The midland journal., 1916-10-13
WEIGHT OF EQUIPMENT VS., COST
OF TRANSPORTATION.
over $6,OOO,OO win Be Saved An
nualIy In the Transportation
OF the Mails.

ment are of interest to the people,
and the activities and Industries of
each are matters of great and vital
concern, for the welfare of the nation
depends upon the manner in which
these great public enterprises are
conducted and administered.
The Post Office Department being
in close and constant touch with all
classes necessarily occupies large
share of public attention, and any
thing relating to it's projects and
purposes is always of special interest.
The adoption of measures calculated
to lessen expense and broaden the
field of usefulness may easily come
within that category.
The principal cost in the postal
service is that of transportation.
With an annual expenditure ex-
ceeding $55.O00,0OO, which is the
price the Government pays for this
service, it may be naturally assumed
that the men who now manage our
postal affairs were concerned to
know if it was not possible to lessen
this cost without impairing the
efficiency of the service. The first
question which suggested itself in
this connection was whether the
weight of equipment, a matter of
very considerable concern, could not
be reduced, since the Government
pays as much per pound for the
weight of the bag as it does for the
mail within it.
The first step in needed reform,
inaugurated by the Fourth Assistant
Postmaster General, was the with
drawal of all heavy equipment and
the substitution in it's stead of lighter
and more suitable material, discon-
tinuing the further manufacture, of
the equipment then in use with
very considerable saving of both
cost and weight. Many experiments
were made and tried out in actual
service to find the best and most
serviceable kinds, expense and dur
ability considered, ahc 20 the present
postal administration belongs the
credit of having produced something
in this direction combining not only
all the essential needs OK such equip
ment, but lessened in cost and from
40 to so per cent reduced in weight.
It is believed that the improved
models of bags and locks will meet
all requirements for years to come.
The actual Introduction of these new
and better styles began in the spring
of 1914 and the reduction in weight
accomplished totalled 526,S0O lbs.
Thus the tonnage economy carried
through the year-the saving in ton
mage per day by the new type bags
being about ITS, 800 pounds the net
result per annum would be 64,-
094,0 pounds, or 32,047 tons. AS
the average cost of carrying equip
ment and mail matter IS about two
cents a pound, the total annual
saving in this particular will be over
a million dollars-to be exact, ST.
2S1,000 Between four and five
hundred thousand needlessly heavy
mail locks used within the past
twelve years will be substituted by
others weighing three ounces less
each, representing an additional saw
ing in money annually of over
100000. AS late as 1907, the
weight of equipment carried almost
equalled the weight of mail matter,
consequently nearly hair of the ex-
pense incurred for transporting the
mails was due to the weight of equip
ment There are still over three
million sacks of one class in service
which will be replaced as rapidly as
possible with others weighing from
to 8 ounces less.
When the generaI scheme of sub
stituting lighter for the heavy equip
ment previously in use is consum-
mated, the total annual saving in
transporting the mails will be ap-
proximately-
On the item of mail locks. .$401, 500
On the item of mail bags. Sc, ,409, 400
these figures being based on COM
parison with conditions existing July
1, 1918.
All this commendable work was
accomplished in two years without
any special appropriation for the pur-
pose. The problem for this admin
istration of postal affairs has been to
change existing conditions, save use
less expenditure, and apply the
money thus saved to the betterment
of the service and the greater con-
venience and benefit of the people,
and this problem is now being satis-
factorily solved.
You can get four standard mag
azines one year for 25 cents extra by