THE Mill MITOML BKUeLICAK-SUPPLEllIENT.
TrmemLlm
WASHINGTON CITY, D. O., THURSDAY DFC.5, 187
H
ItirOHTOP TUB roTMASTF.H OBN.
KRAL.
eranhcri and tha mp, ai brought up In eoe- " lth the United Kingdom ol Ortt
eeiilre edltlone, hare been distributed to Britain and Ireland, Oermanr, France, Bel.
UrtlsfmKmT rffi'JSiwJornHiiIow., and Missouri, l nearly com. the mount sported I for 1571 The postage
..r.vMIMr'?..!1 J Hwotuiurceo- .... , ,r M-,in- .mhV..tn infnnU I , on letter sent exceeded the Dostsrss on let-
ru mil 11 ctiLinn iv 01. r or ma ic a-iiuu i i
1,. in 1(1 ,1.. .,tl.a. uOAAnu M
OT7,0IY. and tfao expenditure 14,SW.
101 OS The Increase of revenue for the year
ltd over the year 1873 over the year 1871 tu
tl,878,380lH,orD37 per cent, and the In
i re of expendllnre t3.208,UB8.W, or 030
percent , showing a. net Increase of expen
diture of t,707 28. The Increase In rev
enue for the Tear 18TI oxer 1870 was 13,030,
OtS 72, or in OS per rent , and the increase of
xpcndltnre for lSTJovcr 1870 wu fH,30Q,
JtM OH, or 14 17 per cent. The Increaw in
revenue for 1873, compared with 1871, wm
Krcatcr than the Increase for 1871, compared
with 1870, hy 0,7n 18, and the Increase of
expenditures for 1873, compared with 1871,
wm greater than the Increase for 1871, com
pared with 1870, he tl,m831 78.
If, In addition to the ordinary rerennea, the
Department I credited with 1700 000 appro
priated for the transportation of free matter,
nnd ihe amounts drawn and eipendod for sub
sidies to steamship line, It will appear that
the deficiency provided out of the general
Treasury for the year 1873 la fS17JI.W,
agilnst 3,028,or8 00 for the year 1871.
The accompanying report of the andltor
fully aoti forth the detalla of the financial
operation of the Department.
The estimated expenditure for the year ending
June 80, t8T4, are . I30,M,1
Tie revennes, estimated at 10 per
rem. incrro iurr
last rear
Intimated rerenne
from money-order
business
T"stlmated Increase In
revenue consequent
on the Intrndnrtlon
ot postal card.
H,fll9,?t
f4,t,B0H
i y..i.iMMii
The foregoing Mtlmatea do cot include the
the folio win if special appropriations In the
natnre of subsidies:
Formal! steamship service between Ban Fran
rlsoo and Japan and China inoo,noo 00
For special subsidy for like service,
under sectlona i and of the act
approved Jane 1, 1ST, from Octo
ber 1, ISTft, to June 10, 174 . 178,000 00
Fnr mall ateamRhln service between
the t nlted States and Braill 150,000 09
For like service between Rsd Fran
cUro and tht Sandwich Islands 78,000 00
leaving a deficiency of
Total , jsstnsa
of the deficiency appropriated for
ih venr 1170. there was unex
pended June so, wi.the sum of n,ow,ooo 00
n me amount appropriate mr ist i,
there waaanexpeuJed at the close
of that year
Amount appropriated for the year
n;t
A. toUl of 1
There wm drawn during the iMt
UHe.ai Veal, VI MJU ealUVHea1 UUCA"
ended at the close of the jesr
1 870, for payiaeuunn account of
ton,iM mi
8,03fi,03 00
l,M9,SS3 00
Of the amount eppronrt
ated for the year ts't,
for payments on a
tonntof that Tear
Of the "mount appropri
ated tor the year n;z, 1,061,700 oo
nronrlatlona undrawn T.ltfi,06 00
There wm also carried to the "sur
plus fund" of the general Trees
ury. of the deficiency appropri
ated for 1870, and not needed. f,811,M 00
Learlng In the general Treasury,
undrawn, the sum of. 4,no4,o 00
There wm also In the hands of the
Assistant Treasurers of the I'nl-
ted Stales a balance of 8M,4 08
Making the total amount available
for payment of IndebtedneM to
JuneM,mi 4,7W,oioe
Against which there are chargeaMe
sundry unliquidated accounts, es
timated m followsi
For balances to foreign coun
tries itiT,wooo
For mall service nnder
contract not yet re
torted 411,03ft lit
Mall service still unre
Pgnixeil lsn,jno no
n ftniintA nf d1trlhntlon Mans of other States
will t taken In hand as fMt as practicable, to
as io enenu mo oenenis oi mis Tcrj n'ruun
auxiliary to the work of the Department
riMra and redaction.
The amonnt of tinea Imposed npon eon
tractors and deductions made from their pT
for failures and other dellnnnenclea for the
laM year was tU3,S81 47, and the amonnt re
mitted dnrlnir the same period wm ,M9 31,
tlons g(K),033 JO, M apicara fmm the f()llow
Inc recapitulation i Amount of flne ti WS 01)
amonnt of deductions H,414o, tout, tM,-
381 47; amount remitted, ) 23,9 31 1 ml
amount, 900,033 20.
MAIL-HAOB, I-tJCaf, AKU KIIK
A table Hormndod to this renort extillilts In
detail the number, description, and cost of
mall-heif, locks, and keva purchased and
issued durlnf the year 1 he total namler of
new mall-las procured and put In service
wm 77,670, of which 03,213 were tised for
transmission of printed matter, and 13,48 for
lcttcrmaii 'iheroet was fw,iwci iue
number of locks of the new kind purchased
was 6,000, at a cost of 13,800. Of old Iron
mnll-kevs, 4,000 were pmrhaaod, at a roet of
frfOO The cost of repairing mall-Iocka wm
91,330.30 The total amount expcndet for
mall-Iocka and keys was (4,830.30
innoron mails.
The transmission of through mails between
the Atlantic and Pacific comU was grettly
Interrupted by snow blockades west of Omaha
durlnjj portions of the months of December,
January, February, and March last. The
number of dara on which no malls ware re
ceived at Ban Francisco from New York was.
In December, 19, in January, 2. In February,
23, and In March, 10. The average time oc
cupied In the transit to San Francisco from
New York waa, in December, 314 hours 13
mlnntea, in January, 373 hours 17 minutes,
la February , 407 hours 40 mlnntea, and In
March, lot horre 3 minutes. Only 11 malls
out of 5 from New York were carried
ttirou&h to San Franilscoln schedule time In
Decern ber.only 3 out of (W In January, none
out 83 In February) and only 41 out of 71 In
March. The number of days on which no
malls were received at New York from San
Francisco wm, Id December, 18, In January,
31, In February, 10, and In March, 9 The
at erase time occupied in the tranntt to New
York from San Francisco waa, In December,
206 hours 41 minute, in January, Wi hours
13 minutest in rohniary, 433 hours 80 min
utes, and In March, 189 hours M rolnntos.
Only 3 mall out of 33 from San Francisco
were carried through to New York In schedule
time In December, none ont of 38 in January,
only 3 out 10 in i ebruary, and only 13 out of
31 in March The average time occupied in
the transit for the whole period from October,
1HT1. to Heiitemher. 1873. was. coin i west.
310 hours 33 minutes; colnc east, 197 hours
43 minutes Excepting tEio four months
specified, the number of malls conveyed to
Ban rraneieeo irom rew iora irmn wnoer,
1S71. to Sentemher. 1873. Inclnahe. wm NW.
of which fill were carried through in schedule
time, and f7 behind timet and, excepting
those four months, the numlwr of mills con
veyed to New York from Saa Francisco, from
uciooer, ion, 10 oepicmwer, 101-1, miiuinr,
waa 911 nf whlrh JHA w,rA pnrr!d through
in schedule time, and 33 behind time The
Bveratre time ocenmed In the transit, except'
7. : " .c: . j.i.. 1 l tA
iiuc ine miir luuunia, wm, nuiua wck, mi
!!, 74 ft in
leaving, after settlement of alllla
Mliuea to June 9 187, a net Ul
anceof deflttency appropriations
The nnmber of adhesive postage
stamps Issued during the ytar
wm 041,433,070, representing tin,SW,W 00
lnnitsl enveloiMta. nlaln.aa.1..IW0.
representing l,C3,l w)
Humped envelopes, M reqieat,
4AJ6,000, representing l,l,flW 00
NewsDanerwranDersLH.bM.tao. re n-
resenting 176,18J CO
The whole nnmber of stamps,
stamped envelopes, and news
per wrappers was 6.n,880t880 of
10 agf rcgaio vaiur 01
t 9 07A AM no
The numlicrof packages of postage stamps
ltwt in the malls during the jear waa ten,
representing ij.hi, ami ni siampeu enveitiM'B
none, itclqg much Icm than losses from simi
lar delinquencies in 1871 and prevloua years
co"tha,ctb.
There were In the service of the Depart
ment on the 30th of June, 1673, 5.M4 contrac
tors for the transportation of the mall on
public routes.
There were at the close of the year 3C3
"special" ofllces, each with a mall carrier
whose pay from the Department I not al
lowed mexctiHl the net postal ield of the
office
Of public malt routes in operation there
wrrf 7.330, aggregating In length 231.TI8
miles, In annual transportation 114,0t44.3)
utile, and in annual cost 12,373,304 Adding
Hie compensation of railway post olflee clerks,
rout agents, mall-route messengers, local
agenta, mall messengers, and baggage mas
ters In charge of registered packages, amount
ing to fj,3O0 944, the aggngate annual ctut
nil 14,779,306
The service waa divided m follows.
Railroad route! Lena-th. 37.911 miles, an-
uuU transportation, 03.4U1.74U miles, annual
1 ost, tu uu, 771 aoout iu au cents per rone
Steamboat routes Length, 18 800 miles,
annual transportation 4 3u5,430 roilea, annual
toeL 779.803 about 18 10 renU Pr mile.
Other routes, on which the mails are re
quired to bo conveyed with "celerity, cer
tainty, and aeTirltyiH Length, 174.W7 mllis,
annual transportation, 48,184,137 miles, an
nual cost, 280,OJ8 about 11 cents per
mllA.
There waa an IncreMe over theprccedlng
year In length of routes of 13,039 ml'es,4n
annual t ran porta t Ion, 7.411.5JS mile; and In
cost, l.OU.bGO Adding the Increased cot
for railway poet office clerks, route, local,
and other agents, 8)3:11,418, the total increase
tncostwuvl.374,280.
The railroad routes have !een Increased In
length 8,077 miles, and in cost, 777,7W Ah
earning the increase catwed by the readjust
stent of rates for Uie year ended June SO.
1872, to be the same m that shown In Table F
for the year ended September 30, 1872, via,
354,803, the expense for new railroad aerrlce
may be set down at fU3,037, being an are rage
roet of $V3 30 per mile per annum.
rnoQuzaj or Tin bthtem or HitimoAit
HAlIaERVICK.
An Interesting table, compiled from the an
nual reports of the Department, is presented
herewith, ahowlmr the amonnt of railroad
inaU-eerrlce, and the coat thereof, In succes
sive years, from the commencement ut such
service In 1830, to Jnne 30, U73. Ihe report
for 1833 shows the annual transportation on
railroad and steamboat routes combined The
length of railroad routes wm first reported to
tie V74 mllce at the close of the year ended
Jane 90, 1837 The length la 1873 wm 37,911
rallee, an IncreMe of W.U37 mile In thlrtv
five years, being an average of over 1,611
mile per annum, Tho largest In length fnr
any one year wm for 1873, belnff 8,077 mill
The first report of the annual cot of railroad
rontea, nncomblneil with steamboat mates,
wm 531,753 on tho 4th of November, 184.
The cost In 1873 wm 0,503,771, showing an
increase of 5,971,019 In twenty-seven years,
and an average Increase of over 331,148 per
annum Tho largest Increase In cost for any
one year wm for 1873, being 777,793,
BBAUJU8TUBNT Or PAT 0N KAILHOD ROUTE
Table E, presented herewith, exhibits re
turns of the character and amount of the
inaileenlce on railroad route Jn the States
of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware,
Maryland and Ohio, obtained with a view to
the readlustment of the rates of iv on am h
rnutea In those States for the new contract
term commencing 1st July, 1873 The tat to
contains returns, alao, from railroad routes in
other SLateH. submitted by the proprietors
thereof, as the basis for the adjustment or
readlustment of their cninocuaallon The
readjustment of rates on old routes and the
adjustment of rales on new .routes f ouudt d
on tuene returns, are enown 10 taoio r, in
which It will be seen that the rates were In
creased on 80 and ducnued on 14 old, and
fixed on 19 routes, and that the net excels of
the present over the former amount of annual
pay Vr readjustment Is 354, 815.94 Tuennm
(erof new railroad routes put in operation
within the year ending June SO, 1873, wm 110,
on which, at a general rule, temporary rates
of compensation were fixed, not exceeding
the maximum (50 per mile per anuumj
a lowed bv law to roads of the tidrd or lowest
tlMS. with the nndetandlng that the pay
should afterward be readjusted, If necessary
according to the grade of the service, to bo
shown by the usual returns The IV nen
route Included in table V are extMWllona to
hours 11 minutes; going eatt, 171 hours 10
minutes. The average time for the wholo of
the preceding year was, going west, 173 hours,
going eMt, 109 hours 4) minutes Excepting
the period, therefore, during which the route
WM ODiirucioa vy biiut, inert? ia mi iiiuq
venation mm year irnm ma urgrca ui rrgu
larlty notM in previous reports. Particulars
Indicating the cliararter of the service between
San Francisco aud other cities than New
York on the Atlantic side will be found In the
throngh-mall tables appended horeto, from
the olllco of the Second Altant Postmaster
(lenernt
A change of the through-mall route between
ashlngton and New Or'eans was made la
May laiit, so as to run. after passing Cleve
land, Tennessee, via Dalton, Georgia; Cetera,
Alabama; Montgomery, Alabama, and Mo
bile, Alabama. Instead of Chattanooga. Ten
nrsee. Grand Junction, Tennessee, and Can
ton, MUsUslppl A decrease of 83 miles In
the length of the route wm thereby obtained,
and the tables show a gratifying Improve
ment In speed and other particulars. The
number of malls carried through to New Or
leans from Y axhlngton, by the old route, In
the seven months from October, 1871, to April,
1873, Inclusive, was 313, In the average time
nf 81 honra and 51 mlnntesi whcreM in the
succeeding five months, IV) malls were carried
through, ny tne new route, in me average
time of 71 hours 41 minutes gain of 10
hours 8 mlnntes. The shortest time, going
south, by the old route, in tho first seven
months, was 70 hours 50 minutes, in the suc
ceeding five mouth, by the new route, 00
hours 30 mlnntea a difference of U hours 30
minutes. Of tho 21J malls going south by
the old routo in the first seven months 101
warn carried thrnuirh Inethedulo-tlme and 31
behind time, whereas of the IV) malU going
south by tne new route in tne succeeding nve
moniua, liv wcro curncumruujjiiiu puvuuic
lime and 31 behind time In the first aeen
months going soutn iy tne oip route un maus
nra niu uJ vi ilium uciutti uiim. & 11111
was rolscarrliHi, and there were 20 days on
which no mall arrived at New Orleaus from
Washington' In the sua ceding five months,
going by the new route, 3d malls were mis
carried, and there were 20 days on which no
ten received from the same conn tries In the
sum of 30,77033, being overl, per cent of
the aggregate amount. The postages collect
ed in the United States amounted to 819 244
1X1, and In Europe to (484 009 71 1 the excess
of collections in the United States being 334,
034 53, or 33 0 per cent, of the entire postage
receipts from Fnropcnn correspondence.
i uiDiwnng me year lot wim ino year
1871. the rate nf Inereaan In Ilia total tinmtMte
of letters exchanged with foreign countries
waa 20 ir cent , and the rate of Increase In
the amount of postages thereon was 7 Vfl per
lent Ihe Increase In the nnmlr of letters
exchanged wttb European countries wm 21 3
per cent., and the Increase of postages thereon
amounted to 10 4 per cent
i lie toiai weignt oi maus exenangea during
the year with European countries was 1.040.-
089 pounds, (over KM tons;) the weight of
letter correspondence lelng 851,90Ti pound,
and of prlntel matter and sample 1,388,7m
IHiiiiiua. itie BggmKnie weignt oi mans sent
to uropowM 813,989 pounds, and of mails
received from Europe 820,700 pounds The
weight of letter correspondence sent to Eu
rope wm 180.H80 pounds, and of letter cor
respondence received from Europe 103,719
pounds The weight of printed matter and
samples sent to Europe wm 037,803 pounds.
and of printed matter and sample received
i rum curupo ixv wsi pnunaa
The cost of the United State transatlantic
mall eteamrtilp service for the year 1873 wm
320 301 70, being IncreMe of 40,103 31
over the cost of the same service for the year
1871 The payments made to the respective
steamship lines conveying malls to Lurope,
recehliur the sea pontage as full compensa
tion for the service, were m follow, vlxt The
Liverpool and Great Western (Williams A
Galon) line, for 53 trip, from ISewYork to
Queens town, t03.803 67; the Inman Hoe, for
07 trips, from New York to Queenatown,
08.901 17i the Hambunr American Packet
Companr, for W) trips, from Now York to
iiymouin ami iiamourg, ana aiso rorcon
veylog malts from New Orleans to Santander,
Hnalu an. I Ifa.H l... lAiMM
the North German Lloyd, of Bremen, for 70
trip, from New York to Southampton and
urn men, nu iito ior conveying maus irom
Baltimore and New Orleans to Uremen. tiQ.-
319 95, the Cunard line, for 50 trips, from
Ttaatnn tn I tvunwinl !! (ISO W. ( (Tana. Kan
line, for 63 trips to L'rerpool, J.9T1 08, the
Baltic Lloyd line, for 0 trips, from New York
to Stettin, W 03 Total, 320,301 70
The United States pontages on malls con
DJOU K BIIU II Kill HID I? IUUI7,, illllllll.
Panama, South Pacific, llellxe, (Honduras,)
Nora Soot la, Newfoundland, and Bermuda
amounted to 137,415 31, and the cost of the
sea conveyance thereof wm 81.719 27 Ihe
United Stales postages on malls exchanged
with Brazil, Japan and China, the Sandwich
Islands, New Zealand, aud Australia, by
means of the subsidized lines of direct mall
steamers, amounted to Trt.9i5 23
The total cost of the United States ocean
mall atnm1iln Arl(v fnr tli rr 1HTJ I In
cluding $Ti5 000 paid from special appropria
tions for steamship aerrlce to Japan and
China, to Brazil, and to the Hawaiian Islands)
was 1,027.020 97
Contracts for the conveyance of the malts
from New York to European ports, copies of
TTllltll BID IIIIITJICU, UIT lUTU CStHJUItHl KIIU
the Liverpool and Great Western Steamship
i ompany ior me eunesaay a raau irom new
ered, oR58,130t newspapera delivered, 4,017,
015; letters collected, 1,829,719; amount paid
carrier. Including lnc'dental expense. 33,
042 33, postage on local matter, 149 23l 15.
The following table shows the nnmber of
employee! In the Poet Office Department i also
thennmberof postmasters, contractor, clerks
tn poet offices, ronte agent, railway poetal
clerks, andotber officer In service on the 90th
Juoe, 18T2, respectively i Departmental offi
cers ana empioycce ia,i rofimasiar wuv
ral, li 3 Assistant Postmasters General 1
superintendent of foreign malls tl superin
tendent of money-order office . 1 chief of dl
vision of dead letters 1 chief clerk or Depart
ment; 4 chief clerks of bure-iua i 319 clerks,
laborcre. watchmen. Ac Total 1871, 331
18731 t'oetmaster General 3 Assistant Post
masters General 1 1 superintendent of foreign
malls i 1 superintendent of money-order of
fice 1 1 chief oT division of dead tetters 1 1 chief
clerk of Department; 4 chief clerks of bureaus)
331 clerks, laborers, watchmen, Ac
Total 1873, 340.
other omcors and agents t 1871 su ut 9
potmMtrai 7,280 contractor! 8,439 clerks
In post offices , 1,419 letter-carriers ; 0H4 route
agents i 313 railway jmstai clerks i 103 man
route messengers t 62 local agents, 53 special
airents. Total In service 1871. 43.031 ibTi
81,803 postmMteni S.'tW contractors, 3,7M
cierxa in post oiuce t 1,4 J icuer-cnrners i im
route agents; 043 railway postal clerks i 140
mall route messengers i U local agents; 59
special agents Total In service 1872, 44,033.
KXADJCaTUBHT Or POiTMASTtRa' lALARIBa
The second section of the act of Juiyi,
1904, dlrecu the PostmaMer General to re
view and readjust the salaries of all postmas
ters once In two years, and In seclal caeca
as much oftener as may te deemed expedi
ent In accordance therewith, the salaries of
31,803 postmajtsrs hare been reviewed and
readjusted for two years from Jnly L, 1873
The salaries m tbns readjusted make a yearly
aggregate OI fT,wu,iH. toe eiuiDiisnuiDn.
of new ofllces and the readjustment tn special
case will InereM the amount somewhat
during? the current veer. and. as onlr 5.53-
000 was appropriated for this purpose for the
yenrenaing duneou, iojj, n auuimmni aiua
will be Mked for to meet the deficiency
DEAD LETTERS.
The nnmber of letter, domestic and for
eign, receded at the d-ad-letler office during
the last year was as followsi Iomsttc letter
cia-teu as orainary, jivuh, urup, (,
804. nnmallatJe, 879,824, hotel. 31,403,
fictitious. ILIfKA. reentered. H.1S2. re
turned from foreign countries, 83,433 Total
domestic letters, 3 IMU14 foreign letters,
21i (100 hoi niimler. 4.241.874
Of domestic letters not registered. 11,83$
contained money amounting to 'lOiy-SOti, In
sums of one dollar and upward, and of the
registered letters, 1 271 contained 7,083 52
making a total of 17,109 letter, containing
07,27153. Of the-c, 14,193. containing the
sum of 17,979 50, were delivered to the
writers or itcrenns addressed. 2.402. contain
ing 8,017 23, which could not be returned to
tue owners, were men ior rcriaraauou; anu
3 010, contalnlog f 0 J93 03, were outstanding
or on hand awaiting dlipoltIon The nu n
tier Inclosing sums less than tl was 14,400,
containing 4 2J0 93, of which 10 710, con
taining 3,303.23, were delivered to the writers
or pcrnons addreaeed, and 3,070, containing
"W7 70, ere out-tandtng or on hand for dis
position. Tho number of letters containing bank
checks, drafts, deeds, .tc , was 19 019, of the
nominal value of 1,320,300 38, of which
18 313. of the nominal value of 3,103003 45.
were nelU ered to the owners, and 1,332, of
tno nominal value oi wu,SjWy were oui-
of 3,09783, or 1743 per rent , la the pay
UIBDM.
lang of rreentei others of a highly commanding Mica and order of transmission; and the vast telegraph Itself sufficient, after meeting atl
profit of character, especially ihne which relate to the and irretporiMrt Influence of telegraphic expenses, to pay the Interest on thoporchail
atea. the fxtreme value of which the magnetic tele imnsgers over the pres of the country moner, provide for all necessary annual t-
with Switzerland nf Octntter
exchange of money-orders, were coticl
February 2:1, 1872, by which tho rales of
I standing or filed for reclamation
York to Queenstown and Liverpool; with the! Thennmberof packages and letter con
Hamburg American Packet CompanT for the1 talnlng Jewelry, books, and other property.
Thursday's majl from New York to Plymouth was 8, 4 VI, of which 5,408 were delivered, and
mall arrlod at New Orlean from Washing
ton The nnmber of malls carried through
to Washington from New Orleans, by the old
mute. In the seren months from October.
1871, tn April, 1873, inclusive, wm J I J, In the
ai erage time of cX) hours 38 miuntee, whereas
In the succeeding five months, 159 raalU were
carried through, by the route, la the average
time of 08 hours 58 minutes a gain of ll
hours 40 minutes.
The shortest time in the first seven months,
going north, by the old route, was T4 hours
40 minutes. In the succeeding tire mouths, by
the the new route, 01 hours 10 minutes a
difference of 11 hours 80 minutes. Of the 313
malls, going north, by the old route, In the
first seven months, 144 were carried through
In schedule time and 08 behind time, where
of the 15'J malls going north, by the uew
route, In the succeeding fire months, 141 were
carried through lu schedule time and 18 be
bind time. In the first seven months, eolmr
north, by the old route, 08 malls were half a
day or more behind lime, and there were 43
days on wuicu u uiuu iimicum aiuiu-
ioq i ram now urivaua. tu mo uvmcuiuit mo
months, going north, by the new route, 10
mn.Ha wars half a dav or more bemud time.
and there ere 10 daya on which no mall ar
rived at WMhlmrton from New Orleans.
The average time, taking both route to
pe in r, ior tne wooie periou, irom uciooer,
1871, to September, 1873, Inclusive, was, go
ing south, 77 hours 39 minute, going north,
75 nours 38 minutes; against an average for
the preceding year, by the old route, of 63
hour 49 minute, going south, and S3 hour 1
minute; going north a gain for the present
and Ilambunr , with the Oceanic Steam Navi
gation Company for the Saturday' mall to
Oueenstown and Liverpool; and with the
North German I loyd, of Bremen, for the
Saturday' elood malls from New York to
tne continent oi Europe, via Boutnampton
Each of these compnnlo reecho the ca
postages on the malU conveyed a full com
pensation for the service, and the contract
with each exptrc on tbi 31st of December,
187J, when It I hoped that the sailing-days of
the respective transatlantic steamship lines
can be so adjusted as to secure the dispatch
of malls from New York to Europe on each
week-day by steamers of approved speed.
The contract for the conveyance of an ad
ditional monthly mill on the mall steamship
route oeiwtcn oan i rancisco ami iapan anu
China, authorized by the act of Congress ap
proved Jnne 1. 1872, hM been a ward oil to the
Pacific Mall Steamship Company, of New
York, the contractor fur the existing monthly
service, the bid of that company for the per
formance of the maul red service, at a com
pensation of VX).(Q0 per annum, being the
only one received under the advertl-cment
U-uedbytbis Department A copy of this
contract Is annexed.
A new contract has leen executed with the
Tacitlc Mall Steamship Company, contractor
iur mo man stcamsnip service iu japan aim
China, under the stipulations and provisions
nf the aits of Congrets approved February
17, 1803, and February 18,1807, which dU
chnmea and release from future resoonM-
blllty the sureties for said company under the
previous contracts, executid the lolhof Octo
ber. ISIiO. and the 20t U of March. 1807.
iHCtluly. and substitutes now sureties lu
their stead fhl contract contains all the
it nulallon and conditions of the two con
tracts prcwouaiy executed, ana wa maae at
the remieat of said companr. fur the sole ol-
Jett of accepting new sureties and releasing
ino original sureties irom lurtucr responsi
bility, m they hare retired front the manage
ment and direction of the company A copy
uiereoi is Hereto nnncxeu
I respectfully renew the recommendations
road In my report of last yt ar for an Increase
of serrlco from monthly to semi monthly
trips on the mall stcanwhlp route to Brazil,
and also for a moderate subsidy In aid of tho
establishment and maintenance of an Anurl
can line of mall steamers between San r ran
cisco and New Zetland and Australia, by way
of the Hawallau Islands
A postal convention has been eoncludcd
with the Klngderu of Denmark, a opy of
which 1 appcaded, establishing, from Janu
ary 1, 1873, a reduced International postage
of 7 esnts twr sin 'le rate on letters exchanged
with that kingdom, and moderated charge
on print of all kinds, pattern and sample
of merchandise. Similar postal tonventlona
have been agreed upon with the postal ad
ministrations of tin kingdoms of Saeden and
norway, anu now awau lormat execution
These conventions will estat llth a reduced in
ternational letter noataia of 9 cants rxr slucte
rate to Sweddn nnd 10 tents per single rate to
Norway
A second additional convention has been
concluded with Switzerland, establishing a
regular exchange of correspondence, In closed
malls, at reduced postage rates, by the route
through Germany, via Bremen or Hamburg, a
2.083 were filed for reclamation
1 lie number containing pnotograpn wa
43,093, of which 33,981 were delivered, and
10,113 were filed
The nnmber containing receipts, bills of
lading, Ac , w as 20,932, of which 25,013 were
delivered, and 1,940 were Olod. The number
containing pontage and revenue stamp, and
articles of small value, waa 38,370, of which
32,601 wero delivered, and 5,402 were filed
remalled to the writer, wm 1.529.707. of
which 1,310,507 were delivered, and 319,300
were returned to the oftlc and destroyed
The number tn which tho writer' name and
local addrM wro omitted, or were Illegible,
nnd of letter containing clrcutar, Ac . and
consequently dentroyed, was 2,394 571.
Of tli nnmallable letters. 312840 ere de
tained for iMMtage, not bcinz prepaid m re
quired by law They wero either wholly un
paid, were not prepaid one full rate, or were
stamped with Illegal or revenue stamps, 03,
337 w ere misdirected, the pot office, Slate or
some necessary part of the address being
omitted, and 4,011 had no address whatever
Iho number of annllcatton for dead letter
wm 7.159, and In 3 283 cases tho letur were
found and forwarded to tho apj llcant or
owner.
The amounts dcpoelted In the United State
Treasury wcrot ior unclaimed dead Utter
money during the year, 72'jy, for proceeds
ofsaluof wute paper during theyear, 13,
ftbo.13, for proceeds of sale of pout route
nuipa, 703 31, for proceed of sate of old car-
put. tko 1 1, tout! mwceuancou, n m a,
tulal deposited during the year, 11,04 22.
POSTAL UONKT-OBOEB BVBTKU
The number of money-order post offices In
operation dnrlnir the last veer was 3 413
On the 15th ofJuIr. 1872. 324 additional
office were established aud ouo wm discon
tinued, so that the hole number Is now 2,773.
The number of domestic money orders
issued during tho year waa 2.57340- of whit h
the aggregate value was ?43,515,'G3 73 The
uumbcr of such order paid wm 2 50A330,
amounting in vaiueiot,,u.Jlo.) os, towniru
Is tn Iw added tlie amount of orders repaid to
tho remitters, J77,339 09, total of piyments,
43,419,014 97; execea of Imucs otr ptv
ments, 90,887 73
The ainouut of fees or commlsalons re
ceived from tho public by postmaster for tho
Issue of money orueri wm -,: uu.
