Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 1886-1927, 1907-11-01
POST OFFICE RECEIPTS
a MAKE FINE SHOWING
Postms ster Harmon's Quarterly
Report Indicates Big Increase
In Business OF Office.

The Grants Pass postoffce is now
equipped with a stamp caDcelling ma
chine, being the first in use in South
ern Oregon to be given such a ma.
chine by the Postoffce Department,
Roseburg, Medford and Ashland not
yet having business enous Oh to war
rant the expense to the department.
Grants Pass handles as large local
mail as either of the above towns and
as a distributing point for other
offices it far exceeds any other town
IN this part of the state. From
Grants Pass mail is supplied to 49
offices and three rural routes andIthe
territory covered embraces the
greater part of Josephine county, a
part Of Jackson county, all Of Del
Norte county and nearly all of Curry
county.
The mail for Del Norte and Curry
Counties goes by daily stage to Cres-
cant City and from there is taken by
stages and sstar route carriers to the
local Offices, Curry county being sup.
Piled all but three small offices in the
north part of the county which get
their mail by way of West Fork on
the Southern Pacific in Douglss
county. But with all this work the
Department required Postmaster G. e
Harmon to verify the amount of mail
passing through his Office. To do
this every piece Of mail passing
through the Grants Pass office for a
whole week was counted. This report
showed that there were handled 1874
letters, 1888 postal cards, 9552 pieces
Of fourth class matter, i74s packages
Of local papers. 1853 fourth class
PACKAGES, 557 third class packages and
40 Government franked pieces Of
matter. There were received for local
distribution and for forwarding to other
Offices, l0,2l4 letters all having to be
back stamped. The. mail matter
handled for this week Is but the
average of that passing through the
Grants Pass office each " seks and ito,
cancel the stamps and to back stamp
the letters by hand has required the
greater part Of the time Of one clerk.
With the new machine this work
oan be done in one-tenth the time re-
quired by hand. This machine has a
capacity of 800 letters per minute.
The feed is automatic and all the
operator does is to place the bundles
OF letters in receptacle and then re-
move them from another receptacle.
This machine is operated by hand bat
requires no more power tnan a co fee
mill. 1t though can readily have
electric or other power attached.
: At the rate the receipts of the
Grants Pass postoffice have incresed
for the past year it is certain that
this office will be given a free de.
livery service by the Postottice De-.
partment. To be entitled to free de.
livery of mails a postotdce must have
receipts in excess of $4,000 for the
fiscal year preceding the applica-
tion for free delivery. The receipts o.
the Grants Pass office are now past the
$40, 600 as the returns for the past
four quarters show, they being as
follows: For the quarter ending
September 30, 1905, s21s2. 90; for
January /, 1906, s2592.57; for Apri
80. 1907. 2377,31; for July 81, 1907,
224S. 20; for September so, 1907,
2270. 80. This gives total of
I'll, Gil 80 for tile year. II the receipts
continue rs they have for the past
year until next April, the close of
the Government fiscal year then
Grants Pass can make application for
a free delivery service get il granted