People's Pilot, Volume 4, Number 22, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 November 1894 — THE POSTAL SERVICE. [ARTICLE]

THE POSTAL SERVICE.

Information Furalihed by the Flrat A*slstant Postmaster General. Washington, Nov. 12. —First Assistant Postmaster General Frank H. Jones, of Illinois, who has supervision of the divisions of salaries and allowances, free delivery, post office supplies, money order system, dead letter office and correspondence, has submitted his annual report for the year ended June ; 20 last to the postmaster general. The report is a very interesting one and covers the most important branches of the service. Mr. Jones reviews his recommendation of last year as to the growing evil of boycotting of post offices. He says: “The compensation of postmasters at post offices of the fourth class consists mainly of the cancellation of postage stamps upon matter actually mailed at their offices. In many cases, owing to political differences, selfish motives of storekeepers, petty jealousies or personal feeling from other causes, the compensation of postmasters is serious curtailed by collecting and mailing letters on the cars, or sending them to an adjoining post office for mailing, thereby depriving the fourth-class postmaster of his cancellations, and consequently reducing his salary and depriving first and second-class postmasters of their sale of stamps, thereby reducing the receipts and office allowances. This is carried to a grievous extent in some communities, and is such an interference with the usual and regular disposition of the mails as in my judgment calls for legislation by congress." The report shows the total allowance for clerks hire to have been $8,970,331, and $5,719,900 on account of salaries to postmasters at presidential offices, of which there were 3,402. The gross receipts of those offices was $58,685,025 for the year. New York has the largest number of post offices of any state, leading with 286, and Pennsylvania second with 248. Sixteen million dollars were appropriated on account of the postmasters’ salaries this year, and Mr. Jones estimates that $16,500,000 will be sufficient for the next fiscal year. Mr. Jones suggests that the experimental free delivery in towns and villages be discontinued at the close of the current fiscal year. He says the proposed system of rural free delivery would result in an additional cost to the government of about $20,000 for the first year, and he is not in favor of the scheme.