Democratic Sentinel, Volume 7, Number 41, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 November 1883 — POSTAL AFFAIRS. [ARTICLE]

POSTAL AFFAIRS.

The Railway Mail Service—Postal Estimates for the Ensuing Year. Statistics from the Principal Free Delivery Offices. Supt. Thompson, of the Railway Mail Service, has submitted his annual report to Postmaster General Gresham. JThe number of railway post office lines in 1883 was 993, an increase of twenty-four over 1882; the pumber of miles of route for which the railroads were paid wks 109,827, an increase of 9,264 over 1882. The number of miles of railroads traveled by clerks was 86,180,430, an increase of 10,438,992. The number of pieces of mail matter handled was 3,981,682,280, an increase of 1,429,992 over the preceding year. The Superintendant asks an increase of $318,000 in the appropriation for the railway postal clerks, and $60,000 increase for the postal cars. The estimated amount of postal revenue* for the fiscal year beginning July 1 next, including $430,600 estimated receipts from the money-order business, is $47,104,078. The estimated expenditures for the same time are $50,062,189, leaving a deficiency in the revenue of $2,968,111. The estimate for tbe compensation of Postmasters next year is $12,250000, an increase of $3,000,000; for clerks in the postoffices, $4,900,000, an Increase of $125,000; for free-delivery service, $300,000; railroad mail transportation, $12,750,000, an increase of $1,050,000; steamboat routes, $625000, an increase of $26,000; star routes, $5,600,000, an increase of $3,500,000; railway postal service, $1,625,000, an increase of $60,000; and for railway uostal clerks, $4,295,289, an increase of $318,169. The annual report of the Superintendent of the free delivery letter-carrier system shows that 104 offices, employing 3,‘680 carriers, were in operation at the close of the fiscal yeai ended June 30, 1883. During the yeai 1,324,627,701 pieces of mail matter were delivered and collected, an increase of nearly 16 per cent, over the number of pieces handled the preceding year. Tne cost of the service for the year was $3,173,336, an increase of more than 28 per oent. over the cost for 1882. The average cost per piece for the matter handled was 2 4-10 mills, an increase of 1-10 of a mill pei piece over the cost the previous year. The excess of postage on local matter over tbe total oost of the service was $1,021,894. There were collected and delivered during the yeai 791,658,699 letters, 261,718,952 postal-cards, and 268,819,847 newspapers. The following table shows the aggregate number of pieces of mail matter handled at a number of the principal cities: Baltimore.... 39,212,496 New Orleans. 11,763,360 Boston. 93,587,018 New York.... .268,890,064 Brooklyn 84,815,447 Omaha. 4,«>8,683 Chicago. 136,886,.186 Philadelphia..l6o,o3o,9o* Cincinnati.... 29,756,300 Pittsburgh... 15,111,853 Cleveland..... 20,150,678 St. Louis 46,675,4*9 Columbus, 0.. 6.622,834 St. Paul 9,193,216 Dayton, 0.... 6,436,442 San Francisco 24,727,771 Detroit 18,015,463'Sandusky, O. 192,597 Indianapolis.. 11,263,929 Springfield, O 2,135,759 Louisville..... 16,560,964T01ed0.0 7,010,801 Milwaukee.... 13.868,872 Washington.. 16,231,674 Nashville. 5,831.909 Zanesville, O. 1,503,624