The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-12-12

uaa The contracts for the star route in 1 the second contract section, embracing | the states of North Carolina, South Car 1 olina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Missis- sippi. Tennessee and Kentucky. and the island of Porto Rico expired June 30, 1901, and new contracts were made last year for all of the star routes in that terri tory for the four-year term, beginning l July l. last. These new contracts cover 515S routes, aggregating 5269s miles in length and 2s.471 TIC miles of annual trav- el at an annual rate of expenditure of $l 601.92015
 The average annual rate per mile trav- eled on June 30, 1904, under the old con tracts was s66 cents. On July 1. 1904. the average rate per mile travelled un- | der the new contracts was 5.63 cents per mile travelled. At this average rate paid l under the new contracts a contractor travelling p miles each week day would receive about s1.25 per day. or S3S7.6S per | annum. The new contracts call for an improved service. The contractor is re- | quired not only to transport the mall in l pouches between postoffiees as formerly | but also to deliver mall Into boxes and collect mail from boxes, or to carry pri- vate mall bags to and from mall cranes along the routes for all persons residing upon or near the routes who desire to l avail themselves of such service. All 1 of these contracts were let to persons 1 who agreed to i've within the delivery of some postoffice on the route and to give their personal supervision to the i performance of the service.
 The policy of requiring contractors to deliver mail into boxes along the line of routes has now been applied with l but few exceptions to all the star routes in the United States. There are four I general contract sections in some one l of which there is a relenting of service
 N1... the contracts in these several sections have expired by limitation during the past four years, respectively, the new 1 contracts have been made to provide for this box delivery service.
 The contract section to which, as whole, this feature was first applied is what Is known as the first contract sec ton, including the thirteen states from Maine to West Virginia. for which new contracts went into effect July 1, 19o1' it l was next extended to the fourth contract section. which includes nearly all of the states and territories west of the Missis- l sippi river, effective July 1, 1902; then to the third contract section, covering eight states in the middle west, for which the contracts took effect July 1, 1903, and finally to the second contract section, in- cludng eight southern states and Porto 1 Rico, beginning July 1, 1904 On the last named date there were in the United States 1SS3S of such routes, aggregating 2S1 957 miles in length
 In the report of last year there was given the result of statistics taken in June 1903, concerning the box delivery service in the first contract section, where 1 it had been in effect two years, and in the fourth contract section, where it had been | in operation one year, which showed that inouiries were sent to 11,524 routes in those two sections, from which 1o,545 replies were received, reporting that 7396O boxes | or cranes had been erected along those routes which were supplying 103, 743 fami- lies No later statistics have been taken relative to those two sections but in ! June. 1904 inquiries were sent to the 2709 routes in the third contract section, where the box delivery was just completing It's first year, and the replies received show ed that along these routes 21,54S boxes or cranes had been erected, supplying 26377 l families The box delivery service in the second contract section (the southern states) went into effect on the 1st of July of this year except as to South Carolina), ard no statistics have yet been taken as to the number of boxes in use or families supplied.
 The star service discontinued during the year ended June 3O 1904 by reason of the establishment of rural free delivery service, amounted to $579,3 2492 In some cases it was subsequently, found necessary to re-establish the star service, but the cost of service as re-established has not been deducted from the amount above named.
 Alaska.
 During the last fiscal year there were some. extensions and increases of service in Alaska, besides the renewal of the winter or summer season of arrange ments, similar to those in effect during the previous season. Last winter was the first In which was operated the overland rout from Valdez, the southern coast, by Fairbanks and Cinema, to Tanana, distance of about 62O miles, two round trips a month. The contracts made for the coming winter over this route con template four round trips a month from December to April, inclusive, besides two round trips each in October, November, and May, the maximum weight for each trip having been increased to 400 pounds, and the running time reduced to twenty days each way At the close of last fiscal year there were 75 routes in Alaska, aggregating 29,s16 miles in length and 967- 146 miles in annual travel, at cost of s340, s3.75 per annum.
 Hawaii and Porto Rico.
 In Hawaii at the close of last year there were 62 routes, aggregating 16,12S miles in length With dI dHHudl lrdNel oi 745,246 miles, costing SIP, ,49S.3S per annum. There were 1869 arrivals and departures of mail steamers at Honolulu. The closed mails conveyed by steamboat routes, star routes and railroad routes within the Territory of Hawaii aggregated 51,7R pouches and sacks. Between San Fran cisco and Hawaii there were 26a pouches and sacks, and between Honolulu and foreign ports there were 3,159 bags. The United States army transports carried between Honolulu and Guam and Manila 3S9 bags of mail matter.
 In Porto Rico at the. close of last year there were 52 routes of all kinds, the total length of which was 3.50f miles, on which there was an annual travel of 565 494 miles, at an annual cost of SS1,- 1928. The contract service in Porto Rico expired on June 30, 1904, and new contracts were made for a four-year term beginning July 1. 1904 The annual rate of expenditure for all service in Porto Rico on the last named date was sS9,- 377.47.
 On June 30 last there were 22l steamboat routes, the total length of which was fl, ,357 miles, with an annual travel of 5.S29 762 miles, costing $71S, ,6O7.s1 per annum. Com pared with the previous year this was increase of 1452 miles in length of routes, 267,2S miles in annual travel, and $3S, ,S82. S9 in annual cost. The service in the second contract section was relet last year for the term of four years, beginning July 1. 1904 the annual cost under the new con- tracts being $214,077.52, an increase of $3,- 96S .46