Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1924-07-30
WORLDS BIGGEST BUSINESS.
Uncle Sans Mail Service Takes
Leading Place.

IettllnS race.
Every year the United States postal
service handles 3,000,000,000 arti-
cles.' Every year the increase in
number of articles in the mails is
more than a billion. OF the total
mail submitted, 2,00O,0OO,OOO
pieces are letters.
Every year the postal service, on
an average, delivers 112 letters to
every man, woman and child in the
United States. Atlas would have had
a tough time indeed lifting the an
nual load of letters alone that the
postal service moves. 1t is estimated
to total 1873, SO tons.
Every second of the twenty-four
hours of every day, $50 letters are
dropped into letter boxes; every min
ute, 1884, and every hour 400
600
Nearly $4,000 postmen, members
of the greatest single business, daily
delivers mail to millions of homes
and business houses in American
cities. The farmer is not neglected.
To-day 1852 rural routes supply
mail to 6,504,592 families, or 49,
921, 1913 individuals.
Out West, the postal service has
established a veritable automobile
railroad 125 miles long to the fruit
full Uintah CUtah) valley to which no
private rail line has penetrated.
On February 25, 1924, the Post
ONCE Department had more than
$4,000 in its employ Besides the
1857 letter carriers, there are
62,400 clerks, 44,417 rural carriers,
51,393 postmasters, and 21,316 rail
way postal clerks. The 81 1898 post
masters run as many Offices. There is
one postofiice for every SIS square
miles Of territory. The 351, 600 full
and part time postal employees are
paid approximately ,622,517 an
nually for their services
Almost every conceivable type OF
transportation is used to move the
mails railroads, steamboats,, auto
mobiles, airplanes, motor boats,
wagons, horses, pneumatic tubes, belt
conVeyors, motorcycles, bicycles, the
sled OF the Arctic, and even the dog
car
The dog car" is an Alaskan inven-
ton. An abandoned railroad runs
out of Nome to a mining camp. The
enterprising Arctic Circle mailman
bitches his dog team, to a hand car
and scoots up the mountain side with
the post Last year the air mail
planes, flew 100000 miles. carry
ing 65,295, 800 letters.
Although inter5telIar service has
not yet been established by the Post
! Office Department, it is a fact the
routes covered by the railway mail
cars last year reached the planetary
proportions of 219,171,224 miles.
This transportation cost $S5,194,239.
The postal service now uses 5,096
postal cars.
Automobiles are running a race for
numerical supremacy with the rail
way postal cars. There are now 1890
in operation carrying the mails
The American people make good
use of the mOney-order system. too.
In 1928, the amount of money sent
by money orders was $1,376,000,0O0
There were more than 172,000,0OO
orders issued. These figures do not
include the funds sent abroad by in
ternational money orders, which to-
tailed $34,118,OO0. At the same time.
$19,255,000 in money orders issued
abroad were paid in the United
States,
Then there is registered, insured,
and c. 0, D. mail. People are
anxious that certain mail be given
every protection, and 88,741,OOO
articles were registered last year In
surance against loss was given to
140,545,000 pieces Of mail last year,
while 40,427,000 were sent with the
well-known mark, &C. 0. D."