The Project Gutenberg eBook, The American Postal Service, by Louis Melius

THE AMERICAN POSTAL SERVICE

History of the Postal Service from the Earliest Times

The American System Described with Full Details of Operation

A Fund of Interesting Information upon All Postal Subjects

By
LOUIS MELIUS
Washington, D. C.

Second Edition Revised and Enlarged
Copyright 1917 Louis Melius

NATIONAL CAPITAL PRESS, INC., WASHINGTON, D. C.

Postmaster General Burleson

Biographical Sketches of the Postmaster General and His Four Assistants

Albert Sidney Burleson, of Austin, Tex., Postmaster General, was born June 7, 1863, at San Marcos, Tex.; was educated at Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, Baylor University (of Waco), and University of Texas. Was admitted to the bar in 1884; was Assistant City Attorney of Austin in 1885, ‘86, ‘87, ‘88, ‘89 and ‘90; was appointed by the Governor of Texas, Attorney of the Twenty-Sixth Judicial District in 1891; was elected to said office, 1892, ‘94 and ‘96; was elected to the 56th, 57th, 58th, 59th, 60th, 61st, 62d, and 63d Congresses; appointed Postmaster General March 4, 1913, and confirmed March 6, 1913.

John C. Koons, First Assistant Postmaster General, entered the service as a Railway Postal Clerk; was transferred to Washington and made Post Office Inspector, subsequently made Chief of the Division of Salaries and Allowances and member of the Parcel Post Commission, in which latter connection his services were considered of especial value and importance. Appointed Chief Post Office Inspector and upon the resignation of the late First Assistant Postmaster General, Daniel C. Roper, was named to succeed him. His legal residence is in Carroll Co., Md.

Otto Praeger, Second Assistant Postmaster General, was born in Victoria, Tex., 1871. Legal residence, San Antonio, Tex. Took a course of instruction in the University of Texas and was a student on political economy under David F. Houston now Secretary of Agriculture. Engaged in the newspaper business at San Antonio in 1887—San Antonio Light and San Antonio Express; was for a time city clerk of said city; was engaged in newspaper work as Washington correspondent when appointed Postmaster of Washington, D. C., and in August, 1915, was appointed Second Assistant to succeed Hon. Joseph Stewart.

Alexander Monroe Dockery, Third Assistant Postmaster General, is a native of Missouri, born in Daviess County, educated at Macon Academy; studied medicine, graduated and practiced it for a while but later engaged in the banking business. Served in Congress from March 3, 1883, to March 3, 1899. Member of Committee of Appropriations, twelve years; Committee Post Offices and Post Roads, four years; Governor of Missouri from 1901 to 1905; was author of the bill extending the special delivery system to all post offices; also extending free delivery service to small cities; advocated the first appropriation for rural delivery. Chairman of the commission which bore his name, constituted by Congress for administrative reforms in the conduct of public business, and author of the act creating a new accounting system for the Treasury Department and many other public measures which have made his name familiar to the public and political life of the country.

James I. Blakslee, Fourth Assistant Postmaster General, was born at Mauch Chunk, Pa., December 17, 1870. Public school education, supplemented with special courses at Bethlehem Preparatory School, Cheltenham Military Academy and High School, Pottstown, Pa.; was connected with the Lehigh Valley and Pennsylvania railroads as telegraph operator and assistant yardmaster; Lieutenant, Company E, Eighth Regiment, National Guards, 1897; commissioned same rank and regiment, U. S. Volunteers, and appointed quartermaster and commissary, Reserve Hospital Corps, U. S. Army, during the Spanish-American War. Removed to Lehighton in 1899. Chairman Democratic Committee of Carbon County, 1905. Assemblyman, Pennsylvania Legislature, 1907-09 term, and subsequently made Secretary Democratic State Committee, where his organizing ability won him national recognition.

PREFACE

This little work on postal affairs aims to familiarize postal employes and others with the operations of the Post Office Department in all its varied and numerous details. No attempt was made to cover the wide field of postal activity and inquiry for which a much larger book and much greater space would be required. It is simply meant to be a book of reference, a sort of hand-book on postal subjects for busy people who may not care to read lengthy accounts or stories which a few paragraphs might sufficiently explain, or care to wrestle with columns of figures which are best given in official reports and chiefly valuable to public men for legislative purposes, for comparison and survey.

All necessary postal knowledge of immediate public interest is herein set forth in such compact shape as to acquaint the reader with what he might want to know, or direct his inquiry to sources of wider information if the desire was not satisfied with the reference thereto which this work might afford. In general it will be found amply sufficient for all ordinary purpose as the scope of subjects is as wide as the active operations of the Department at present include.

The special articles referring to subjects of general postal interest cover a considerable range of inquiry and deal more fully with those matters which are but briefly mentioned in that portion devoted to the purely business details of the Department. Much of this material is new and all of it treated so as to interest the reader. These articles on general postal topics in connection with the other matter herewith given, relating to the service, may please some one here and there and perhaps justify the publication of this little contribution to the literature of the time.

L. M.

Washington, D. C.

March 15, 1917.

To Mr. Ruskin McArdle, late Private Secretary to the Postmaster General, now Chief Clerk of the Department, whose friendly regard I have long enjoyed and whose courteous and considerate treatment to all with whom his official relations have brought him into contact, this little volume is respectfully dedicated as a mark of appreciation and a token of deep and lasting esteem.

The Author.

ORGANIZATION OF THE DEPARTMENT

The operations of the postal service are conducted by divisional arrangement with the duties of each accurately and specifically defined. Previous to this administration much of the work of the various bureaus was found to be overlapping each other and exercising a separate authority in correlated matters. These officially related duties were each brought under a proper head, insuring prompt attention and fixing a definite responsibility which has been found to be of recognized benefit and value.

OFFICE OF THE POSTMASTER GENERAL

Postmaster General.—Albert S. Burleson, Texas.
Private Secretary.—Robert E. Cowart, Texas.
Chief Clerk.—Ruskin McArdle, Texas.
Assistant Chief Clerk.—William W. Smith, Tennessee.
Division of Solicitor.—

Solicitor.—William H. Lamar, Maryland.
Assistant Attorneys.—J. Julien Southerland, North Carolina.

Walter E. Kelly, Ohio.
Edwin A. Niess, Pennsylvania.
John A. Nash, Pennsylvania.

Bond Examiner.—Horace J. Donnelly, District of Columbia.
Law Clerk.—Arthur J. Kause, Ohio,

Division of Purchasing Agent.—

Purchasing Agent.—James A. Edgerton, New Jersey.
Chief Clerk.—Frederick H. Austin, Missouri.

Division of Post Office Inspectors.—

Chief Inspector.—George M. Sutton, Missouri.
Chief Clerk.—J. Robert Cox, North Carolina.

Appointment Clerk.—Vacant.
Disbursing Clerk.—William M. Mooney, Ohio.

OFFICE OF THE FIRST ASSISTANT POSTMASTER GENERAL

First Assistant Postmaster General.—John C. Koons, Maryland.
Chief Clerk.—John W. Johnston, New York,
Division of Post Office Service.—

Superintendent.—Goodwin D. Ellsworth, North Carolina.
Assistant Superintendent.—William S. Ryan, New York.

Division of Postmasters’ Appointments.—

Superintendent.—Charles R. Hodges, Texas.
Assistant Superintendent.—Lorel N. Morgan, West Virginia.
Assistant Superintendent.—Simon E. Sullivan, Maryland.

Division of Dead Letters.—

Superintendent.—Marvin M. McLean, Texas.

OFFICE OF THE SECOND ASSISTANT POSTMASTER GENERAL

Second Assistant Postmaster General.—Otto Praeger, Texas.
Chief Clerk.—Eugene R. White, Vermont.
Division of Railway Mail Service.—

General Superintendent.—Wm. I. Denning, Georgia.
Assistant General Superintendent.—George F. Stone, New York.
Chief Clerk.—Chase C. Gove, Nebraska.

Division of Foreign Mails.—

Superintendent.—Robert L. Maddox, Kentucky.
Assistant Superintendent.—Stewart M. Weber, Pennsylvania.
Assistant Superintendent at New York.—Edwin Sands, New York.

Division of Railway Adjustments.—

Superintendent.—James B. Corridon, District of Columbia.
Assistant Superintendent.—George E. Bandel, Maryland.

OFFICE OF THE THIRD ASSISTANT POSTMASTER GENERAL

Third Assistant Postmaster General.—Alexander M. Dockery, Missouri.
Chief Clerk.—William J. Barrows, Missouri.
Division of Finance.—

Superintendent.—William E. Buffington, Pennsylvania.

Division of Postal Savings.—

Director.—Carter B. Keene, Maine.
Assistant Director.—Charles H. Fullaway, Pennsylvania.
Chief Clerk.—Harry H. Thompson, Maryland.

