Rensselaer Republican, Volume 16, Number 9, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 November 1883 — POSTAL AFFAIRS. [ARTICLE]

POSTAL AFFAIRS.

The Railway Mail Service—Postal Estimates for the Ensuing Year. Statistics from the Principal Free Delivery \ Supt. Thompson, of the Railway Mail Service, has submitted his annual report to Postmaster General Gresham. The number of railway post office lines in 1883 was 993, an increase of twenty-four ov.er 1882; the number of miles of route for which the railroads were paid was 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 3,981,582,280, an increase of 1,429,992 over the preceding year. The Superintendant asjts an increase of 8318,000 in the appropriation for the railway postal clerks, and $50,000 increase for the postal cars. The estimated amount of postal revenues for the fiscal year beginning July 1 next, including $430,000 estimated receipts from the money-order business, is $47,404,078. The estimated expenditures for the same time are •8»O,0t52,l8». nue of $2,968,111. The estimate for the compensation of Postmasters next year is $12,250000, an increase of $3,000,000; for clerks in the postoffices, $4,900,600, an increase of $125,000; for free-delivery service, $300,000; railroad 1 mail transportation, $12,750,000, an increase of $1,050,000; steamboat routes, $625000, an increase of 825,000; star routes, 85,600,000, an increase of $3,500,060; railway postal service, $1,625,000, an increase of $50,000; and for railway costal clerks, $4,295,289, an increase of $318,169.

The annual report Of the Superintendent of the free delivery letter-carrier system shows that 1(44 offices, employing 3,680 carriers, were in operation at the close of ’the fiscal year ended June 30, 1883. During the year 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. The cost of the service for the year was $3,173,336, an increase of more than 29 per cent, over the cost for 1882. The average cost per piece for the matter handled was 2 4-10 mills, an increase of 'i-10 of a mill per piece over the cost the previous year. The excess of postage on local matter over the total cost of the service was $1,021,894. There were collected and delivered during the year 791,658,699 letters, 261,718,952 postal-cards, and 268,319,847 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.... .258,890,064 Brooklyn 34,-615,417i0maha 4,6)8,633 Chicago 136,886,386 Philadelphia..l6o,o3o,9o9 Cincinnati.... 29,756.800 Pittsburgh... 15,111,853 Cleveland 20,150,678i5t. Louis 46,675,459 Columbus, 0.. 6,622,634 St. Pan! 9,193,215 Dayton. 0.... 5,436,442:5an Francisco 24,727,771 Detroit 18,015,463 Sanduskv, O. 492,597 s Indianapolis.. li,263,929:Springfield, O 2,135,759 Louisville..... 16,560,264|T0!ed®. 0 7,010,801 Milwaukee.... 13,858,372 Washington.. 15,231,674 ' Nashville. s,B3l,9o9|Zanesville, (h ,'1,503,626