The Detroit times., 1909-12-27
WANTS POSTAL
DEFICIT CUT
Postmaster-General Points To Big
Loss To Government in Carry
ing Magazines.

Aoltl-Nb iO.Ns l'tNs NSNAAeo
ter-General Hitchcock. in his annual
report. urges chat action be taken to
reduce the growing deficit In the post
Office department. In the past year IL
great sources OF loss 10 the postal
revenues are second-class matter and
rural delivery.
The report says:
The loss on second-class mail mat
ter has been increasing for many
years. until il now amounts to s6i.'
O00. 900.
The loss from rural delivery. n
service begun hardly dozen years
ago and of unprecedented growth,
reaches as high as $2S.0O0.00
In these two items alone the postal
service now suffers an annual loss or
more than the entire national deficit
OF the last fincal year.
Since the opening OF the admins
tration the postmaster general and
his assistants have adopted measures
policy Of retrenchment. and these
measures are being put into effect
with substantial results, as VIII be
shown in this report
1t sAOuld be stated with SsslDhasls,
however. that economy is not TO be
enforced at the cost OF efficiency.
only such measures OF economy
will be adopted. therefore. as can he
made a consistent part OF general
program having for its chief object
the Improvement of the personnel. the
form OF organization. and the business
methods OF the postal establishment.
The most striking fact disclosed
BY recent Investigations is the tre-
mendcus loss on account OF second
class mail. While this class OF mail
provides a revenue OF little more than
| cent pound. the cost to the gov
ernment for its handling and trans
portation averages 9.23 cents pound.
The annual loss thus incurred, as al
ready stated. is about SCI ,000,0 900.
The growth in the quantity OF sec
cnd-class matter sent through the
mails has been extraordinary. Since
the passage OF the act OF 1879 pres
cribing conditions under which pub
lications may be mailed at second
class rates the weight of such matter
has increased more than 1900 per
cent. Last year il amounted 10 over
700 100000 pounds.
by the weighing. 1909 second-class
matter was shown To constitute 63 per
cent OF all domestic mail. and yet IL
Yielded only about per cent of the
postal revenues. The loss on second
class matter was greater than the
profits on all classes OF mail com
bined IL exceeded the total amount
paid the railways for mail Transports
ton
Magazines and other periodical
publications exclusive OF daily news
rapers comprise about 60 per cent oi
the second-class mail. The magazines
alone form about 90 per cent. Maga
( zines proper. because OF the long aver
age haul. show a cost OF more than
cents a pound for transportation
while in the case OF daily newspapers
/ for which the average distance of dis
ltribution is much less, the Transports
ton cost is under cents pound.
THE annual loss on. third-class mail
! is something over three million dot
lars. The mail matter carried free un'
der congressional franks cost the gov
ernment annually about half million
dollars. A greater loss about two
and a quarter millions annually. results
from the free handling of official mai
! for executive departments other than
i the postoffice department.
/ THE rural delivery service has de
veloped in twelve years from an ex
periment. requiring an appropriation
of $4,000 10 one OF the largest