The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-02-22

! Hitchcock; said that the placing of as
sistant postmasters in the civil service
should be followed by placing under
the classified service of postmaster
and commended the postal savings
system. Preparations are being made,
he said, to ablish this system at
about 400 fourth class offices.
The Message in Full
To the Senate and House of Repre-
sentatives:
In transmitting the annual report
of the postmaster general for the fis-
cal year ended June 80, 1911, it gives
me pleasure to call attention to the
fact that the revenues for the fiscal
year ended June 80, 1911, amounted to
$237,879, S23.6O and that the expendi-
lures amounted to 1897, 66O,7O5.48,
making surplus of $219,11S.12. For
the year ended June 80, 1909, the pos
tai service was in arrears to the ex-
tent of $17,479, 770.47. In the inter-
val this very large deficit has been
out the curtailment of postal facii-
ties. Indeed, in the same time there
have been established 3,744 new post
offices, delivery by carrier provided in
1856 additional cities and new rural
routes esta bliShed, 2,516 in number
and aggregating 60,679 miles in ex-
tent. The force of postal employees
has been increased by more than 5000
and a liberal policy in the matter of
salaries has been followed, so that
now $14, 100000 more than two years
ago. The average salary has been in
creased from 1859 to 1867 for rural
carriers, 1919 to $1,O82 for postoffice
clerks, $1,021 to S1,O84 for city letter
carriers, and s1,168 to $1,1S3 for rail-
way postal clerks.
The report shows that the postal
savings system was begun experiment
tally in January, 1911, and that it
has now been extended so as to in
clude $500 presidential postoffices,
which includes practically all of the
postoffices of that class. Preparations
are also being made to establish the
system at about 10000 fourth class
offices. The deposits in IL months
have reached a total of $11,0O0,OOO,
distributed among 2,710 national and
state banks.
The postmaster general recon-
n.ends. as I have done in previous
messages, the adoption of a parcel
post, and the beginning of this in the
organization of such service on rural
routes and in the city delivery service
first.
The placing of assistant postmasters
IN the classified service has secured
greater efficiency. It is hoped that
the same thing may be done with all
The report of the postmaster GEN
eIal is full of statements of the i'm
portant improvements in the organi-
cation and methods of the postal SER
wee HldUe since the last annual re-
port, and of tentative drafts of legis-
lation embodying certain recommen-
cations of the department which need
legislation to carry them out
Can't Agree to This.
Ihere is only one recommendation in
winch can not agree-that is one
which recommends that the telegraph
hnes in the United States should be
made part of the postal system and
operated in conjunction with the mail
system This presents a question of
government ownership of public utili-
ties which are now being conducted by
private enterprise under franchises from
the government I believe that the
true principle is that private enterprise
should be permitted to carry on such
public utilities under due regulation
as to rates by proper authority rather
than that the government should itself
conduct them. This principle I favor
because I do not think it in accord
ance with the best public policy thus
greatly to increase the body of public
servants. OF course, if it could be
shown that telegraph service could be
furnished to the public at a less price
than 1t is now furnished to the public
by telegraph companies, and with equal
efficiency, the argument might be a
strong one in favor of the adoption
of the proposition. But 1 am not sat
isfied from any evidence that if these
properties were taken over by the
government they could be managed any