Division of Money Orders.—

Superintendent.—Charles E. Matthews, Oklahoma.
Chief Clerk.—F. H. Rainey, District of Columbia.

Division of Classification.—

Superintendent.—William C. Wood, Kansas.

Division of Stamps.—

Superintendent.—William C. Fitch, New York.

Division of Registered Mails.—

Superintendent.—Leighton V. B. Marschalk, Kentucky.

OFFICE OF THE FOURTH ASSISTANT POSTMASTER GENERAL

Fourth Assistant Postmaster General.—James I. Blakslee, Pennsylvania.
Chief Clerk.—J. King Pickett, Alabama.
Division of Rural Mails.—

Superintendent.—George L. Wood, Maryland.
Assistant Superintendent.—Edgar R. Ryan, Pennsylvania.
Chief Clerk.—Lansing M. Dow, New Hampshire.

Division of Equipment and Supplies.—

Superintendent.—Alfred B. Foster, California.
Assistant Superintendent.—Vacant.
Chief Clerk.—Vacant.

OFFICE OF THE AUDITOR FOR THE POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT

Auditor.—Charles A. Kram, Pennsylvania.
Assistant and Chief Clerk.—Terrence H. Sweeney, Minnesota.
Law Clerk.—Faber Stevenson, Ohio.
Expert Accountant.—Lewis M. Bartlett, Massachusetts.
Electrical Accounting System.—

Chiefs of Division.—

Louis Brehm, Illinois.
Joshua H. Clark, Maryland.
James R. White, District of Columbia.

Miscellaneous Division.—

Chief.—Jasper N. Baker, Kansas.

LATEST FACTS OF POSTAL INTEREST
Report of Postmaster General; Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1917

The long continued agitation between the railroads and the Post Office Department over the method of payment for mail transportation is in process of settlement by actual tests. The contention is whether the basis of payment shall be by weight or by the space used. While the space rate is the higher of the two it lends itself to rational readjustment, and is therefore best for government needs. The tests made show a saving of about $7,000,000 per annum by the space method.

The efficiency standard now required of Postmasters, has it is stated, greatly improved the service and the announced policy of the Department to reappoint all those who render meritorious service has been adhered to and will be continued.

During the year ending June 30, 1917, 38 second class offices were advanced to the first class; 135 third class to second, and 1,203 fourth class to third. Average annual salary of post-office clerks is now $1,142 per annum, city carriers $1,126.50.

Removals of employees for cause are now rarely made, statistics show less than one per cent in both the post office and city carrier service.

It is recommended that where because of unusual conditions, rural carriers cannot be obtained at the maximum rate of pay, advertisements be issued calling for proposals for the performance of such service.

Motor vehicle routes are now in operation on a total length of over 41,000 miles, averaging 54 miles per route, at an average cost of $1,786.49 per route.

There are now 43,463 rural routes in operation, covering 1,112,556 miles. Cost of rural service decreased 0.011 per patron during the year 1917; cost per mile decreased 0.114 cent per mile.

The cost per mile of travel by star-route contractors is $0.1024. Cost per mile of travel by rural carrier is $0.1510. This difference in cost is receiving departmental consideration.

Shipment of parcel post packages increased 14 per cent in 1917, the increase representing more than 25,000,000 pieces. Cooperation of postmasters in bringing the insurance feature particularly that of partial damage prominently to public notice, has resulted in an increase of over 8,000,000 insured parcels over the showing of 1916.

Growing carelessness in addressing letter mail resulted in 13,000,000 letters being found undeliverable during 1917, an increase of 21 per cent.

The report shows an audited surplus for the year of $9,836,211 the largest in the history of the department. The increase over the preceding year was 5.66 per cent, while the increase in cost was 4.45 per cent. The audited revenues for the year amounted to $329,726,116.

Remarkable growth in postal savings is shown. In 1917 there were 674,728 depositors with a total of $131,954,696 to their credit. The average balance for each depositor was $195.57. This was an increase over the previous year of 71,791 in the number of depositors, $45,934,811 in the amount and $52.90 in the per capita balance.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I

CHAPTER II

Questions of Finance. Postal Revenue—How Derived and Expended

CHAPTER III

Departmental Operations—General and Detailed Descriptions and Cost of Service

CHAPTER IV

Special Articles

CHAPTER V

Miscellaneous Matters

THE AMERICAN POSTAL SERVICE

CHAPTER I

General Postal History

The need of communication was doubtless one of the earliest activities of the Ancient World, not for public use but for government purpose. In Holy Writ we learn that the Israelitish Nation made early use of the means at hand. In the first Book of Kings it is stated that Queen Jezebel wrote letters in Ahab’s name, sealed with the King’s seal, and sent them to the elders and nobles in the city. In the Book of Esther mention is made of sending letters by posts to all the King’s provinces. There are also evidences that the Assyrian and Persian nations established stations, or posts a day’s journey apart, at which horses were kept ready saddled with waiting couriers for the transmission of public orders and edicts. Xenophon mentions that Cyrus employed posts throughout his dominions and Herodotus speaks of the large structures erected for post stations. The mail service of China dates far back into antiquity. It is said that in the fourteenth century there were 10,000 mail stations in the empire. Peru, remarkable for its early evidences of civilization, had according to the historian Prescott, communication established from one end of the country to the other. There is, however, nothing to show that ordinary human affairs received any attention at this early period, the activities of rulers being devoted entirely to governmental interest and concern. The affairs of commerce and trade were probably carried on by personal enterprise, by voyages of trade discovery by water or expeditions on land.

The method of using couriers for transmitting intelligence was evidently long continued, being the only means known by which such need could be met, or the one which most naturally suggested itself. The Romans employed couriers for the promulgation of military and public orders to their scattered provinces, private letters being sent by slaves or by such opportunity as occasion afforded. It is said that Charlemagne employed couriers for public purposes, but the practice was discontinued after his death, special messengers being used when occasion required. England employed couriers for public purposes in the thirteenth century, and in the fourteenth century Louis XI returned to the practice of employing mounted couriers and established stations but only for government purposes.

The Beginning of Personal Communication

As early as the beginning of the thirteenth century the need of personal communication was recognized and the University of Paris arranged for the employment of foot-messengers to bear letters from its thousands of students to the various countries in Europe from whence they came. This plan lasted until 1719. In the fifteenth century an attempt was made and the custom prevailed for some time, of sending letters by traveling tradesmen or dealers who made regular trips in certain directions for barter, purchase or sale. The tremendous stimulus given to the development of commercial conditions by the crusades, made business intercourse necessary, and the post riders who had surplus horses soon found use for them in the conveyance of passengers and ultimately in the transmission of general information which finally resulted in a fixed compensation and which method remained in use for a considerable period.

The real beginning of letter posts for private and business purposes, dates from the year 1516, when Roger, Count of Thurn, established riding posts in the Tyrol, connecting Germany and Italy. A letter post had been established in the Hanse towns in the thirteenth century, but the actual commencement of such activities dates from the year 1516. The Emperor Charles V made these riding posts general throughout his dominions and appointed Leonard, Count of Thurn, his postmaster general. The Counts of Thurn and Taxis held this monopoly by regular succession for many years afterward. The rapid growth of English civilization made postal progress necessary for its people and this brings us to the period of most interest to students as well as the average reader.

The Postal History of England

As much of our postal system is naturally based on that of England from our early Colonial dependence, it is of interest to note the various steps of English progress and development in connection with the subject.

The first English postmaster general of whom any account can be given was Sir Brian Tuke, who is described on the records of the year 1533 as “Magister Nuncrorum, Cursorum, Sire, Postarum,” but long subsequent to this appointment of a postmaster general the details of the service were frequently regulated by proclamation and by orders in council. During the earlier years of Queen Elizabeth, most of the business of the postal service to and from England was managed by the incorporated “Merchant Strangers” who appointed special postmasters among themselves.

The accession of James I, necessitating more frequent communication between London and Scotland, led to many improvements in the postal service. It was ordered that the posts should travel not less than 7 miles an hour in summer and 5 miles in winter. In 1619 a separate postmaster general for foreign parts was created. Thomas Witherings was one of the successors in this office and entitled to rank as one of the many conspicuous postal reformers in the continental service. All letters were then carried by carriers or footpads 16 or 18 miles a day. It required two months to get answers from Scotland or Ireland to London. He directed that all northern mail be put into one “portmantle” directed to Edinburgh and separate bags to such postmasters as lived upon the road near to any city or town corporate, which was the first step in the separation of mail since carried to such perfection here and elsewhere.

