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OF THE
POSTMASTER-GENERAL
UNITED STATES;
BEING PART OF
THE MESSAGE AND DOCUMENTS
COMMUNICATED TO THE
TWO HOUSES OF CONGRESS
AT THE
BEGINNING OF THE SECOND SESSION OF THE FIFTY-FIRST CONGRESS.
WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.
HE6313 A 2
1887/90
DOCUMENTS DEPT.
CONTENTS.
REPORT OF THE POSTMASTER-GENERAL...
Bills passed, advanced, or placed upon the calendar, 1; administrative changes for the
better, 2; growth of the Department, 3; recommendations and needed reforms, 3;
a quickened service, 4; quick connections, early trains, loyal service, 4; mer.
cantile bodies assisting the Department, 5; increased service in the West, 5;
time saved in many places, 5; added facilities on one-fifth of railway post-office
lines, 6; city distribution on trains, 6; "Nixie" matter sent home, 6; increased
star and railroad service, 7; the quickest service not yet attained, 7; the people
have a right to postal telegraph service, 7; public sentiment strongly favors a
postal telegraph, 8; objections outlined, 8; the mail service would not have been
extended by private corporations, 9; organized capital and labor approve, 10; the
English system a success, 10; the American plan would certainly be successful, 11;
savings-banks at post-offices, 11; Department urged to establish savings banks, 11;
savings-banks abroad, 12; British savings-banks, 12; new plan in postal savings.
banks, 13; lotteries and the mails, 14; lottery instructions issued, 14; other schemes
of chance, 14; decrease of postal business at New Orleans, 15; attitude of express
companies, 15; applies to foreign papers, 15; "censorship" of the mails, 16; inde-
cent literature, 16; the statute on the subject of exclusion, 17; Postmaster-General
obliged to act when applied to, 18; the safety of mail matter, 18; value of registered
mail, 18; value of ordinary mail, 19; percentage of loss, 19; the foreign mail service,
20; estimated profit from foreign mails, 20; Australian mails, 20; foreign parcels-
post, 20; sea post-offices between the United States and Germany, 21; carrying the
foreign mail, 21; United States dependent upon foreign capital for transportation
of foreign mails, 21; amendment of shipping bill, 22; lower rates on foreign letters,
22; foreign postage low already, 22; reduction of postage should begin with domes-
tic rates, 23; postal cards with paid reply, 23; no way to pay return foreign postage
on letters, 23; parcels-post, 23; express companies have short hauls, Department the
long ones, 24; one-cent postage must take precedence, 24; losses on "sample-copy"
business, 24; illustration of loss on sample copies, 25; amendment of law recom-
mended, 25; postage on paper-covered books, 26; amendment urged making all
books third-class matter, 26; curiosities of the dead-letter office, 27; a large portion
of failures to deliver chargeable to the public, 27; one-half of all undelivered let-
ters not signed, 27; a million and a half of value in dead letters, 27; how to prevent
mistakes, 28; collection of curiosities, 28; the money-order system, 28; increased
number of money-orders, 28; sending their savings home, 29; money-orders to Chili
and Ecuador, 29; expenses of other departments heaped on the Post-Office Depart-
ment, 29; bulky matter in mails, 20; free matter, 30; other departments should pay
their share of service, 30; the postal service might be self-sustaining, 30; free mat-
ter, 30; what the postage would have been on free matter at public rates, 31; ap-
pointments and removals, 31; Presidential removals, 31; fourth class removals, 32;
all appointments during the last two years, 32; appointments during the last year,
33; appointments for last two years and for 1886, 33; Congressmen elected by the
people speak for them in the Departments, 34; accused postmasters get a fair hear-
ing, 35; letter to inspectors, 35; inspectors' reports confidential, 36; civil service of
the Post-Office Department, 37; examinations for railway mail service and inspect-
ors should be more difficult, 37; one-fourth or one-third of all examined fail to give
satisfaction, 37; certain plan of promotion needed, 38; many statements as to re-
movals not true, 39; the number of post-offices, 39; large increase in number of
offices, 39; free-delivery experiment, 40; village free delivery, 40; to save the time
of carriers, 40; house letter-boxes, 40; combination of three models suggested, 41;
postal districts and supervisors, 41; better supervision needed over post-offices, 41;
Fourth Assistant Postmaster-General recommended, 42; experts and improved
955550
I
Page
1
REPORT OF THE POSTMASTER-GENERAL-Continued.
