Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1903-12-07
CAPITAL CHAT.
Maine Postal Figures for the
Past Fiscal Year.
Work Of the Maine Congressman
During the Recess.
Congress Meets, Today, and viii .Ad.
journ, Dec. p, for Holidays.

the government officials in the fedora,
q, Capitol. They are hurrying to get out
their annual reports. All these docu-
ments, most of which are of a dry and
embarrassing character are about five
months behind time, for they cover the
period of the last fiscal year, which
ended June so last. Nevertheless these
documents tell in official form the
operations OF every department of the
government. Typos by the thousand
have been working with might and
main during the last two or three
. weeks to get these reports in printed
form. The government printing office
has been humming with industry ana
it will be week yet before the last OF
these reports are complete.
| The cabinet officers report to Con-
gress every year. Before their reports
are made up, every division and bureau
under each cabinet officers jurisdiction
has to make 4 written statement Of
operations for his chief. On these re-
ports the cabinet officer makes his own,
although he often adds great deal of
material, including, of course. recon-
mendations and the like. Most of the
reports We're written as a matter Of
fact two or three months ago. They re-
CURED the services of an army of
clerks and typeWriters before the man
uscript WAS complete One could with
difficulty estimate the total cost of this
extensive bookmaking by the govern
ment. for nearly all the reports are Ill
timately bound III book form. For gen.
eral distribution they arc bound in pa
per, but ask almost any official six
months from now for a copy OF his re
port and he will hand you out a neatly
Bound book. Ali this, costs a great
deal OF money, not to mention the time
OF bureau chiefs and others who are
the authors of the documents. These
books for one year, all put together
would make an enormous library Pos
sibly there would be in all 600 or 700
volumes.
One of the late annual reports is that
cf Fourth Assistant Postmaster Cen
I eTal BriStow. It Is not the ona On his
! investigation, Just made public, but his
regular annual report, in which he deals
With operations of the postoffces of tn ,
country. In it he gives some interest
ing figures about Maine. Among other
things he shows that the health of the
= presidential postmasters in Maine
for the last fiscal year was good for
rot one of them died in Office They
also behaved WELL for not one man of
them was removed. It can be further
said that most Of them are we'll salts
fed with their jobs for only one of them
resigned. The commission of only
eleven of them expired during the fiscal
year
All was not quite 50. sunny with the
l,034 fourth class pcstmasters in the
state. Their compensation is not al
ways large, ranging from few dolla S
to $1,000 par annum and averag ing
$231.S4 per annun. Eighty-three NJ
them got tired for one cause or another
or at any rate resigned Some of them
rrab2bly resigned by request but there
were no summary removals for other
cause than expiration of term Seven
O. them had to be removed at the ex-
piration Of terms and fourteen died
during the year while in office. There
We're twelve fourth class postoffices es-
toblished in Maine during the year and
GO Offices We're discontinued. MANY of
these undoubtedly because of the es-
Establishment Of rural free delivery
Fourth Assistant Prstow shows that
the total postal receipts in Maine for
tne hCal year We're S1.32O. 96614. or
Sl.S7 for every one of the 7C4,SS2 per-
sons in the State. That is very high
IaVerage and is exceeded by only nine
other states including Massachusetts
land Connecticut.
Up TO June so last there had been flied
petitions for the establishment of 352
1ural routes in Maine. OF these 14S
petitions had been granted and the
routes put in operation, whereas 40
petitions had been reported on adj
Versely and 155 were pending. There
had been an investigation of S. per
cent of the applications. Since that
time probably IS many as 40 or 90
additional rural routes have been estab-
lished in Maine. a considerable number
being in kennebec county where the
county system was adopted The num-
Der OF routes in Maine now is not far
from 200 and is not exceeded by any
other New England state, except pos
sibly by Connecticut. That state led by
q large margin last July but has had
but few additional routes since. On
these Maine routes last year 2,7S5 ,0G5
pieces Of mail were delivered, including
l,i6l,0Uf HtN SpeipCIS, ADOuI Hall DIS
many pieces of mail were collected, the
figures for the last six months of the
, fiscal year being 674,91S. The number
of letters collected in that six months
was 552,S54 and the number Of posta!
cards 6S 500.
: The Department is keeping very
: close tab on the operations of the rural
:. routes for Fourth Assistant Bristow
wants to know just how far these
routes are profitable and how far they
are a source of profit to the government.
The members of the Maine delegation
have been equally divided during the lat
ter part of this week, between absentee
from Washington and those present in
town. Senator Frye came back from New
York. Monday. and is waiting for Con-
gress TO convene in regular session.
Senator Hale went away Thursday for
short ocean voyage up the coast. but
, will be back early in the week. Repre-
Continued Oh page g.