Rensselaer Union, Volume 7, Number 9, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 November 1874 — Report of the third Assistant Postmaster-General. [ARTICLE]

Report of the third Assistant Post-master-General.

Washington. Nov. 11. Hon. E. M. Barber, Third Assistant Postmasler-General, has completed his annual report. It shows that during the last fiscal year there were issued to Postmasters, for sale to the public, 032,733,000 adhesive postage stamps of the value of f 17,275,242; of plain stamped envelopes about: 05,000,000, valued at $1,927,052; of stamped envelopes bearing a return request, 52,000,(MM), valued at $1,733,738; of newspaper-wrappers some 19,000,(KM), valued at $220,000, and of postal-cards 91,000,000. The increase in value of the ordinary’ issues over the preceding year was $1,668,488, or over 8 per cent. These figures represent the cost of manufacture added to the postal value. It is estimated that for the fiscal year ending dune 30, 1876, there will be required to defray the cost of adhesive postage stamps $149,764: of stamped envelopes and wrappers $446,520; of post-al-cards $159,806; and of advertising $115,000. The number of stamps, etc., issued each year increases at a uniform rate of about 10 per cent, per annum, but in consequence of more advantageous contracts having been effected the estimate for the above items is some $31,000 less than the sum appropriated for them for the curienl fiscal year. The Dead-Letter Division received during the past year 4,601,773 letters, representing an actual or nominal value of $4 ,637,429, exclusive of jewelry 7 and other property, which class of inclosures is treated as possessing no money value that can with correctness be determined. One million three hundred and ninetytwo thousand two hundred and twenty-four letters, representing $3,909,<868, were delivered to the owners or writers, including 225,893 foreign letters, wliicli Were returned unopened to the countr:t - !!■ un yv lienee they came. Of the remainder some 2,600,000 were either worthless, containing circulars, etc., or could not be delivered and were destroyed. The rest are filed sor r reclamation or are in the hands of Postmasters for delivery. --- . The Third Assistant strongly’ recommends that provision be made by law for furnishing to each and every’ Postniaster throughout tlie country indelible ink and other requisites for effectually' canceling postage stamps and for. postmarking. None of the postoffices are now- furnished by’ the department with any such articles for the protectionof tlie Government. Mr. Barber estimates that the proportion of washed stamps used again in payment of postage is 5 per cent, of the value of all the stamps sold each year, causing an annual loss of $1,000,000 to the revenue of the department. The report describes the plan devised by the Third Assistant, and approved by the Postmaster-General, for collecting newspaper postage under the Prepayment law, which is to go into effect next J anuary. This system provides, in brief, for the prepayment by stamps affixed to a memorandum of mailing, or, in other words, to a stub in a book retained by the Postmaster at the mailing office, a receipt showing the weight of the matter and the amount paid being given by’ the Postmaster to the person mailing the same. The stamps affixed to the stub to be canceled by a cutting-punch. It is expected that, notwithstanding the reduction of rates by the new law, this system of compulsory prepayment of newspaper postage will yield a larger revenue than , has ever been collected. Comprehensive inquiry seems to warrant the belief that in the' city of New York alope not less than $609,000 per annum will be paid, a sum w hich is little less than one-half of the entire revenue from newspaper postage throughout the United States during the fiscal year. It is, however, impossible to estimate the actual increase for the whole country*, OYving to that provision of the law which allows free mail circulation of newspapers in counties in which they’ are printed. . ...