Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1919-01-31
P0ST0FFICE SETS
HIGH WATER MARK
Years Balance Shows $73I.l98
Was Handled
War Savings and Thrift Stamps of Ma
turity Value of $2s4,7s1 Put Out
over 100000 Parcel Post Pieces.

The balance sheet at the Bratteboro
postofiicc for the year 1918 shows that the
receipts from all sources were S73l, l98.07
which is undoubtedly the largest amount
of money handled by the office during any
calendar year. This is due in part TO the
governments issue of war savings and
thrift stamps, maturity value OF 1884,,
ISL worth of these stamps being put out
through the local Office.
II may not be generally known that the
Brattlcboro Office was made control ac-
counting office in September 1916, which
means that all the postal accounts of the
4l postotfces in Windham county, with
the exception of Bellows Falls, which ac
counts directly to the department at
Washington, are handled through the
Brattleboro postotfice Not only are the
accounts audited here but all the stamp
supplies used in the various district post
offices are furnished from Brattleboro
This new accounting system has increased
materially the amount of work for the
local office, but is a great saving of labor
in the office of the auditor for the pos
office department at Washington, to which
each postoffice formerly reported. There
are 4lO postoffices in the state of YER
mont and the local Office accounts cover
30, or nearly tenth of the entire number.
Including the postmaster and his as
sistant, % persons are now regularly EN-.
ployed in postofice work. These employ
es include ii clerks, nine city carriers and
five rural carriers The rural routes COW
err portions of the towns of Dummerston,
Guilford, Marlboro and Halifax in add
ton to Brattleboro. Every working day
of the year the city and rural carriers
cover combined distance of over PSI
miles, which means that they travel a
total number of miles yearly to take them
around the world more than three times.
Three star routes arrive and depart from
Brattleboro every weekday and mail is
made up for the patrons having boxes
along these routes. In this way an ad-
ditional 80 miles has its mail delivered
daily. Ii all the families served from the
Brattleboro office lived on one street the
total length of that street would reach
from Brattleboro to Philadelphia.
Eight regular publications are mailed
from local printing establishments and
the total weight of these papers and
magazines the past year was lsO,696
pounds, over 90 tons. Between 100000
and 100000 pieces of parcel post matter
are handled yearly The removal of the
railway mail clerk from the West River
road has made an increased amount OF
work for the local Office, as II closed
pouches are now exchanged daily with of
fees along that route.
The work of the postmaster has been
increased largely during the past few
years. Since the erection Of the federal
building, in which the postoffice is housed,
he has acted as custodian of the building
and property and has a custodian force of
. three men in addition to the postal en-
ployes. The postmaster's work the past
year or two, in addition to the oversight
and direction of the postal business and
care and maintenance of the government
property, has included the registration OF
alien enemies, aiding and assisting i'll en-
listments in the army and navy, assisting
in the matters of allotments and war risk
insurance and many other activities in
war work
A summary of the receipts and eXpendi-
lures of the Office are given herewith: