Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-03-19
THE POST OFFICE BILL
Appropriation Measure Report
ed to the House.
CUT UNDER THE ESTIMATES
Provision Made for the Expenditure
of $1s1, ,a7s,s4s.
TO ELIMINATE HEAVY MATTER
Restrictions Regarding the Use of the
Franking Privilege-Proposed
Redistribution of Mails.
;UT UNDER THE ESTIMATES
TO ELIMINATE HEAVY MATTER

The House committed on post offices and
post roads reported the post office appro-
priation bill to the House today. 1t pro-
vfdes for an expenditure OF sl9I, s4S for
the fiscal year 1907 or s9i3,221 less than
| the modified estimates Of the Post Office
| Department This amount exceeds the ap-
preparation for 1896 by $40. 35i, 1855.
| Legislation for freeing the malls of heavy
| matter and for gaining information for the
purpose of Reconsideration OF mail is in
cluded In the bill; One provision appropr-
ates si50.o0e to pay freight on all supplies
| such as postal cards. stamped envelopes.
empty mail bags. furniture etc These
| supplies are to be withdrawn from the
| malls Immediately preceding the weighing
period. Another provision requires a rec
| ord from July l to December 81 1906. of
| all second class mail matter received for
! free distribution. and also at the one-cent-
| a-pound rate. 30 as to show the weights in
pounds. respectively by classes of daily
newspapers, weekly and other than daily
newspapers. magazines. scientific. educa-
| tional, religious, trade journal, agricultural
and miscellaneous periodicals. and sample
copies of said newspapers. magazines and
| periodicals. and make report to Congress
| of such information by February /. 1907. to-
| gether with an estimate of the average
| length of haul Of six respective classes
| above named. And the sum of S25, 900.
so much thereof as may be necessary. is
hereby appropriated to cover the expense
| of compiling such information.
Use of the Franking Privilege
Other provisions follows.
| "Third-That hereafter no article pack
age or other matter shall be admitted TO
| the mails under a penalty privilege unless
| such article. package or other matter would
| be entitled to admission To the mails under
| laws requiring payment of postage.
"Fourth-That hereafter It shall be un-
| lawful for any person entitled under the
| law to the use of II frank to lend said frank,
/ or permit its use by any committee or
ganZation or association, or permit lis use
| by any person for the benefit or use OF any
| committee, organization or association
The report says that the compilation OF
| Information recommended VIII throw light
| on the weight of the various classes
| which make up the second-class mail and
become the basis of a proper Inquiry either
| into the change of method of handling the
bulky character OF second-class mail or
| possibly a change of rate upon some Of the
| classes Of second-class matter
For Rural Free Delivery.
An appropriation of SIS 200oO0 for the pay
of rural free delivery carriers is recon-
| mended. This is $3.Os0.UO0 more than the
! appropriation for the current year. or the
rural free delivery service the report says:
1T would appear that with proper limlta-
tons and restrictions and without i'm
panment to the service unfair reStric-
ilons TO Its extension this particular serv-
zee WIZ soon reach normal stage"
In It's report the post office committee
! says that while the deficit in the postal
service for the fiscal year 1905 was S1I. .572-
2S4 & 10, the total receipts for the fiscal year
1875, Slo2, ,S26, ,5s5. 10, exceeded the total ex-
penditures FOR 1901 by S464 ,4Gs. 40. The de
partment estimates that the receipts for
the fiscal year 1907 will be SlSI 513. 264,
based upon an estimate of o per cent
ted inf for.
1896. Should the receipts for the fiscal
year 1907 equal the estimate OF the depart
ment, and should the amount recommended
by this bill be appropriated and expended.
the deficit for the fiscal year 1907 would be
| So s00. .5s47 10"
The committee adds. however that the
average per cent OF increase in receipts for
the past eleven years is only 81 per cent,
and that 1t is scarcely to be hoped that the
receipts will increase to the extent esti-
mated by the department Therefore the
committee considers IL probable that the
deficit for 1907 will be greater than the sum
mentioned. In its report on the bill the
committee says, in part:
The rapid Increase of the postal service
necessitates heavy increases in expend-
lures. and few changes in the method or
the administration of the service can be
made without serious impairment to the
efficiency OF the service
The committee has striven 10 maintain
efficiency of the service and to make only
such recommendations for appropria tions
as are justified by the continually iucreas-
ing volume of business. While there are a
great many individual items in the BILL ag-
gregating a total of s191 .373. s4s.75. there are
seven items, namely, inland transportation
by railroad routes, including the appropria-
tion for railway post office cars, s4s, ,s75, 600:
letter carriers, rural delivery So, 10000:
cOmpensat ton of postmasters, 81, 900 600;
clerks in first and second-class offices S22,-
600, 600; letter carriers, city delivery, S22.-
22S, 600; railway mail service S15 o00 600
and inland transportation by star routes.
G7 which % mr.
S7.S per cent of the total carried by the
bill. leaving but 12.2 per cent of the entire
total of the bill for all the remaining items
of the service. While the total increase
for the service appropriated by the bill ag-
gregates S10,351. .755, the increase In the
seven items above mentioned aggregates
IS, ,6S3, ,420, leaving only 81 7SS, $50 to &C
count for the net increase in all of the re
naming items other than the seven enumer-
ated.
Five Thousand Salaries Raised.
''In fixing the appropriation for pay of
post office clerks, provision is made for an
arbitrary increase OF 500 each of $500
clerks of the lower grades in order TO stsm-
ulate interest in the service and to avoid
designations of efficient clerks who become
discouraged by insufficient pay. The
amount provided for such increase is based
upon a proposed increase of 30 per cent of
the 5000 clerks. 40 per cent of the SOD
clerks 20 per cent of the $500 clerks, per
cent of the 500 clerks. per cent OF the
81 600 clerks and per cent of the $1,10O
clerks These increases comprise the only
Increases In salaries provided for in the
bill except those which follow in the ex-
tension of the railway mail service and the
Increases In the salaries of ten post Office
In SO ect ors-in-cha rye from 81 500 10 $3.50
year This increase is recommended In
order to equalize the compensation of all
post Office inspectors-in-charge who appear
10 have equal responsibility and perform
equal service. Under the present law five
inspectors-in charge receive 5000 a year
and ten receive $3.50. The fixing of the
uniform salary for each of the fl teen in
spectors-fn-charge al $3.50 is deemed equi-
table by the committee.
The rapid extension of rural delivery
should, In the judgment OF the committee.
tend to reduce the number of star routes,
especially where the service by star routes