Penny Postage Attempted

The income from the post office in 1643 was but 5,000 pounds. Ultimately the posts both inland and foreign were farmed out to John Manley for 10,000 pounds a year by an agreement made in 1653. About this time an attorney of York, named John Hill, ventured upon the plan of placing relays of post horses between that city and London and undertook to convey letters and parcels at half the former charge. He aimed to establish penny postage for England, two-penny postage for Scotland, and a four-penny postage for Ireland. But the post office was regarded in that day as a means of revenue and incidentally of political espionage and government did not approve of such individual enterprise. His letter carriers were literally trampled down by Cromwell’s soldiers, and the enterprising attorney narrowly escaped severe punishment. Another attempt at penny postage for London was established by William Duckwra, a custom house employe, and Robert Murray, a clerk in the excise office. Duckwra carried for a penny and registered and insured, both letters and parcels up to a pound in weight and $10 in value. He established hourly collections and ten deliveries daily for the central parts of London and six for the suburbs. The Duke of York had, however, a patent covering this service and suits were laid against him which put an end to his enterprise.

The systematic employment of women in post office and telegraph service was for a long time an experiment and a problem, but it afterwards proved a success. Under new regulations in 1870, women were employed as telegraphists for eight hours daily with pay according to age, intelligence and practical experience. At the close of 1880, there were a thousand women so employed in the cities of London, Edinburgh, and Dublin, and nearly as many in minor postal positions throughout the Kingdom.

General Post Office at London

The necessary authority for the establishment of a general post office at London to cover the British dominions, including the American Colonies, was given by act of Parliament in 1657. Under this act the postal affairs of England were conducted for a great length of time with but little if any improvement. It was not until the memorable pamphlet of Sir Rowland Hill was issued in 1837 that any real progress was made or any attempt made worthy of mention. Postal conditions were so unsatisfactory that he made the whole subject a matter of profound inquiry and his pamphlet on “Postal Reform” stirred the nation and led to a complete reformation of the entire postal system and was the beginning of the British post office as we see it today.

The important events in English postal history given above and that which follows in chronological order are abridged from the Encyclopedia Brittanica, 1891—1720, organization of cross roads and rural posts; 1753, establishment of post office in American Colonies under Benjamin Franklin; 1774, improved mail coaches and organized mail routes; 1821, first conveyance of mail by steam-packet; 1830, first mail coach by railway; 1834, postage stamps invented by James Chalmers, Dundee, Scotland; 1835, overland route to India; 1838, Postal money order system; 1840, general and uniform penny postage (per half ounce); 1855, first street letter boxes put up in London; 1856, Postal Guide issued; 1861, Postal Savings Banks instituted; 1870, transfer of telegraph to state and postal cars introduced; 1881, postal orders issued; 1883, parcel post established.

French and German Postal History

The French Postal System was founded by Louis XI in 1464. It was largely extended by Charles IX, 1565, and generally improved under Henry IV and Louis XIII. Napoleon abolished the board system by which the French service was then conducted and recommitted the business to a postmaster general as it had been under Louis XIII. Napoleon greatly improved the service in all its details, and the measures he adopted and the reforms he introduced in 1802 remained in force for many years afterward and are probably in use now with such additions as developments suggested. The most important reforms in French Postal History were the extension of postal facilities to all the communes, effected under Charles X, 1829; adoption of postage stamp, 1849, under Louis Napoleon. Issue of postal notes to bearer, 1860; Postal Savings Banks, instituted 1880.

The development of the Prussian or present German postal system was mainly due to Dr. Stephan, who was also the chief organizer of the International Postal Union. This Prussian system, incorporated into the admirably organized post and telegraph service of the empire, began with the Great Elector, 1646. In Strasburg a messenger code existed as early as 1443. A postal service was organized at Nuremberg in 1570. The first mail steam packet was built in 1821; the first transmission of mails by railway was in 1847; telegraph service in postal affairs, 1849. A regular delivery by letter carriers attached to the state postal system existed in Berlin as early as 1712.

These principal items of postal history concerning France and Germany are condensed from the excellent articles upon the subject as found in the Encyclopedia Brittanica, edition of 1891, as well as the information on English postal history, for which acknowledgment is made in its proper place relating to the Postal History of Great Britain.

The American Colonial Period

The earliest attempt to provide postal facilities for the colonies was in 1672 when Governor Lovelace, of the New York colony, established monthly service between New York and Boston. An office was later established at Philadelphia from which weekly mail was received and sent. By the signing of letters patent in 1691 the control of the American posts was vested in Thomas Neale, commonly called the “Neale Patent.” In that year Neale and the Royal Postmasters General appointed Andrew Hamilton, Postmaster General of America. All the colonies except Virginia cooperated with him in improving and extending the service. A weekly post was established between Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to Boston, Saybrook, New York, Philadelphia, Maryland and Virginia. Five riders were engaged to cover each of the five stages twice a week. In 1707 the crown purchased the good will of the American post and continued John Hamilton, the son of Andrew, in that office at an annual salary of 200 pounds. In the year 1737, Franklin became postmaster at Philadelphia and generally supervised the other offices of the colonies. In 1753 he was one of the deputy Postmasters General, but was dismissed in 1774 by Governor Hutchinson, of Massachusetts, because of his adherence to the patriotic cause.

Under the Continental Congress

But Franklin was not to remain idle for when the Continental Congress met at its second session at Philadelphia, July 26, 1775, they resolved to have a post office system of their own and he was selected to carry on the work. A salary of $1,000 per annum was voted him with permission to employ a secretary and a comptroller with a salary of $340 per annum to each, and a line of posts ordered established from Falmouth, New England, to Savannah, Ga., with postages 20 per centum less than those afforded by parliament. However, Franklin’s great diplomatic ability soon secured him a transfer to a wider field of usefulness and his son-in-law, Richard Bache, who had been comptroller, was named to succeed him. The ledger kept by this gentleman is still preserved among the archives of the Department. It consists of about 3 quines of foolscap, written over in a neat and legible hand. Ebenezer Hazard, who had been the Constitutional postmaster at New York, so termed to distinguish him from the British deputy at that place, was appointed to succeed him. In 1782, an act was passed by the Colonial Congress establishing a line of posts between New Hampshire and Georgia, the salary of the deputies not to exceed 20 per cent of the revenues. The rate of postage at that time on letters weighing not over 1 penny-weight and going not more than 60 miles was equal to 5½ cents and a proportionate charge for greater weights and distances.

The Crown Postmasters

In a well-written article in the Washington, D. C., Evening Star, of July 26, 1913, upon the occasion of the celebration of the one hundred and thirty-eighth year of the American postal service, the activities or self-assumed powers of the English or crown postmasters and its effect in encouraging the independent sentiment of the time was stated as follows:

“These crown postmasters had, or at least they exercised, the right of ‘spying’ upon the mails intrusted to their care. This made it difficult and dangerous for the liberty-loving colonists to communicate with each other. The zealous representatives of England also professed to exercise a supervising care over the newspapers which were printed in the colonies, and made arbitrary rules and regulations against those who were too liberal or outspoken in their expressions of condemnation of things as they then were and who dared to urge the liberty and independence of the colonists. Some papers were shut out of the mails and some were forced to tone down their utterances. A pound sterling was demanded to carry 250 papers, 130 miles.

“The post office led in the unification of the colonists. Paul Revere was the confidential post rider of Massachusetts. The tea party in Boston Harbor would have been but a neighborhood affair but for the agency of the post office and the patriotic publishers who spread the news up and down the Atlantic coast.

“The postal service did more than any one other agency to unify and unite the colonists. It brought their interests and endeavors to a common meeting point. It brought the leading men and women to know and exchange ideas one with another. Printing presses were established about the same time that the postal service was begun in America. Postmasters enjoyed the privilege of sending their mail free of postage, so most postmasters became publishers. In this way the news of the doings of the various jealous colonists was disseminated and the opinions of these early postmaster-publishers were given wide circulation. It added an incentive to trade and intercourse. By making the colonists acquainted it dissipated jealousies. The growth of the post office from the humble beginning of a sturdy carrier from New York to Boston loaded with ‘divers letters and small portable packages’ (you see they had parcel post even in those days), solidified the colonists and made their independence possible.”

Post Offices and Post Roads Established

During the Continental Government, the receipts of all the post offices did not exceed $35,000 and in 1789 were $10,000 less. February 20, 1792, an act was passed establishing post offices and post roads within the United States, the first general law. The contracts made were to run eight years and the salary of the Postmaster General was increased to $2,000, and $1,000 for his Assistant. The original number of post offices (that is for the first year) was seventy-five and the mail routes less than 2,000 miles over which mails were carried by horse, stage, or sailing packets. In 1795, the number of postoffices had increased to 453, and the routes to over 13,000, and the net revenue to over $42,000. This closes the period of Continental management, except ordinary details and changes which bore no relation to any especial object or purpose.