Ihceo transactions exhibit au Increase over
1871 of 10,331,414 09, or about 15 per cent ,tu
the amount of orders issued, of 0,893,308 60,
or about 13 1-0 per sent , In tho amount of
order paid, nud of M,-0161, or 16 per
uent , lu the amount of foes received
The average amount of the money order
issued during the last ) ear was tl8 85, being
03 ccuu less than the avt rage of the preeed
lng j ear
in
opy of vi hkh 1 annexed
Tli I
over tlie Drecedlnz year of A hour 10 min
ute going south, and 0 hours 23 minutes go
ing north
Prior to October, 1871, the through malls
from WMhlngton to Clmlnnatl were con
veyed principally via Columbus, Ohio, the
average time occupied lu the transit being
about 13 hours 30 minutes Durlug the year
ending with the month of September, 1873,
they were conveyed wholly via Parkeribnrg,
West Virginia, the average time occuiled lu
Mm imiihU tie In it SU boura 45 mlnntea.
Tne turongu mail mines uue uicuuonvu
exhibit many other Interesting fact con
nected with tbe transmission of mulls on a
numurot trie leaning ami inon iinjtorinui
routes
ui ii. niPRcnATmM
The nnmlr of complaint of missing leltera
dnrlnir (he veftr waa 4.KW. of ft hkh 3.IMJ5 V, ere
registered and 2,503 unregistered, containing
bond, draft and currency to the nomlnul
amount of SJ33.470 84 Of reirlstcred Utters
839 were act oiinted for. and only 173 have
been retried as actually lost The n main
Ing cases are In the hands of special agtnu
for investigation.
For violation of the noslal law S. 190 Mr-
sou have been arrested, of Mhom 09 hate
been convicted and sentenced to different de
gree of punishment, and of Ihe remainder
some have btou dbxhaitMl aud others are
awaiting trial.
auiLwiT roT orricts.
Railway post office continue to ret eh e the
special attention of the Department, and the
Improvement effected during the past j'ear
hM been most gratlfjlng, blnce the 30th of
June, 1871, this brautli of thoaervUe ha been
lartrelv extended 1- l-tit n..a. i.a.. i... ..
esublishe.1, with an aggregate length of 2,WO
mile. Ibe da.11 aervln hB t .... '.
0,094 mile, and the annual service 3,234,310
VVrt 'iV... ? HW-7--e appointment of
130 additional poBtal clerks, of various grade,
at an anuual cot of tin an t-i.i- b- ..-"'
jented In the appendix, with the report ofthe
Second Abslstant Postmaster OenuraL show
tho exact condition of every Hue of railway
poet office on the 30th of June last, lofcther
with the Improvement aud appolntuient
made during the preceding year
VOBXION MlIt-9
Tbe total number of letter exchanged dur
ing ma year wuu lurvigu i-uunum wa dL
liua.&OO, an locrea of 1 000,503 over the nxmi
bar raoortad for 1871 Of this number 12 rr. .
0W were sent from and 11,W8,4W were re
Doatal conventions with Fcnadorand
tlie Argentine Republic, referred to In my last
report, bar been ratified by the Governments
of thoe conntrtes, respectively, and tli rati
fication thereof exchanged at Washlagton
Copies of these conventions ar hereto au
nexed.
A Doatal contention with Newfoundland.
reducing the International Utter-pontage to 0
cent, ha been concluded, a copy of which is
aonexcfl
Darius' mv administration. Imnrovcd rntal
conventions and arrangement have been con
cluded with Uie leading commercial countries
ui avurupa auu Ainuricn, csiauiisuin yrvuiijr
reduced postage-charges on cuntfpomleh.ee
with atl parts of tho (Ulltzrd world Franco
Is the only commercial country of prominence
lit) which any serious difficulty has been en
countered In effect lug a reduction of postage
and othorn lso Improt ing tho conditions of in
ternational mail communication I hate the
satisfaction to state, however, that the nego
tiation) with the French government give
promiie of the early touclimlou of a postal
convention, flilnir the slimlo rate, of Interna
tional portage at 8 cent (40 centimes) per 10
grammes, anu proviuiug ior ino cxiuange oi
printeu papers ui every aiua uiMn siuisirc
tory terms Tbe draught of thla contention
has been definitely agreed to by the French
director of oosU. and has been submitted for
tho approval of tlie minister of tlnanio Its
ront lus Ion will nmce our postal communlca'
ttous with all part of the world on a most
autantageous looting, icuviug muu iu im uc
rjimnllslied bv treatv for some time to eoine.
n lth respect either to clieapuoas of rite or
lacilllic OI postal iiue're-uurrr
ArPOlSTalENTS
The report of thw appoint mt'ut oQIce eliows
the following Number of post file e estab
lished uiirluu tne ytnr, J ,u.t, nuiuucr uisiou
tlnti. .1 hKvTiuna-e. 1 818. number In oin,ra-
Hon on June 30, 1871, 30 04; number In
Iim whole ntimtier of duplicate orders
drawn wm 13,7, of which 13,57J were Is
sued to replace original order which had
been lust, or failed to reach their destination
Indue time, by reason of imperfect or erro-
imnin innrau or ciimiira tn uhifd a rciiuiuLB
Oue hundred and thirty-three duplicates we-rc
la Ueu oi oraers rcnucrcu mtaiiu oocause nu.
presented for payment before tbe expiration
oi one J car nuur ui. hu iuuovdu hois iu
rlaee of order Invalidated lv more than one
Indorse menl 1 here were 4,803, or almost 55
per cent, more duplicate Issued last year
than during tbe previous year. A considera
ble jMirilon 01,1ms largo incre-aae is iu u hv
trlbuted tnlhedestruillonor defacement of
money order by the great fire at Chicago.
Tbe receipt and expenditure of the do
mestic money-order st stem, m adjusted and
reported by the auditor, were as follows, tlz
Udcelpta, fees received for money-orders Is
sued. J30 285 00 1 amount received for pre
mium on drill, 313 74; Total ri5Q,4W 40
Expenditures, commission to postmasters
and allowance for clerk-hire, 4J24.525.99,
allowances fur postmasters remittances lost
In transmission by mall, t3,bejl ; incidental
extne for stationery and fixture, 10,131 -04911,3310.1.
Fxcess of receipts over
pondtture, 103,977 77.
