Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-18

service wnlcn pays US q pioHt 10 e'e
foreign mails. and yet our Congress.
chiefly because Of the opposition of the
representatives from Wisconsin. Mime
sofa. and other northwestern states. re-
fuses to pay sufficient compensation to in
lines to foreign countries. If Congress
would permit the postmaster general 10
use all the money he receives from for
eign postage to pay for carrying the Tor.
eign malls, there would be no lack OF
American merchant marine: but no
steamship line can afford to carry the
mails for what the American Congress
permits him to pay. and hence our letters
are carried to and from foreign coun-
tries by foreign vessels, which are sub
collect many millions Of dollars annually
by freight upon American merchandise
The honesty of our postal service Is
worth talking about, and il Is a subject
of which everybody ought to be proud
During the last fiscal year. without in
Guiding the unknown value of registered
letters and packages. the postal employees
OF our government handled more than q
billion dollars In cash. and yet the total
loss by fraud, by theft. by fire and all
believe any other business is handled
SO carefully and honestly. notwithstand-
ing the carelessness Of the public. The
dead letter office receives between thir-
teen and fourteen million letters every
year which either bear an incorrect or
insufficient address. or are left in the
street letter boxes without postage
stamps. The amount of money found
in these letters varies from thirty-fve tc
forty thousand dollars a year. and 1t IL
increasing annually.
Taking into consideration the increase
I'm population, the carelessness of the
letter-writing public is growing rapidly
During the last ten years the number
Of dead letters has more, than doubled
while the population has not increased
more than 10 per cent. and the amour,
of money found In dead letters was
three times as great as it was ten years
ago. Notwithstanding all our public
schools. colleges and universities. and oul
boasted advance in civilization, the pub
lie grows more and more careless In It's
correspondence, and the largest number
Of dead letters are those which are incor-
rectly addressed.
Increase in Use Of Postal Cards.
The use of postal cards during the last
few years has nearly doubled. The posta
card craze has possessed the entire popu
lation. and that is one Of the Iarges
sources OF revenue. The number of posta
cards carried through the mails last year
was nearly a billion.
The increase In registered letters ha,
also been very rapid. Ten years ago thu
number was a little more than sixteer
! millions: last year the total was more
than forty millions.
There are now nearly forty Thousand
rural delivery carriers. who are paid $50,
10000 a year for carrying the letter:
and newspa pers to the country homes II
the United States, and together they trav
eled last year more than a million mile.
a day The rural delivery service is nov
thirteen years old, and IL has been thu
greatest success of any, new idea that ha:
been introduced into the administration Of
our government. The Post ONCE Depart
ment will renew its efforts to secure
law authorizing a parcels post service, sc
that farmers wives can do their shop
ping by mail. but the opposition from the
country merchants, who fear their trade
will be diverted to the cities. is so deter
mined that il is doubtful whether Con-
gress will act.
The largest number Of foreign money or.
ders is sent from New York. Last year
the total number was 75S,147, represent
ing value of $13, 742 IA. Illinois came
second. and California third. the latter
representing the funds sent by Chinese
and japanese merchants and laborers In
that state, who bought 30. 448 money or
ders. representing a value of $5.954,997
Tabular Showing of Interest.
Perhaps the following table may be
interesting in showing the number and
amount of money orders from the sew