The Period of Progress

From 1801 dates the great advance in modern methods, ideas and accomplishment. It then occupied forty days to get a letter from Portland, Me., to Savannah, Ga., and bring back an answer, and forty-four at Philadelphia for a reply to one addressed to Nashville, Tenn. Ten years later the time had been reduced to twenty-seven and thirty days. By 1810 there were over 2,400 post offices and the post routes covered over 37,000 miles. Marked improvements began soon after this period. The office of Second Assistant Postmaster General was created and the scale of postages changed. Single letters of one piece were charged from 8 to 25 cents, according to distance. Sunday delivery of mail at post offices was inaugurated about that time in the face of great objection from the religious bodies of the country, the strife being kept up for many years.

In 1813 the mails were first conveyed in steamboats from one port town to another, the Government paying 3 cents for each letter and 1 cent for newspapers. The postal laws of 1816 made a further change in postage which lasted until 1845. The new scale charged letters consisting of one piece of paper, not going over 30 miles, 6 cents; not over 80 miles, 10 cents; not over 150 miles, 12½ cents, and not over 400 miles, 18¾ cents, and for greater distances, 25 cents. On the ninth of March, 1829, Hon. William T. Barry, of Kentucky, was commissioned Postmaster General by President Jackson, and called to a seat in his Cabinet, being the first Postmaster General to receive that honor.

Postage Stamps Introduced

Early in 1836, pony expresses as they were called, were put into operation on the principal turnpike roads of the Southern and Western States for the purpose of carrying letters of persons desiring greater expedition, press news and Government dispatches, at triple the ordinary rates, but the experiment was abandoned, not proving profitable. In July, 1838, the Department was reorganized and an Auditor appointed. The office of Third Assistant Postmaster General was also created at that time. Railroads were declared post routes by act of Congress, in July, 1838, and the mails carried upon them. Postage stamps of the five-and ten-cent denominations with the faces of Franklin and Washington, respectively, were introduced in 1847. Previously all postages were collected entirely in money, prepayment being optional. July, 1851, a new series of stamps was adopted, consisting at first of denominations of 1 and 3 cents, but afterwards of larger amounts.

Progressive Steps Taken

Rapidly sketched for reference, the more important progressive steps that followed show that during the administration of President Tyler, while Hon. Charles A. Wickliffe, of Kentucky, was Postmaster General, many reforms were instituted, such as cheapening the postage, improving the manner of letting routes by contract, prohibiting private expresses, and restricting the franking privilege. Prior to this period, letters were not rated by weight but by enclosures. For instance, a letter containing three banknotes for which the single letter charge would be 18¾ cents for over 150 miles, was then charged 75 cents, the inclosure making it a quadruple letter. Under the new system the rate was measured by the weight, all weighing not over half an ounce were regarded as single letters and carried for 5 cents for distances not over 300 miles and 10 cents for greater distances. In 1850 the “foreign desk,” from which ultimately grew the admirable arrangement of the Postal Union, was instituted by Hon. Horatio King, of Maine. Through the efforts of Judge Hall, of New York, Postmaster General under President Fillmore, the postage on letters was reduced to 3 cents. The registration system came in under Postmaster General Campbell, of Pennsylvania, during the administration of President Pierce. The Free Delivery Service was inaugurated in 1863 by Hon. Montgomery Blair, of Maryland, also the money order system in 1864, in Lincoln’s administration. The Railway Mail Service dates from July, 1862, when Judge Holt, of Kentucky, ordered its establishment, the first railway postoffice being from Quincy, Ill., to St. Joseph, Mo., on the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railway.

Historical Data

A summary of historical data covering some of the principal features of postal progress may be given in chronological order as follows: Postage stamps first issued at New York, July, 1847; stamped envelopes first issued, June, 1853; letters registered, July, 1855; newspaper wrappers, Act of Congress, February, 1861; Free City Delivery, July, 1863; Money Order System, November, 1864; International Money Orders, October, 1867; Postal Cards, May, 1873; Postage reduced to 2 cents, October, 1883; Special Delivery, October, 1885; Rural Delivery, October, 1896; Postal Savings, January, 1911; Parcel Post, January, 1913.

The maximum number of post offices in the United States, 76,945, was reached in 1901, since which time by the introduction of rural delivery the number has steadily declined, 21,011 having been discontinued. July, 1916, there were 55,934 in operation. Extent of post routes in miles in 1790 was 1,875. In 1915 the number was 1,672,169. The miles of service performed in 1915 amounted to 617,527,795. The entire compensation paid to postmasters in 1789 was $1,657. In 1916 the estimated amount was $31,150,000.

CHAPTER II

Questions of Finance

Postal Revenue—How Derived

The revenues of the Post Office Department are derived from sales of stamps, stamped envelopes, newspaper wrappers and postal cards, second-class postage (pound rate) paid in money, box rents, money order business, balances due from foreign postal administrations, miscellaneous receipts, fines and penalties, and from unclaimed dead letters and postal matter. Its greatest revenue is received from postage paid on mail matter. The amount so received in the last fiscal year was $287,001,495.13, or 91.97 per cent of the total revenue received. Of this amount $20,174,973.93 was received from mailings of second, third and fourth-class mail matter on which the postage was collected in money, the remainder, $266,826,521.20, being the postage paid by means of stamps. Entire revenue, 1916, $312,057,688.83.

Revenues and Expenditures

The audited revenues and expenditures of the Post Office Department for the year 1916, show that the ordinary postal revenue yielded $303,232,143.36; revenue from money order business $8,130,545.47, and from postal savings business $695,000. Total revenue received, $312,057,688.83. Expenditures: On account of the current year, 1916, $297,637,128.87. On account of previous years, $8,566,904.27. Total expenditure during the fiscal year 1916, $306,204,033.14. Excess of revenue over expenditure, 1916, $5,853,565.69. Amount of losses by fire, burglary, etc., $24,419.62. Surplus in postal revenue for fiscal year 1916, $5,829,236.07.

Method of Expenditure

Expenses of the postal service are paid as follows:

By Postmasters.—Postmasters are authorized to pay their own salaries, the salaries of clerks and carriers attached to their offices, rent, light, and fuel, and other expenses of their offices from postal receipts.

By Warrants Drawn upon the Treasurer of the United States.—These warrants are in payment of the contracts for transportation of mail, supplies, and other obligations that cannot be paid direct by postmasters. The accounts are prepared for payment by journals in the Bureau of the Post Office Department having jurisdiction over the appropriations and certified to the Auditor, who reviews them and forwards the journals to the Division of Finance. Warrants are then drawn for the amounts due to contractors, countersigned by the Auditor and mailed direct from the Department to the payees.

By Disbursing Postmasters.—Certain payments may be authorized by the Postmaster General to be made by postmasters designated as disbursing officers. The Department authorizes and directs disbursing postmasters, one in each State, to pay the monthly salaries of rural delivery carriers. In addition thereto the Department authorizes other postmasters who are designated as disbursing officers, to pay the salaries of railway mail clerks, and in some instances the salaries of postoffice inspectors and other employes of the postal service. When the receipts of an office are not sufficient to meet the pay rolls authorized by the Department, the postmaster is instructed to make an estimate of the deficiency and forward a requisition to the Postmaster General therefor. An accountable warrant drawn on the Treasurer of the United States for the sum needed is then forwarded to the postmaster who deposits the same in a depository bank and issues his check in payment of such salaries.

By Transfer Draft.—If a balance appears to be due a postmaster after his term of office has expired and his accounts have been adjusted, the Auditor certifies the amount due and upon this certification a transfer draft issued by the Department and drawn on a postmaster in the State in which the former postmaster resides, is forwarded in settlement of the account.

How Appropriations Are Made for the Department

Appropriations for the Post Office Department are made by the Congress upon estimates submitted to the Postmaster General by the heads of the various bureaus according to the nature and needs of the service. After examination and approval by the Postmaster General, these estimates are sent to the Secretary of the Treasury where the estimates for all Departments of the Government are assembled for transmission to Congress. Hearings on the estimates submitted by the Postmaster General are then held by the House Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads, the members of which go over the items in detail, the various bureau heads being in attendance to explain more fully, if need be, the public necessity and requirements of the estimates submitted. The Postmaster General may also be called upon to explain these estimates if the Committee so desire. At the conclusion of these hearings, the result of such inquiry and the recommendations of the Post Office Committee are submitted to Congress and are considered in Committee of the Whole. When the post office bill is under consideration and upon its passage through the House of Representatives it is in charge of the Chairman of the Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads, who answers all inquires made and defends the action of his committee in submitting these estimates to Congress for its action and approval.

