The Lexington intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1901-1949, 1921-12-02
12,OOO,OOO,OOO LETTERS
Startling Postal Service Figur-
es Are Given by Postmaster
General HAYS.

Declaring that the United States
Postal Service vas the largest dis
tinctive business in the world, Post
master General viii H. Hays gave
some remarkable facts and figures
concerning the department in a
speech recently. After announcing
the establishing of a Welfare Depart
ment, he said:
Men forget that it is a fact that
the United States Postal Service is
the biggest distinctive business in the
world; that we have $4,000 employ
es Immediately connected with the OBJ
Grafton, serving 100000 0 custo-
mers. The Post Office Department
spends 5000, 100000 annually, and the
annual turnover, the in and out of
the business which measures n bus
mess is more than $4,000, 10000.
we have the largest express COM
pany in the world, handling over g.
5~OO,OOO,OOO packages this year. We
have over 100000 depositors in pos
tai savings, the largest savings bank
in the world, with rs per cent of
them of foreign extraction. There is
twice as much postal business done
in New York City alone as in the
entire Dominion of Canada. 1t has
increased 2S9 per cent since 1912 with
no increase in postal facilities since
that date.
I'm every single hour of the TWEEN
ty-four 100000 letters are mailed:
in every day Of the year $4,000, 900
letters are sent, and this year more
than 10000, 100000 letters will be
handled. Every time you buy a post
age stamp you are a part of a to-
tai of $4,000, 100000 annually.
There are LIPS, 600, 900 postal
cards sold each year. Debts to the
amount of $1,000, OOO, 900 are salts
fed each year through the sale of
l5O,OOO,OO0 money orders. The earth
can be circled ten times with the
two rails on which the mail is carri-
ed in the Uuited State. We use e.
nough lead pencils in one year to-
place one behind the ear of 100000
persons. We use $4,000 quarts Of
mucilage a year-and aren't stuck
up yet.
I'VE use 100000 miles of Irvine
every year, enough to girdle the
earth thirty times. In New York
City alone there are 100000 letters
readdressed daily by clerks from city
directories; and there are 100000
undelivered letters handled annually
by the Division of Dead Letters-all
owing to the neglect of the public
in addressing the mail.
Just imagine the tremendous cost
OF this service to the taxpayers due
to the carelessness of mailers. Every
day $4,000 rural carriers 20 out in
the morning serving six and a half
million families, and before shutdown
every day travel 1,17O,OOO miles-a
total of S53,OO0,OOO miles every wear
over the highways of the country.
The figures stagger the imagination.
Fundamental changes are being made
daily in the operation of the SER
vice. We will save $15,OOO,OO in the :
current year from appropriations al =
ready made by Congress without any
ietriment to the service.
When we took hold Of the admin
Istration Of the post office it SEEM \
to me that the field in which the
greatest progress eouh be made in
The shortest time was in improving d
he morale of the service. / was sure b
hat by merely introducing a differ s.
spirit into the relations between v
department and the employees, by e,
them more comfortable and l.
giving them assurance about their fu- 81
.ure commensurate with their worth il
md Importance as matter Of simple
ustice-by merely doing this / felt 1,
confident that we could accomplish S
he equivalent of adding many thous- l!
.nds of employees to the department. 81
IND, in proof of the good in human p,
azure and for the benefit Of public ia
nd private employers everywhere OF
may contemplate the same step,
GU will be glad to know this assump- tn
is correct. The most important a
lement in any service is the spirit ed
I the men doing it, and we are get D,
ing away in the post office service cl,
rom any idea that labor is a com oil
ra
Il am determined in all serious. nc
to go great lengths to devlop in ia
he department the spirit that we hi
$4,000 partners" co