for the last six months of the
year, as may be seen from the follow
| ing comparisons: Domestic letters reg
| istered, 1901, S,767 against 1919 last
year; domestic parcels registered, 1901,
| 1925, against LAO last year; foreign
letters registered, 1901, SCI, against 665
| foreign parcels registered, 1901 IT,
| against 144; letters and parcels regis
tered free. 1901. 3O6, against 2S5. The
! totals of these figures are, 1901, 10, 1854
for 1902 12,513.
Though no official figures are vet OBJ
tainable relative to the money order
department, it is expected that its
statement for 1902 will show that its
business has been many thousands
ahead of the business done the previ-
| GUS year.