The Clarksburg telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1874-1926, 1909-12-30
Annual Report Of the Post
master General Has In
terestihg Facts.

WASHINGTON, u. G., Dec. 27.-
Confronted with a dehclt Of sl7.47 =
40, the present administration Of the
Postoftice Department began its .oper-
atoms. This. was the largest deficit
in the history OF the postal service.
so long as the deficit in the depart
ment aggregated only a few millions
OF dollars annually, little attention was
paid ito II; but when. In the last few
years. 1t leaped to u award OF s 10 ,oov.-
600. and finally, in 1903, exceeded
s17,ooo.Ooo, Ordinary business pru-
dence suggested that the causes be
definitely located &
These are statements in the annual
report of Postmaster General Frank
II. Hitchcock. made public today.
Concerning the results of inquiries
Into the deficit, the Postmaster Gen.
eral says
Recent Investigations have shown
that the two great sources of loss Z,
the postal revenues are second-class
NAH matter and rural delivery.
"The yoss on second-class mail mat
ter has been Increasing for. many
years, until It now amounts to se4,-
600, 900.
The loss on secondhand mail mat
vice begun hardly dozen years ago
sandaof unprecedented growth, reaches
as high as $4,000, 900.
I'm these two items alone the pos
tai service now suffers an annual loss
soi more than the entire national def
cit Of the lit fiscal year
simultaneously with the growing
deficit in the postal service. the ma
lions income suffered last year a seri-
Gus depletion Incident to the financial
depression. Thus 1t happened that the
departments drafts on the treasury
were heaviest at a time when the pub
lie funds We're lowest. This has ac-
centuated the Importance of the pos
tails sdehclt, making 1t conspicuous
among the losses to be met by the
Presidents plan of reducing expendl-
lures In all executive departments.
Since the opening of the admins
tration the Postmaster General and
his assistants have adopted measures
IN conformity with the Presidents
policy of retrenchment. and these
measures are being put into effect
with substantial results, as will be
shown in this report.
at should be stated with emphasis,
however, that economy is not. to be
enforced at the cost of efficiency.
"only such measures of economy
will he adopted. therefore. as can be
made consistent part OF a general
\ program having for its chief object
the Improvement of the personnel, the
form OF Reorganization. and the business
methods of the postal establishment
THE most striking fact disclosed
by recent Investigations Is the tremen-
dous loss on account of second-class
mail. While this class of mail pro-
vides revenue OF little more than 1
cent a pound. the cost to the. govern
ment for It's handling and transpor-
tation averages s.23 cents pound.
The annual loss thus incurred, as al
ready stated, Is about $64.o00.oo
The growth in the quantity of second
class matter sent through the mails
has been extraordinary. Since. the
passage of the act OF 1879 prescribing
conditions under which publications
may. be mailed at second-class rates
the weight Of such matter has IN
creased more than 1900 per cent.
Last year It amounted to over, $780,
100000 pounds. BY the weighing of
1907 second-class matter was shown
to constitute 90 per cent of all domes-
tic mail. and yet it yielded only about
Eve per cent of the postal revenues.
The loss on second-class matter was
Freater than the profits on all classes
of mall combined. 1t exceeded the to-
tai amount paid the railways for mail
transportation. y = 81,
magazines and other periodical
publications exclusive OF daily news
papers comprise about 60 per cent. OF
the second-class mail The magazine
alone 'form about 90 per cent. Mag
azines proper, because of the long
average haul, show cost of more
than five cents a. pound for Transport
tation, while IN the case of daily
newspapers Tor which the average
distance OF distribution is much less,
the EgnsporlatItp cost IS under two
cents psana