Th aboia avces. and also the further sura
of (337,410 80, being the total of profits which
nate accrueu iruiu .u epuraiiuu ui iuc
mniievtrder avatein f roui November 1. 18tH.
to June 30, 1873, have been duly placed to the
credit of the Treasurer of tho United States,
fnr Dim nlci of the Post-Omxe Department.
In pursuance of the prot Ulons of see lion 43 of
tun aci oi tiuiiv o, joi
Durlnir the iat tear the acjrecate amonnt
of eurpui funds deposit wl by tbe smaller
offices In tbe larger wm 30,548,039 97
Iwuuty of them) remittances, ainnnnting to
4 018, were reported as lost In transuilMlon
by mall,4ln le, by 7,003 53, than the
los-cs of the Previous tear
Drafts on the pott t master at New York to
the amount of 4,193,521 were drawn by cer
tain postmaster whe receipts from the salo
of order occaslonallv or habitually fell short
.ritiA nmit rt'iulred bv tbein to nav order
on present st Ion Postmasters InthoPaeltlc
(Stales aim lerniojirn, nuuiuuim iucuhcmti
at any time In want of assistance to make
Ihdr moncorder payments, were, nioii ap
plication, supplied with the rcoulslte funds by
either the postmaster at San I ranelsco or the
operation on June 30, 1873, 31,80,1, numlier to iKiatmasier at Portlaml, Oregon, at was most
be fllltd by apiKiintmcnt oi iiw ric-nicni, i LUutenlenttotiie applicant iuresHctiurotii
1 300, number to Ik) filled by appointment of
the Postmaster licuerai, jimiui
Appointment wer made during the jesr ,
On resignations, 4,091, on removals 039 on
change of natni and eltos, lO1, on death
of pew tin asters, 838 on establishment of new
post Dices, 3 703, tot il HpiHilntmcnls, 8,2t)
numterof cusesaettd on during tho ye-ar,
9,410. , ,
1 he numlier nnd aggrcgnti nmpt nsallon of
special agents, route agents, imttl ruute inis
Samrera. rallwuv tMkat-ollUa derk and lotul
ag-mta, InservUedmlug tlie tear ended June
30, 173, wcrei 59 siH-elal agent, 108,735
704 i-oute ageuu, 737 830, 140 mail ruule
messengers, 89,910, OU railway jtort-utllee
vlerk, 812,600, 93 local agent, Wi,ii tot tl
wmptnttoo. Cl.878,801
Ibe fre-dUvry sysum has bn In opera
tion durtiify th. j- i mi... t.u ...i...
lived In the United Slate. ii.aAVi.el? 'Z'WJ" ... u..--w u. .u. P..u-
Th. number f lettr. (.Ingle rate) ex. ' ,u, NnubeV " " t rrSf.i'Iia n
,t.n. In Iballtilt.! HULtaa mid F.nrniwan t-.t .7,yr.wl."u.eporfUr, i 4J, U
eelved in the United Slate.
Tb number of letUrs
the rule, the proprietor having preferred to changed in the United StaUe wd European, Ultor dslivere.
over the number reported for 1871 30,027,
tomaeiuw the trans portatlou of the mail ' mail, wo 17,083.999, an Increase of 8,509,U9 llvered Oo',7SrSuVeT
.'f,.wllr eullMtadL 115.117.3Jli
wtthnnt a fixed compensation, leatlns thi
rata at pay to be afterward dstermhivd ue
morihur to tka irrod of the aervle
wnBV.vmrt'rs uim 1 US7 25.
The preparation and publication of post 1 amount reported for 1871
foal mapa bav ba eontlnuad dnrlnir tho Th artrrcuratc ainoant
laud,
The total postages ou the letter exchanmd amonnt paid carrlsr lhVdii!? i.m uli li ..
ttllh foreign eouutrlMamouuted to l.btl, pus. kaas.vfiSrSJ uJliiwi
257 25, an locreo of IV3.WJ0 98 ever it 907,351 $,""iVi ? on locAl matter,
(mnlfiiilon Iho umouut reiulltcM for this
iwriHwu bv the fonncr postmaster was trJ,-
'. .. .. i i. i.ii.. ai4 ,uo
ioi, mm uv iii inim j. .
Of the. whole of orders paid, vlx 2 503,310,
It wa auegeltliat pajmeut of ft.1 was fraudu
lentlv proeurtd through forgory of the payee s
signature, or by fale preteUMB, being at Itie
rate of one fraudulent pattnent In every 77,
bis pavtut uls
L n Iur the authority g'vt n to the Postrais
tcrddierd by sttitun UUuf ilia act approved
JUlie H, l"lJ, IIIB iiiuijcj-iuuci PiPiriu !..
on the nth oi JiUV last, eaienueu io leu oi
tbu slHllons or sub ihisI nltli-js uf ttio city of
New luik, seleited with a view to nubile
e out entente, und to three at Boston Irom
thit data to the elose of tbe quarter ended
bcmeuiU r JO, 1873, the stalloiu of New lork
lasiird oiders to tbe amount of tUJWlT,
nnd paid orders to the amount of 9M9.0
it m.m it.i.toii si itlon the issue during the
tame time vter 9 5U 70 aud the pajuieuu
e07v'l , .
it,. 0lr,rr. Mitu amount In currency deuo-
Itetl with the postmasurrs in thi country to
be trensiuitted by international pottal orders
reduction of existing rate of postage, and
for the introduction of other needful rufonus,
I know ol no measure more entitled to favor
able action than the above-mentioned House
bill now pending In the Senate. I therefore
feel that! canuot too strongly nrge Its pa
sage Immediately after tho reassembling of
Congress
lOSTALTELEORiril
lis compliance with the provision of law
requiring the Postmaster General annually to
fix the rate for official telegraphic dl-patche
I Issued an order, dated the 29th of Juno.