book-keeping, 42; better accounting needed, 42; commission on accounts at work,
42; a postal museum, 43; liberal contributions, 43; Postal Guide and library, 44;
Guide should not contain advertisements, 44; library should be improved, 44; pneu-
matic tubes, 44; the pay of railroads, 45; inquiry should be made as to rates, 45;
needed public buildings, 45; eight-story building unsuitable, 45; ground floor for
post-office work, 46; change of plan recommended, 47; new buildings ten for one,
47; greater economy in buildings, 47; a new post-office building for New York, 48;
New York building inadequate, 48; might be close to railroad station, 49; increase
of business at New York, 50; the count and weight of mail, 50; complete data col-
lected, 50; items of mail matter, 51; shall letter-postage be reduced to one cent! 53;
profit on 2-cent letter postage, 53; large expenditures fixed by law and can not be
controlled by Department, 53; total revenue from letter postage, 54; free work for
Executive Departments, 54; loss of one million dollars on paper-covered books, 55;
deficit could be removed by legislation, 56; increased business results from lower
rates, 56; certain conditions assumed and results shown, 57; service self-sustaining
in 1895 under present conditions, 60; profits shown with certain assumed savings,
61; profits shown with free matter paid for, 62; the financial statement, 65; esti-
mates for the fiscal years ending June 30, 1891 and 1892, 69; not practicable, 69;
personal, 71.
APPENDIX:
APPENDIX A.-Estimates for 1892....
Pago.
73
APPENDIX B.-Legislation and proposed legislation affecting the postal service..
APPENDIX C.-Report of the house letter-box commission....
84
90
APPENDIX D.-Lottery act.......
APPENDIX E.-Argument of the Postmaster-General on the Post-Office Department
and city post-office building question.......
96
101
APPENDIX F.-Letter of Mr. William Potter in regard to ocean post-offices..
APPENDIX G.-Argument for a limited post and telegraph...
108
110
APPENDIX H.-Correspondence on the eight-hour question..
APPENDIX I.-The first century of the postal service..
REPORT OF THE ASSISTANT ATTORNEY-GENERAL.............
Buildings under lease......
Division of correspondence...
129
134
139
141
EXHIBIT A.-List of claims for loss by fire, burglary, etc., for the fiscal year ended June
30, 1890, acted upon by the Postmaster-General...
REPORT OF THE CHIEF POST-OFFICE INSPECTOR..........
EXHIBIT A.-Number and character of complaints concerning domestic registered mail...
EXHIBIT B.-Record of registered cases referred, investigated, and closed during the year.
EXHIBIT C.-Record of registered cases referred in previous years investigated and closed
during the year ended June 30, 1890..
146
162
EXHIBIT E.-Statement of complaints investigated and results of complaints investigated,
ordinary letters...
178
EXHIBIT F.-States and countries between which registered mail was passing, and number
of cases in which investigation determined that there had been no loss.............
EXHIBIT F1.-States and countries between which unregistered mail was passing, and num.
ber of cases in which investigation showed that there had been no loss........
EXHIBIT F2.-States and countries between which unregistered mail was passing, and num-
ber of cases in which losses could not be located......
182
181
183
EXHIBIT G.-Number and nature of original miscellaneous cases referred to inspectors...
EXHIBIT G1.-Disposal by office of chief inspector of miscellaneous cases...
EXHIBIT G2.-Recapitulation.....
185
186
EXHIBIT H.-Statement showing treatment of cases in which collections or recoveries of
amounts lost were made......
EXHIBIT I.--Statement showing number, classification, and disposal of cases of arrests made
by inspectors......
REPORT OF THE TOPOGRAPHER OF THE POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT
REFORT OF THE FIRST ASSISTANT POSTMASTER-GENERAL
Appointment division:
Number of post-offices established and discontinued, postmasters appointed, and increase
or decrease, as compared with previous year ...
