Idaho County free press., 1924-10-16
POSTAL BIZ IS
.ON INCREASE
SAYS UNCLE s.
Review Shows Wonderful
Improvement In The Postal
Income And Distribution


grown by leaps and bounds in the last
three years, taxing to the extreme
all the efforts and energies of the
postal organizations and the existing
appropriations, according to a COM
munication received by Postmaster
J. p. Eimers from Postmaster Gener-
al Harry S. New.
But despite costly inaugurations,
such as the air mail service, and the
necessity to meet a changing condi-
tion brought by the automobile which
has increased suburban population
and caused people to live further a
part the postal deficit has been re-
duced from SSS, 100000 to about $751;
100000. This has been accomplished
says the communication, by better
business methods and the application
of rigid economy.
Another factor responsible for the
great burden which was placed on the
organization was the postal receipt
increase, in the past three years, of
$1SS, 8,725. The annual receipts
last year reached the sum of S527,-
100000.
Use 800 Dogs
To meet the postal expansion and
service improvements, regular en-
ployes have been added to the service
in the number of 14,994; there have
been established 191 classified sub
stations in the cities and 537 contract
postal stations. New carrier service
in 104 villages has been established
and new cities service in 1854 small
cities.
Among the difficulties met the
communication mentions the Alaskan
mail delivery problem, where 6S dog
routes are run in relays. "And alto
gether," in the language of the com.
munication, 'we employ about 300
dogs"
Air Mail
Speaking of the air mail service:
"Daily air mail service on a route
from New York to San Francisco has
been established. The postage paid by
the public is eight cents per ounce for
each of the three zones. The value of
such service to business and to the
development of the science of aero
nautics is readily seen and fully ap-
preciated by the public. The schedule
is every day, including Sundays and
holidays, and the time for the trip is
"a hours and 45 minutes going west,
and 81 hours and 80 minutes coming
east. New air mail stamps, eight
cents, sixteen cents and twenty-fOur
cents. have been issued.
''This is the longest air line in the
world and is the only route upon
which night as we'll as day flying is
employed. Air mail as recommended
by Postmaster General Hays and
Work and put into operation by me
on July 1, 1924, by and with the ap-
proval of President Coolidge and con-
gress.
"An airplane service was establish
ed and run as an experiment in Alas
ka, covering a route from Fairbanks
to McGrath, which ordinarily takes
the dog sleds 80 days in each direc-
ton. Larger cargoes of mail were
carried than possible to accommodate
in the dog sleds, and the round trip
was made in one day, going out in the
morning and back in the evening,
two and half hours to three hours
being required for each journey Of the
plane.
'eThe outcome of this experiment
will undoubtedly be the rather uni
versal application of the airplane to
do the postal service in Alaska"
The following paragraphs will give
the reader some idea of the enormous
amount of work that the organiza-
tion does:
''The volume of business done by
the postoffice service cannot be ex-
pressed in bulk with accuracy. If
the $527 100000, which was received
last year could be expressed in terms
of letters, each bearing a two-cent
stamp, it would mean twenty-eight
billion. six hundred million letters.
"But it is represented in part by
other classes of mail which are more
bulky, such as parcel post, Second
and third class matter.
"Such pieces of mail as must be in
recorded may be known
with accuracy. For intance, we have
the following totals for the past year;
Special delivery pieces of mail, So,-
$4,000.
Registered pieces of mail, 91,13s,-
s62
G. o. d. pieces of mail, 46,90O,572.
Insured mail, 14S,716,353.
The amount of money orders issued
was S1.6O2 ,956, 100, an increase in
three years of 2235 per cent ON do
nestle and 47.93 per cent on foreign.
(Continued on Page Eight