Auditor for the Post Office Department

All accounts of the Post Office Department are audited by the Sixth Auditor of the Treasury, who is the Auditor for the Department. When the Department was reorganized in 1836 this position was created for the purpose of relieving the Postmaster General of the responsibilities of this particular form of official duty. The statutes define these duties which are numerous and important, the fiscal relations, owing to the great growth of the postal service, being of such magnitude and involving such an amount of detail that the office has become one of the greatest of the auditing branches of the Treasury Department. The annual reports of the Auditor to the Postmaster General show the financial condition of the Department at the close of each fiscal year and are a part of the Postmaster General’s report to Congress. A very large force of clerks is required to conduct the operations of the office and the most approved devices and methods are used to facilitate the dispatch of business. For greater convenience the office of the Auditor is lodged with the Post Office Department.

CHAPTER III

Department Operations—General and Detailed Descriptions and Cost of Service

History of Rural Free Delivery

The subject of Rural Free Delivery occupies so much public attention both in the press and among the people, and the Department has shown such interest in the matter and done so much to make the service popular and attractive as a public measure, that it is worthy of some considerable space in a work devoted entirely to postal affairs. Aside from tabular work which has no proper place in descriptive accounts of departmental operations, a very good idea of what rural delivery is and aims to accomplish, may be gathered from the articles which follow this introductory reference.

The history of Rural Delivery dates from January 5, 1892, when Hon. James O’Donnell, Member of Congress from Michigan, introduced the first bill in Congress relating to the subject. This bill carried an appropriation of $6,000 but failed of passage. March 3, 1893, Congress appropriated $10,000 for experimental purposes but this sum together with $20,000 appropriated July 16, 1894, for the same purpose, was not used, Postmaster General W. S. Bissell, of New York, deeming the amount insufficient. On June 9, 1896, $10,000 together with the prior appropriation of $30,000 was made available, and experimental rural free delivery service was established by Postmaster General Wilson, of West Virginia, on October 1, 1896, simultaneously, on three routes in that State—Charlestown, Uvilla and Halltown.

At the close of business June 30, 1916, there were 42,927 rural routes in operation, 42,766 carriers covering 1,083,070 miles and serving 5,719,062 families, representing a total population of 26,307,686, and at the cost of $51,715,616. Aggregate daily travel by rural carriers, 1,063,305 miles. Average length of rural routes, 24.96 miles. The first complete county service was in Carroll County, Maryland. Available reports show that between the years 1905 and 1909, delivery of mail on rural routes increased 87 per cent. In 1913, 2,745,319,372 pieces of mail were delivered; in 1915, 3,193,326,480; 1916, 3,022,755,601. Cost of delivery per patron: 1915, $2.060; 1916, $1.966. Average annual pay of carriers was $1,162.50, including motor vehicle service. For horse-drawn routes the average was $1,155.48.

Rural Delivery Defined

The doubts, uncertainties and the delicate questions involved in the early days of rural delivery when the subject was viewed with concern, cautiously tested as an experiment and its extension in various directions regarded as perhaps outside the bounds of original intent and therefore to be approached with considerable reserve, is well illustrated when petitions from Utah and other mining sections of the West for the establishment of such service to supply isolated communities devoted exclusively to mining, raised the question in the administration of Postmaster General Charles Emory Smith as to the proper definition of rural free delivery. It was held by the First Assistant Postmaster General that the term “rural” meant communities not included in cities or incorporated villages, and that it did not necessarily imply that the persons so situated should be engaged in farming pursuits.

The Struggle for Rural Free Delivery

The aim and purpose of rural delivery was to place the rural resident on something like equal grounds with the dweller in the cities so far as mail facilities were concerned, not exactly so, for conditions were dissimilar, but to such reasonable extent as circumstances would permit. For years there had been a growing discontent among farmers and the people in the smaller towns and villages because of the postal advantages afforded to the cities, and the more populous communities. They felt themselves deprived of opportunities and benefits which others enjoyed and could not understand why the accident of location should make such a difference. Postal service was intended for all the people, not a part, not merely for those who had chosen to live in cities but for those outside as well. This desire to share at least in the benefits so freely accorded to others became at length so outspoken and insistent that recognition could no longer be denied and the matter was finally introduced into Congress and an attempt made to secure legislation upon the subject.

The magnified difficulties of such a proposition as rural delivery contemplated had long deterred action, and when the attempt was finally made, the question was viewed with such caution and approached with such hesitation and the apprehension of an unknown and indeterminate expense so bound up with possible failure of real benefit in proportion to cost, that postal authorities hesitated to take the initial step. Even when a sum of money was appropriated the task seemed too great for successful accomplishment, and it was only when further delay was vigorously opposed that the step was taken. Congress voted $40,000 to make the experiment and with that to begin with active measures were taken and the rest is postal history.

The Advantages of Rural Delivery

The question has frequently been asked to what extent and in what way has rural delivery service benefited the country sections of the United States. Many magazine articles have been written to show the general advantages it affords in rendering rural conditions more tolerable and enduring the inconveniences to which such life is subject. In one particular at least, it has been of immense advantage and that alone has secured it great public favor. It has given the farmer his daily paper. This great educator of our modern civilization, an almost indispensable necessity of our times, was practically denied the rural resident before the advent of this service, but now the avenues of communication are so far-reaching and the service so well conducted, that publishers of daily papers have not only been able to greatly extend their circulation in every direction, but actually to bring the morning newspaper to the farmer’s door at an hour which places him on an equal footing with his city neighbor in all the advantages which early news can give, but which is of special advantage to the farmer who has something to sell and is thus directed to the best market for his purpose.

The combined opportunity which both publisher and subscriber now enjoy in country sections reached by rural delivery and the use made of it is forcibly illustrated in a recent statement published in a South Dakota paper. A rural carrier stated that when he started service some years ago there were but three farmers on his two routes who took daily papers. There are now something like 200 dailies taken by patrons on these routes, some farmers subscribing for two or three.

What rural delivery has done in other directions may be summed up as follows: It has broadened the field of industrial opportunity, touched as if with magic power the possibilities of human endeavor, and transformed conditions to a degree almost marvelous. It has brought special delivery almost to the door; secured good roads and maintains them by official interest and concern; has attracted the attention of the various States to this question and obtained results; it has made farm lands more valuable and contributed to increased production; it has abridged time by rapid communication; brightened all environment, and made ordinary dull routine interesting and attractive; it has lessened toil by the instructive suggestions which Government experiment and inquiry affords, and has made the home a center of influence and crowns domestic life with all that makes for peace and contentment.

Rural Delivery as Viewed by President McKinley

The favorable opinion entertained of the advantages of the rural free delivery service when it was yet in the experimental stage and doubts were expressed as to its practical benefit, cost considered, is well set forth by President McKinley in his annual message to Congress, December 3, 1900.

“This service ameliorates the isolation of farm life, conduces to good roads and quickens and extends the dissemination of general information. Experience thus far has tended to allay the apprehension that it would be so expensive as to forbid its general adoption or make it a serious burden. Its actual application has shown that it increases postal receipts, and can be accompanied by reductions in other branches of the service, so that augmented revenues and the accomplished savings together materially reduce the net cost.”

The First County Rural Service

The first full county service was inaugurated in Carroll County, Maryland, and at a time when weather conditions made it something of an undertaking. December 20, 1899, was the date selected and winter with its storms and snow had put the roads in the worst possible condition. Sixty-three post offices and thirty-five services by star route contractors, were discontinued in one day and rural free delivery service substituted. Westminster, then a third-class office, was made the distributing center but postal stations were established in villages where post offices had formerly been located.

Service started with four two-horse postal wagons and with a postal clerk in each to issue money orders, register letters and cancel stamps on the letter mail collected. These wagons supplied mail to twenty rural carriers at designated points and brought all the territory within easy and convenient reach. This initial service first covered 387 square miles of the 453 in the county, but soon afterward embraced it all.

The inauguration of so great a change in postal service created antagonism and a strong delegation came to Washington to enter protest. But the manifest advantages which soon began to appear, silenced all opposition, and the great majority of the protesting citizens withdrew their opposition and bore convincing testimony to the efficiency and value of the service. The cost of the service in the first three months was $4,543, saving by service superseded, $2,805. Increase of postal receipts was $1,501.75 leaving net cost of the whole county service for three months at only $236.

This successful county experiment attracted wide attention and full county service was thereafter rapidly established in many directions.

Country-wide Extension, Rural Delivery

The extension of rural delivery has increased from year to year and the cost of the service has grown in corresponding proportion. The great next step would be country-wide extension, which has been frequently mentioned on account of the vast possibilities bound up in such a measure. This would, however, involve a very considerable expense. It is estimated that to extend this service to all rural patrons wherever located would cost something like $100,000,000 more. While such complete service is the logical conclusion of all rural delivery effort and may be expected to engage public attention in the near future, as it is the only means left by which the thousands of people now deprived of such benefits can be reached and accommodated, such a tremendous advance must be seriously considered before any definite steps can be taken, but rural delivery will never reach the point of greatest usefulness until this country-wide extension is an accomplished fact and people everywhere are permitted to equally enjoy the benefit which it confers.