Increase or decrease in number of offices, arranged by States and Territories.
TABLE A.-Operations of the appointment division
TABLE B.-Presidential post-offices, and number of offices by classes...
TABLE C.-Operations of appointment division as to fourth-class offices..
Page.
195
197
198
200
201
202
203
TABLE D.-Appointments at Presidential post-offices....
Division of salaries and allowances:
Duties assigned to salary and allowance division......
Operations of salary and allowance division, 204; adjustments of Presidential post-
masters' salaries, 207; classification of Presidential post-offices, 208; number of
offices, aggregate salaries Presidential, and aggregate of gross receipts by classes,
208; the several adjustments of Presidential salaries, 209; summary of adjustments
of Presidential salaries, 209; number of Presidential offices, aggregate salaries, and
aggregate gross receipts of the four quarters ended March 31, 1890, 210; review of
the salaries of postmasters of the third, fourth, and fifth classes, under the act of
March 3, 1883,210; boxes and box-rents, 211; key deposits, 211; allowances for rent,
fuel, and light for third-class offices, 212; legislation recommended, 213; estimates for
compensation to postmasters, 215; estimates for clerks in post-offices, 216; estimates
for rent, fuel, and light for first and second-class offices, 219; estimate for rent, fuel,
and light for third-class offices, 220; estimates for miscellaneous and incidental
items, including furniture for first and second-class offices, 222; estimates for adver
tising for first and second-class offices, 222; summary of estimates, 223.
Division of bonds and commissions.....
Work of bond division..
Commissions issued.
Penalties of bonds..
Division of post-office supplies...
Work of supply division, 227; number of packages sent, 227; quantities of articles fur-
nished, 227; items of clerical labor, 228; appropriations and expenditures for sup
ply division, 229; twine, 229; wrapping paper, 229; stamps, ink, and pads, 229;
letter balances and scales, 230; stationery, first and second class offices, 230; sta-
tionery, Post-Office Department, 230; facing slips, card slide labels, blanks, and
books, 230; packing boxes, paste, sawdust, and hardware, 231; printing and bind-
ing, 231; summary of estimates, 231.
Free delivery system
New free-delivery offices, 233; increase in carriers' appropriation, 233; comparative re-
sults for 1889 and 1890, 234; excess of local postage over the cost of service, 234;
growth of system, 235; local postage and pieces of mail handled, 235; diverse re-
sults and explanation, 235; changes in existing laws recommended, 236; the eight-
hour law, 237; free-delivery stations, 237; equipments, 237; estimates and appro
priations, 238.
Concluding remarks.....
TABLE A.-Number of carriers in the service, amount of mail delivered and collected,
number of pieces handled, cost of service, and postage for local matter
REPORT OF THE SECOND ASSISTANT POSTMASTER-GENERAL
Mail service in general, 257; Table 1, comparison of star and steam-boat service, 259; Table
2, percentage of increase or decrease in estimates for inland mail service, 1881 to
1892, 259. Mail service in detail: Star service, 259; regulation wagon service, 261;
special office service, 262; mail-messenger service, 262; steam-boat service, 263;
railroad transportation, 264. Railway mail service: Railway post-office cars, 265;
railroad service, including railway post-office cars, 266; railway post-office clerks,
266; transportation of supplies, 267; provision for the families of railway postal
clerks killed on duty, 267; special facilities, 268; mail equipments, 269; mail-bag
repair shop, 269; lock repair shop, 270. Division of inspection, 271; miscellane
ous, 272.
TABLE A.-Annual rate of expenditure, appropriation, and estimates......
223
224
225
226
227
233
239
240
255
273
TABLE B.-Length of routes, annual rate of expenditure, and number of miles traveled per
annum, in star, steam-boat, and railroad service..
274
TABLE C.-Statement of railroad service ....
278
TABLE D.-Statement of steam-boat service.
363
TABLE E.-Increase and decrease in star, steam-boat, and railroad service..
374
TABLE F.-Statement of deductions, fines, and remissions..
380