Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-01-11
MONEY! Order Business.


Number Of money-order Offices in
Number Of money-order Offices in
Number Of domestic money orders
issued:
1902. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. 4o.474s27
1908. Observation-Disclosures. 45.941.6S1
Amount Of domestic orders issued:
iS0Sa $ sl8 .S o sc
Amount Of orders paid and repaid:
iSoS $50 e 9o
Excess Of receipts over expenses,
paid from the proceeds:
1877 OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES. i,ooS,oal 50
lSOS. -..-............... $I'oos,oo' %
The International business shows still
greater Increase, as compared with the pre-
cedfng fiscal year, the increase In the num-
Der of orders issued being 60S OBS. with. an
increase Of 45, 465 in the number of orders
paid, an increase of So, 263, 49, 81 in the
amount of orders issued and an increase Of
So 1851 ,S43. II in the amount of orders paid.
Postal Checks.
The rapid extension of the rural free
delivery service Increases the demand that
the government shall provide some easy,
convenient and safe method for the trans
mission of small sums Of money through
the mails. and upon Congress is urged the
Importance of passing some law which will
insure to the people this advantage at as
early date as possible.
The necessity for providing some safe ana
convenient method for the people of Porto
Rico to deposit their surplus earnings Is
also mentioned. At present the banking
facilities on the island are very limited.
and there Is practically no safe way open
for the people to take care of their savings.
Congress Is asked to consider the pro-
priety of authorizing the post offices of
Porto Rico to receive money in small
srounts on deposit. giving thereon a rate
of interest not to exceed per cent per
annum.
New York's Requirements.
Postal facilities of New York are treated
as follows:
Star Routes.
At the close Of last fiscal year there were
2o613 star routes. the length of which was
249.384 miles, he annual travel 127, 240. 1872
miles and the cost $6,614. 90 per annum.
The contracts for the star routes in the
third contract section. embracing the states
Of Ohio. Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wis
consin, Minnesota, Iowa and Missouri, ex-
made last year for all of the star service
in those states for the four-year term be-
ginning July 1 last. These new contracts
covered 334Q routes. aggregating 49, 24
miles in length, and 19. 343981 miles of an
nual travel, at an annual expenditure Of
1,276, 277.07.
Alaskan Service.
Among the extensions Of new lines of
service in Alaska arranged for last year
may be mentioned the following:
From Homer to Renal, $50 miles; from
Fort Yukon. by Coldfoot. to BEETLES, $50
miles; from Teller to Igloo. IS miles; from
Circle to Mastodon. 90 miles; from Nome,
by Solomon. Council. Candle Keewalik and
Deering. to Kotzebue, about 800 miles.
For the summer season just closed steam
boat service was authorized on the Tanana
river between Tanana and Fairbanks, 275
miles. the supply point for the newly dis
covered gold diggfngs, as often as the
steamers of two transportation lines might
run. not exceeding fourteen round trips
during the season, and also steamer service
from Teller, by Wales and Deering, to Kot-
zebue, So5 miles. seven round trips during
the season of navigation.
A contract has also been authorized for
route from Barrow point Barrow. by
Hope point Hope). to Kotzebue. about $50
miles, two round trips during each winter
season. beginning November i, 1903. which
service is expected to be performed by
reindeer also contract for service from
Valdez, ON the southern coast, by mouth of
Chistochena river, Chisna, mouth Of Delta
river Fairbanks and Cinema, to Tanana,
about $40 miles. two round trips a month
from December 1 to April 30 OF this win
ter, running time each way not to exceed
twenty-five days; malls to be carried by
dog teams in connection at Valdez with
steamers to and from Seattle.
At the close of last fiscal year there were
fOrty-one routes in Alaska, aggregating
1876 miles in length and .149 miles in
annual travel at cost of 1922, 921. 80 per
annum.
Hawaii and Porto Rico.
In Hawaii there were ninety-one routes.
aggregating 14,77O miles in length, with an
annual travel of 742.Rea miles costing $685.
34.3s per annum The closed mails con-
veyed by local steamboat routes star routes
and railroad routes within the territory of
Hawaii amounted to 5O745 pouches and
sacks Between San Francisco and Hawaii
there were 20, 528 pouches and sacks, and
between Honolulu and foreign ports there
were 3,127 bags. The local steamboat
routes cover all navigable waters within
and around the several islands comprising
the Hawaiian group. Every landing on the
islands Is touched by some mail steamer.
Every steamer plying between Hawaiian
ports carries the mails
In Porto Rico at the close Of last year
there were forty-nine routes OF all kinds,
the total length of which was 3,49S miles,
on which there was an annual travel OF
$50, S13 miles, at a cost of $50, 2OS Oh.
Railway Mail Service.
On June 30. 1903. there were 1.4O0 lines of
travelling post offices, covering 1S9. 29S miles
in length the number OF employees in the
service was 1885: the annual distance
travelled by clerks in cars and boats. 1885,
14.eG4 miles. To accomplish this 4.033 cars
and apartments were used on the steam
roads. besides twenty cars on electric lines
under the supervision of the railway mail
service. and eighty-seven apartments on
steamboats,. 1t is estimated that these
clerks handled 10, 990. S02 $50 pieces of Or
binary mail and 29,887 ,O63 packages and
cases of registered mail. The errors by
clerks in handling the mail as reported In
dictate but one error for every Il, $50 pieces
correctly distributed.
Foreign Mails.
Last year the department paid for the
transportation of foreign malls the sum Of
81. 3S3, 5sS. So The contracts for service on
ocean mall route No. GO. from New York to
Tuxpan, via Habana and other intermediate
ports. and route No. 10 from New York to
Habana, expired October 81, 1902 and the
service having been readvertized contracts
for both routes were awarded for service
commencing November 1. 1902, the contract
for the former route being for a term of
ten years and for the latter route for term
of five years. Each contract requires a sail
ing from New York once a week. making a
direct steamer service between New York
and Habana twice every week. There are