How Rural Delivery Enhances the Value of Farm Land

Many arguments have been advanced by the friends of rural delivery to show the almost immeasurable value of this service to the farming communities of the nation, but there is one case which has come under the notice of the publisher which presents an argument of such striking force that it is worthy of special mention.

Mr. Marion F. Holderman, of Washington, D. C., states that in 1885 he bought 135 acres of farming land three miles east of Rantoul, Ill., in Champaign County, for $44 per acre, and that in 1901 rural delivery was established enabling the delivery of the Chicago daily papers at his gate in the morning, thus giving him all the advantages of the Chicago market and the opportunity of the shipment of grain, stock, and farm products the same day that these published market reports appeared. This fact so greatly enhanced the value of the land through these succeeding years that he was able to sell this property for $225 per acre on March 1, 1917, thus netting him a profit of $24,435. No improvements were made on the farm except necessary repairs and painting of the buildings.

He states that if there had not been rural delivery he would have had to go to the post office for his mail at least twice a week which at the lowest estimate for the time of the person, vehicle, and the horses would have cost him over $225 per annum, and as there are 105 families on the route besides himself, the saving to the patrons of the route by this service is over $23,850 annually, besides the value of the land increase, and the many other advantages which have followed.

Taking his estimate of saving to each family along a route and allowing for six families for each mile, three on each side of the road, and there being 1,037,259 miles of rural delivery roads in the United States, it can be seen what an aggregate wonderful saving this has made, not counting the property, personal and educational value of such a service to the people.

It will be seen that by this showing that the saving to the patrons of 1 mile of rural delivery service ($1,350) will more than pay what it costs the Government for a 24-mile route at a rate of $1,200 per annum.

The Per Capita Cost in Rural Delivery

The per capita cost in the Rural Delivery Service has been a matter of considerable interest to those who are following the progress and extension of this branch of the public service. The great advance which has been made in this service and the still greater extent to which it is proposed to extend it, embracing ultimately all patrons wherever located, naturally raises the question of cost as a whole and the cost per patron.

Charles Emory Smith, Postmaster General in 1900, who was one of the staunch friends of rural delivery in its early days, said the gross cost could be estimated by three methods, cost per square mile, cost per capita, and cost per county. Adhering to the subject in hand it may be stated that he found the cost per capita at that time to be 92.7 serving a population of about 2,000,000 people on something less than 3,000 routes. There is no reliable data covering the period to 1910 upon this subject, but taking an estimate based upon close calculation, it is found that notwithstanding the tremendous growth of this service during that time reaching in 1910 over 41,000 routes and accommodating over 20,000,000 patrons, the cost per capita had arisen to only 1.797, and now with nearly 43,000 routes and serving over 26,000,000 people as patrons, the cost per capita is but 1.966. No answer as to cost considering the known value of such service could be illustrated more forcibly than by the figures here presented. If the undeniable benefits of rural service to the people can be given with ever-increasing efficiency at a cost no greater than that, it can be reasonably assumed that the people who live upon the farms of the United States and endure the hardships of such life with its many attendant inconveniences are certainly entitled to their share of public benefit, especially when as shown, the cost is so small compared to the inmeasurable advantages afforded.

The city delivery service of the nation with its 34,000 carriers costs now over $43,000,000. No computation of cost per capita in this service has ever been made and relative comparison cannot be given but such figures as are available show that in 1911 the per capita cost of serving the people in the cities of the country was $1.40 and that in 1916 this cost had increased to $1.75. When the comparatively comfortable conditions under which city delivery is conducted is considered, and the proportionate difference in appropriation taken into account, it will appear that the excess of cost in rural delivery is no greater than might naturally be expected from the peculiar nature of the service, the territory to be covered, and the almost insurmountable conditions with which it has to contend. Indeed, it is a matter of surprise that the cost of service per capita under the circumstances is so small.

To keep down the public expense to so low a figure while extending this service to millions of people heretofore denied this privilege, should be a matter of congratulation and encourage the hope, as well as assure the ultimate end towards which all rural delivery aims and activities are directed, viz., country-wide extension.

Some Necessary Conditions of Rural Delivery

England, France and Germany antedate us in the establishment of rural delivery, but the service there is bureaucratic, originating always with the post office officials and dominated by red tape requirements. Ours is democratic and cooperative. It is established upon petitions sent through Representatives in Congress, irrespective of party affiliation. However, any application received from a postmaster, or individual, showing reasonable warrant for the establishment of a rural route in any community will be given careful consideration by the Department. It is absolutely free, the only conditions the Government makes in establishing and maintaining service is that those who desire to avail themselves of its beneficent provisions shall do their part towards rendering it of public advantage, viz., by mending their roads, building bridges over unbridged creeks and streams, see that the county commissioners give prompt attention to such needs and provide themselves with suitable receiving boxes, conveniently placed along the roadside that the carrier can readily deposit and collect mail without alighting from his conveyance. Patrons can do much towards aiding the Government in this matter and they doubtless do their bit in a willing and accommodating spirit.

Annual Cost Per Patron, and Pieces Handled in Rural Delivery Service

A study of the annual cost per patron in the rural delivery service for the year 1916, shows that in the States of California and Utah, and in the District of Columbia, it was less than $1 each. In the States of Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia, it was more than $1 and less than $2. In Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Vermont, Wisconsin and Wyoming, it was more than $2 and less than $3, and in North and South Dakota it was over $3 and less than $4. Annual cost of service for patron decreased from 2,066 in 1915 to 1,966 in 1916.

The annual cost per piece of mail handled on rural routes was lowest in the States of Arizona, California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Utah, and the District of Columbia, and highest in Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, North and South Carolina, and Tennessee. Annual cost per price handled was .0144 in 1915 and .0150 in 1916.

The States which had the largest number of patrons served on rural routes (over a million in each) were Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Texas. The States which had less than 100,000 patrons served were Arizona, Delaware, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Utah, Wyoming and the District of Columbia.

Population and Extension of Rural Service

Relative to the provision in the act making appropriations for the rural service for the fiscal year 1917, “that rural mail delivery shall be extended so as to serve as nearly as practicable the entire rural population of the United States,” it should be stated that rural delivery service covered, at the end of the fiscal year 1916, 1,037,259 miles of roads, while star-route service was operated upon 139,634 miles.

It is estimated that there are 2,199,646 miles of public roads in the United States, so that there remain 1,022,753 miles or roads on which no mail service is in operation.

At the end of the fiscal year 1916 an estimated population of 26,307,686 was served by rural routes, 520,000 by star routes, and approximately 10,000,000 by fourth-class post offices. The total rural population in the United States is placed at 43,991,722. It will be seen, therefore, that while 83 per cent of the rural population is receiving convenient mail service, 47 per cent of the rural road mileage is uncovered.

Speeding Up the Rural Service by Motor Vehicle

This is a time of intense activity. Action is demanded everywhere and “get there” is the cry of the day. Brevity and speed are in close fellowship in the business world and competition spurs on towards the greatest possible endeavor in any direction where advantage lies. Expedients no longer serve. Only that which is best and in the highest degree efficient, can hope to survive. The introduction of the motor car in transforming conditions and producing wonderful changes is characteristic of this pushing age. Time is money. The motor has demonstrated its value, and dominates the field of all far-reaching enterprise. Business men recognize its tremendous possibilities and advantageous help in saving time and abridging distance. It spells efficiency in commercial life and men strain a point to bring themselves up alongside their pushing and wideawake neighbors in availing themselves of this great modern aid to the completest equipment. The farmer realizing what it can accomplish in his peculiar domain, has hastened to supply himself with what will contribute to his profit, and he finds in this great adjunct to energetic industrial life the means of increasing his business and enlarging his vision of opportunity and desire.

Motor vehicle service is of course an innovation upon the 24-mile horse-drawn route, and as any innovation upon old-established custom may expect to meet objection in the administration of public affairs, especially when such an innovation contemplates a readjustment of routes and a possible reduction of carriers, objection was raised in some quarters, but the desire to secure all the benefit which the parcel post could give by the opportunity afforded by zone extension, was a determining factor in the case, and the Postmaster General, availing himself of the power vested in him by act of Congress, ordered its establishment, due regard being had to the limitations and conditions under which it could be operated. Experience has justified the wisdom of such action. Motor vehicles were accordingly introduced into the rural service in 1915 to meet this demand for greater expedition in service and the transportation of increased amounts of parcel post and mail matter on extended routes and principally from the larger cities. These routes must, however, be 50 miles in length and the compensation is fixed at not more than $1,800 per annum, the carriers to furnish and maintain their own motor vehicles. On June 30, 1916, 500 of such routes were in operation with a total length of 26,878 miles, averaging 53.756 miles per route, with an annual cost of $877,824, or an average of $1,755.65 per route. These motor routes superseded horse-drawn vehicle service formerly costing $1,093,106 a year, or an annual saving of $515,282. Motor routes are of especial benefit in sections where railroad facilities are lacking. The greater distance covered by motor routes makes it possible for a much larger number of persons in given localities to communicate with one another on the same day, eliminating the necessity for taking the mail to postoffices for redispatch and in some instances transshipment over one or more railroads. Better facilities are also afforded for the transportation of products of the farm. Indianapolis, Ind., is a conspicuous example of the efficiency of this service in reducing postage; a 20-pound package mailed on a rural route from one office in Marion County addressed to a patron of a rural route on another, which would have cost 24 cents, can now be carried for 15 cents, and a 50-pound package from one point to another, the cost of which would have been 54 cents will now cost but 30 cents.

Village Delivery

In furtherance of the desire of the Government to do everything in its power to oblige and accommodate the people of the country and enlarge every privilege which could advance their interests or provide for their comfort, the question of the extension of village delivery, for which there has been considerable demand, but which has heretofore received little encouragement, was taken up with a view of securing such action from Congress as would allow further extensions to be made, the original appropriation being too limited for the purpose.

Between the very great facilities afforded the dwellers in the cities and the almost equally great accommodation shown to those in the rural sections, village delivery was but imperfectly considered and the benefits and advantages which a more direct attention to these needs could have secured, was allowed to remain in abeyance, or at least not given the attention it deserved.

But the claim of the residents of small towns to equal privileges with more favored localities was at length recognized and village delivery which was established and put into operation in 1912, was extended until 280 of such towns now have this accommodation, employing 400 carriers. The entrance salary paid village delivery carriers is at the rate of $600 per annum, and increased to $690 per annum after twelve months of satisfactory service. Only communities where the annual post office receipts amount to $5,000 are entitled to this service.

Carriers appointed at third class offices are not subject to civil service rules as such offices are not classified. When the receipts amount to $8,000 per annum, the office is advanced to second class and the village delivery carriers are given a civil service status.

City Delivery

In 1864 the number of city delivery offices was 66, number of carriers 685, cost of service, 1864, $317,063.20. In 1916 the number of offices was 1,864, number of carriers 34,114, and the cost of service $43,136,818. Average annual salaries of carriers for the past four years has increased from $1,080.22, to $1,115.46. Carriers enter the service at a salary of $800 per annum and are promoted annually on their service record through the various grades until they reach the salary of $1,100 at first class offices, and $1,000 at offices of the second class, after which promotion depends upon their exceptional efficiency.

Star Routes

June 30, 1916, the number of star routes was 11,187, length in miles, 147,167, average cost per mile of length of routes $54.16, per mile of travel $0.1026. In the renewal of contracts on certain routes in the western States under new form of advertisement there was a reduction in the cost of operation of $130,000.

Star routes are so-called because originally, a “star” appeared on the advertisements for contract bidding to distinguish them from other contracts and because of the words “with due celerity, certainty and security” which appeared in connection with such contract service. The purpose of star route service is to serve post offices off the line of railroad travel and incidentally such families as may live between those post offices who erect boxes or hang out satchels to receive their mail, also to collect mail where proper provision has been made for the purpose.

No bid submitted under an advertisement for star route service will be considered unless the bidder shall agree in his bid that in the event of the contract being awarded to him he will reside on or contiguous to the route and give his personal supervision to the performance of the service.

Postal Savings

The postal savings system was inaugurated January 3, 1911. In June, 1916, the number of depositors was 602,937 and the balance to the credit of depositors was $86,019,885.00. The denominations of postal notes or certificates are $5.00, $10.00, $20.00, $50.00 and $100.00, and they may be purchased at any postal depository. The interest allowed by the Government is 2 per cent. These deposits may be exchanged in amounts of $20.00 and multiples thereof, for 2½ per cent U. S. Postal Savings, registered or coupon bonds. Postal certificates are made at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.

Money Order System

Dr. Charles F. Macdonald, who had been greatly interested and had taken an active part in the establishment of the money order system, was upon its inauguration in May, 1864, appointed as superintendent. He is often called the “father of the money order system” and doubtless with some considerable justice. He labored untiringly to make it a success, and upon his death in 1902 it was found that he had bequeathed $2,000 to the United States to be used by the Postmaster General in the improvement of that service, and Congress by act of October 22, 1913, accepted the gift, and the commission appointed by the Postmaster General in furtherance of the act recommended that a vignette of Dr. Macdonald be placed on the money order draft forms. This recommendation was approved by the Postmaster General and carried into effect. Orders issued: 1916, 121,636,818. Amount, $719,364,950.46. Orders paid and repaid: number, 122,379,113. Amount, $720,584,719.58. Net money order revenue for 1916, $6,821,499.75.

Stamp Books

The need for some convenient way of handling postage stamps when more were purchased than immediately required and which need was long felt and operated as a bar against the purchase of stamps in any considerable quantity for occasional use, led the Hon. Edwin C. Madden, Third Assistant Postmaster General, to consider some method of remedying this lack, and on March 26, 1900, after considerable experiment with paper of various kinds to suit the purpose, devised the stamp book now in use of which millions of copies are annually sold. In 1916, the Department issued 28,005,930 of these books and the demand for them is constantly increasing. These books are made in six different kinds—books containing 24 and 96 stamps of the 1-cent denomination; 12, 24 and 48, of the 2-cent denomination, and a book containing both 1-cent and 2-cent stamps, viz., 24 1-cent, and 24 2-cent.

In this connection it may be but just to divide the credit of the origin of the stamp book with Captain Bain of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, who, it is said, had the project in mind for some time previous to its inauguration as a public accommodation. Mr. Madden is usually given the credit but, as stated, the credit may perhaps be fairly divided, as it is understood that both these gentlemen collaborated in the perfection of the project.

Postal Cards

The postal cards now so generally used at once sprang into public favor when adopted in this country in 1873. Their use has not only been a means of carrying intelligence in easy and convenient form, but has contributed to commercial enterprise in many forms, and many directions as the growing demand for them in the business world amply indicates. The number issued to postmasters in 1916 was 1,047,894,800 and the value of these cards was $10,784,307.00.

Division of Stamps

The reduction in stamp sales which followed the outbreak of the war in Europe and the gradual recovery is shown in the increases, viz., for the quarter ending September 30, 1915, the percentage of increase was 3.01; for December 31, 1915, it was 9.04; for March 31, 1916, it was 9.87; for June 30, 1916, it was 11.25.

Interesting information concerning the manufacture of stamps, etc., is given in the article relating to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing on page 46.

Division of Classification

This division is charged with the consideration of all questions relating to the classification of matter admitted to the mails, intended or deposited for mailing, including the determination of the admissibility of publications to the second class of mail matter, the limit of weight and size of mail, penalty envelopes and the franking privilege. This office is in the Bureau of the Third Assistant Postmaster General to whom all questions upon this and kindred subjects should be addressed.

Purchasing Agent

Under the direction and control of the Postmaster General, this officer has the supervision and purchase of all supplies for the Department, whether under contract or not, for the Post Office Department proper or for any branch of the postal service. The Postal Laws and Regulations provide that a Bureau officer controlling an appropriation, may authorize postmasters and other postal officials to purchase supplies chargeable to that appropriation subject to the approval of the purchasing agent in each instance.

The Dead Letter Office

All undeliverable mail matter comes within two classes, unmailable and unclaimed. The first comprises such as is not sufficiently prepaid or so incorrectly, insufficiently or illegibly addressed that the destination could not be discovered. All letters of this class containing matter of value is classified and recorded and a considerable amount of money can thus be returned to the owner. The larger part of such unmailable matter contains articles of merchandise, photographs, etc. The undeliverable letters are those that though properly prepaid and correctly addressed are unclaimed, not taken out of the office, though effort had been made by advertisement to find the owner.

Letters and parcels received for 1916 amounted to 10,839,890. Of this number 3,677,194 pieces were delivered, 101,485 filed, 7,019,436 destroyed and 41,775 under treatment. Checks, drafts, money orders and other valuable papers of the face value of $2,303,119.56 were found in undelivered letters, practically all of which was restored to the owners. The net revenue from the sale of undeliverable articles of merchandise and currency found loose in the mails, etc., aggregated $53,665.69. Advertised letters returned from the Dead Letter Office now require the payment of 1 cent, the revenue of this for the past six months amounted to $11,000, making net revenue $64,665.69, or within $10,000 of the whole amount required to conduct the operations of the office.

Formerly all dead matter came to Washington for examination and disposition. Now there are twelve large cities in the country geographically arranged, to which dead matter is sent in addition to what is received in Washington. This has made it possible to largely reduce the force in the Washington office. The establishment of the Dead Letter Office dates back to 1825.

Mail Locks

There are four kinds of locks used by the Department, in protecting the mails, the brass padlocks seen on letter and package boxes, the iron lock used on mail pouches, the inside letter box lock, and the registered lock used to protect the more valuable mail. The locks and keys are made by the Government in the equipment shops at Washington. Of the iron lock there are something like a million in use. These locks are made at a cost of 8½ cents each and weigh but 2-⁴/₅ ounces, the lightest and best lock ever used for the purpose. Locks previously in use cost a great deal more to make and keep in repair and were much heavier. The study of economy in various forms during the past four years has made it possible to introduce many reforms in the manufacture of locks of which the above is a significant example. Steel is now largely used in all lock equipment on account of the high cost of brass. All equipment used in mail transportation is made by the Government.

Mail locks and keys were formerly made by contract, but during the administration of Postmaster General Dickinson it was decided to do this work under Government supervision. Public policy, no less than economy dictated this course. While the manufacture of Government locks was surrounded with all possible safeguard and precaution there could be no absolute assurance that the mechanism would be kept secret, would be safe from imitation, so the Government, both for security to the mails and for economic reasons, decided to have the work done under its own direction.

Mail Pouches and Sacks

In the general scheme of mail bags used in the postal service the term “pouch” is used to apply to all mail bags designed for locking by means of mail locks, and the term “sack” is used to apply to all mail bags used in the postal service which are designed for closing but not locking.

Under the term “pouch” may be mentioned those bags used for inclosing through registered mail, saddle bags, designed for transportation of mail on horseback; inner registered bags, used for holding registered matter and inclosed in another receptacle; and the ordinary pouches for first class mail matter such as letters, etc.; also the mail catcher pouch, the use of which is restricted to the exchange of mails with moving trains.

Under the term “sacks,” which are designed for closing, as a rule, but not locking, comes the ordinary sack for newspapers and parcel post matter, and bearing a cord fastener which bears a label case and also serves for closure purposes. The standard bag is made of No. 8 canvas, of best quality, and withstands usage for several years. The sacks used for foreign mails, ordinary and registered, are not provided with a closure device but are tied with a string and secured with a lead seal, but it is expected in the near future these classes of bags will be equipped with a locking contrivance.

During the last ten years the weight of pouches used for ordinary service has been rapidly diminishing. The average weight of pouches in 1907, largest size, was about 9 pounds 5 ounces each, while those now being introduced into the service weigh 2½ pounds each. This reduction in weight being due largely to the elimination of leather parts. Many old-style pouches are still in use, viz., made of a heavy canvas body, leather bottom and a light weight top; costing about $2.16 each; the “1908” pouch made of a heavy canvas bottom with leather band and a lighter weight canvas top and body, costing about $1.44 each. These pouches are now being rapidly replaced with the all-canvas pouch costing less than 70 cents each. Catcher pouch used in the exchange of mails on moving trains costs 80 cents each. Wherever possible, the Department has eliminated expensive leather and other parts in the production of its equipment.

There are approximately 600,000 pouches and 4,000,000 sacks available to the service at present. The all-canvas pouch which the Department now furnishes costs between 69 and 70 cents, while the largest size domestic standard sack cost a little less than 73 cents, smaller sizes in proportion. Pouches and sacks are purchased by contract but kept in repair by the Government. New pouches of new types are also manufactured by the Government, nearly 80,000 being made in the Mail Bag Repair Shop during the past year.

The principal movement of mails is from the east to the west, from the great commercial centers to the less densely populated districts. This ebb and flow is natural in ordinary times, but is greatly increased both in volume and quantity when the immensely stimulated holiday trade changes conditions in all directions and calls for the exercise of administrative ability in meeting extraordinary demands and supplying suddenly developed needs. These conditions are met by a system of distribution devised to meet just such needs, whereby congestion is relieved at one point and pressing demands accommodated at another, the various mail bag depositories under capable management rendering such necessary aid. The whole supply of bags has been handled as much as ten times in one year through these depositories without which the peculiar conditions of the service could not be met. Mountain carriers in the northwest require special pouches especially in the sections where snow shoes are needed. The carriers in Alaska with their dog-teams have also special makes of pouches and thus all conditions are met where peculiar needs require it.

Post Office Supplies

In June, 1872, Congress authorized the establishment of a blank agency for the purpose of supplying the smaller post offices with blanks and stationery. The appropriation was $132,500. In 1883 the scope of this enactment was enlarged and the Department undertook the tremendous task of supplying all the post offices of the country with stationery and all the office equipment and appliances needed in the conduct of public business. The amount of a recent appropriation for the purpose was about two and a half million dollars. From this blank agency has grown the Division of Supplies, which furnishes all supplies needed except mail bags, locks and keys, which come under the equipment branch, of which this division is a part. Supplies are sent to postmasters upon requisitions made out upon blank forms furnished for the purpose. These requisitions are carefully revised by clerks and allowances made conformably to practice and customs. Money order and postal note requisitions are also handled in this division. Supplies are required in enormous quantities for public use. In twine alone the required amount for 1916 was 2,000,000 pounds, or 680,000 miles of it. Ink 15,000 gallons. Facing slips more than a billion; pencils, pens, blanks, envelopes and paper in staggering amounts. The utmost economy is practiced in sending out these immense supplies that waste may be prevented and the money appropriated used to the best advantage. The capable management of the Superintendent and those in charge of the Division of Equipment and Supplies, has produced gratifying results in all directions and rendered service which has been recognized and appreciated.

Special Delivery

Special delivery was authorized by Act of March 3, 1885, during the administration of Postmaster General Vilas. Established October 1, 1885. At first restricted to free delivery offices in towns of 4,000 or more inhabitants. August 4, 1886, it was extended to all free delivery offices. Special delivery service is made to all persons within the carrier limits of city delivery and to patrons of rural service who reside more than 1 mile from post offices, but within half a mile of rural routes. Deliveries are made at all first and second class post offices on Sundays and at other offices if open on Sunday, and at all offices on holidays. Auditor’s report shows that for the quarter ending September, 1916, the amount expended for this service was $633,713.21. The number of pieces delivered was nearly 8,000,000, or a yearly average of something like 32,000,000.

Foreign Mail Service

The foreign mail service of the United States dates back to 1868, when James H. Blackfan was chief clerk of the Department. This service was then in charge of the chief clerk and when the office of Superintendent of Foreign Mails was created he was placed in charge of it. These mails are carried under the Act of 1891. All mails not carried by the mileage basis under this act are carried by non-contract vessels on the weight basis. The total cost of this service in 1916 was $2,228,341. The rate of compensation allowed under the general statute for the sea conveyance of United States mails by steamers of American register, not operated under the ocean mail Act of 1891, is not exceeding the full postage of the mails conveyed. The two principal offices from which foreign mail is dispatched are New York and San Francisco. Clerks are assigned to this service as need requires. Under the regulations of the Universal Postal Convention, mail matter other than parcel post, may be dispatched whether fully prepaid or not, but as double the amount of postage is collectable when not fully prepaid, postmasters in this country have been instructed whenever practicable to notify senders of short-paid letters that such double expense might be avoided. On registered articles and parcel post packages, full prepayment is compulsory. Rate of postage is 5 cents for the first ounce or fraction of an ounce, and 3 cents for each additional ounce or fraction thereof. Letter postage for England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and British possessions goes at 2 cents an ounce. International parcel post rate is 12 cents per pound or fraction of a pound.

Topography Branch

The impetus given to this branch of the service, the making of maps, by the rapid growth of rural delivery, the reorganization of which made the completion of county maps an almost immediate necessity, has considerably stimulated activity in this direction and been productive of great benefit generally. Recompilations of State maps have been made, old drawings brought up to date and diagram maps replaced by those of the regular edition. The making of maps has developed into quite an industry in recent years owing to the greatly increased need for such matter. Few people realize how necessary such aid is in determining questions of administrative concern, especially in such vast areas of public enterprise as the growth and extension of the rural delivery and star route service involves.

These public maps are very largely used for post routes and altogether this branch occupies quite an important place in Department operations. Of the post-route class 43,258 were printed during the year of 1916, 1,545 were sold to the public, together with 5,983 county and 1,963 local center maps (blueprints) the balance having been distributed to the postal service, to other Departments and to Members of Congress. In the blue-printing plant 7,964 county maps, 13,330 local center maps, and 10,347 miscellaneous plans, forms, etc., were made.