1873, one section of which retained the pre
uuu-ij-cBiBim-iiru. rate ior orumary leie
grams, rlx , one cent per word for each dis
tance of two hundred and flftv miles, or frac
tion thereof, to which rate no format objec
tion bad been made by tbe telegraph com-
The rates established In 1S71 for sltmal sen
vice messages having been objected to aa too
low by the estern Union Telegraph Company,
by whom the greater part of the service wa
performed, I again availed myself of the ex-
Sirlenced counsel and assistance of llrlgadler
encral Allert J Myer, chief tgnal olficer,
and Hon William U biting, specially retained
aa Assistant Attorney Oeneral, with authority
lo represent tho United State In the negotia
tions with tho telegraph companies.
ine western union company conienneti,
first, that tbe signal service messages, which,
to be effective, repilre simultaneous trans
mission through, special circuit at certain
times, wore not covered by tho second section
of tho act approved July 21, 1800, entitled
"An ac. to aiu iu toe construction oi i eirrann
lino, and to secure to the Government the use
of tho same for postal, military and other
purposes, ana couia oniy oe sent oy special
arrangemant, second, that the understanding
under which tho company had been trans
mitting such reports wm not intended to be
continuous, but wm terminable at the plea
nre of the company at the end of a year from
the 21th of Mav. 1871. when the comoanv
gave formal notice that It would discontinue
tbe service unla a higher rate ahould be
allowed therefor
On both of these point I took the opposite
ground, malntalulnjr tbe right of the Govern
ment to require the transmission of the
wcatbef report nnder the act of 1800, and
also asserting the permanent character of the
Msent of tbe company to thla coiutrocUon of
the law In view, however, of the represen
tation of the company m to tbe Insufficiency
of the compensation previously allowed, and
acting on tbe recommendations of General
Myer and Mr Whlilog, I advanced tbe rate
for signal service message from two to three
cents per word for each circuit over which
they might pau, In accordance with the plan
Ol ine cuici signal ouicrr
Grave dlfilcultie have arisen fmm time to
lime between the Goternment and certain of
the telegraph companies, w bleb bare declined,
and still decline, to furnish such facilities a
are deemed essential to the perfect success of
the signal service
In my opinion, a Goternment telegraph af
ford the oulv safeguard airaiast tho continu
ance of such evils bile the embarrassment
consequent on the altitude of tbe telegraph
companies toward the Government demands
considerations which point to the adoption of
a postal telegraph a a measure of Immediate
public necessity
When, through the Morality of Congress,
the first telegraph Hue had been constructed,
and tbe partial aucces of the Invention dem
onstrated, tlie Question arose whether the
Government ahould purchase the patent or
relinquish to private partltstbe line which It
had built Tu reason why the Government
bould assnme control of thi new mean of
transmitting Intelligence were forHbly set
forth in tarlou letter of the Inventor, and In
a report of the Way and Aleana Committee f
tne House oi representative.
This report, (No 187, second eesslon
Twenty-eighth Congress, after enlacing upon
tlie wisdom of the policy which led the
founder of our Government, "devoted a
they ar known to hate been to the power
and Importance of the State, and jealously
apprehensive of the undue preponderance of
the Federal branch," to 'engraft on that
branch a power go great, so growing, so pane
tratliur and pervading m that of the post
I office system, and aUudlnj to tbe extension
oi mat power uy mo buuliuu ui au tue more
rapid and Improved method of transmission
which had been Introduced since, the adoption
of the Constitution, continues t
1 Dut, though not anticipated or forwecn,
these new unl linrrrfUd modes were a
clearly within the purview of the Constitution
a were the older and less pcrfoct one with
tthlch onr ancestor were familiar
The eniue principle which Justified and de
manded the transference of tbe mall, on
many eblef routes, from tho horse-drawn
coach on common hlghwnv s to steam Impelled
vehicle on land and water. Is equally potent
to warrant tbe cnlliug of the electro-magnetic
teleirrauh In aid of the ikmH orllce in dlscTiariru
of It great fuue lion of rapidly transmitting
eorrrsuumiriu'e mm luiniinuu
Ana again
"Should tbe arrangement Into which he
(the inventor) may find it uecessarv to enter
with l rlvate Individual or associations stlim-
lato est lu.lv e rights In their fator, it I inanV
fest how greatly Goteruuicut and people
would lie at their mercy Having In their
hand the monopoly of such a medium f tn
telllgence on tbe important Hues, they could
make such use of their advantage over the
Government and the community as would at
length enable ihom to exact their own term
a tue price of tbelr surrender of their exclu
sive riiihli for tbe truth cannot be too often
repeaiea, or tooueepiv imprvsseu, in relation
to this subject that thepoople will neter tub
nilt long to the mischief and discredit of tlie
public post being outstripped by any private
inouupuiy ur nvautiaiuue ut nuaiorer tu
under acomniou representative republic could
lo expected to take place throughout such :
Immense liotimt That doubt can nu longer
evlt It hns lccn resolved and put an end to
forever by tbe triumphant success of tbe elec-:
iro-ni ague tic teiegrapn oi rroiessor .-Horse, as
already testcil by the Government '
Owing tn the slowness of the put lie to
recognlx the advantage of tho new Inven
tion, and tbe doubt cast on the feaslbllltr of
ll operation over long distance, tbe course
recoiii meuueu ny tue committee waa noi
ad "led. and the line, built and for some time
maintained at Government expense, wa
turned over to tbe holders of tbe patent
Since that day tbe above prediction have
been jrroduallr epproachlni reallxallon. and
many evils, unforeseen by the committee, have
grown up under corporate management o( the
leirgrupu system
If tho en ecu of rivalry between the tele
graph and Hie mall upon the revenue of the
I "Out office hare not been serious. It I due
alone to the liberal management of the latter
a compared with that of the companies,
a management which, since the Invention of
the telegraph, hM reduced the rates of postage
from taeniy-flre to three cent, and Increased
tan-fold tne correspondence of the country.
The natural policy of private companies Is
to extend facllltle slowly and only to profit
able points, to let their btulo augment
gradually, and to reap large profit from a
email number of messages, while a Govern
ment system, managea in ine interests oi toe
ropU pumice exactly the opposite course
lad the policy of the poet office bee adopted
by the telegraph companion, or had the Gov
ernment held to the eld rate of postage, the
telegraph, Instead of now transmitting one
fiftieth part Of the annnal correspondence of
the country, (collecting thrfr one-third of
the entire expense of the post office establish
ment,) would probably transmit at least one
tenth The profits required of private enter
prist would not bare permitted such a
course- Hut improvements In tetegraphy
nnder It bj no mean certain thatlnfutnre
the telegraph will not to a very great extent
supersede the mall as a means of correapond
enen The Introduction of the duptex trans
mitter, doubling the capacity of lines for
through buslnc, and of the rfast" or auto
matic system, by whlth one wire can temade
to do the work of slxj the probable simplifi
cation of the fac-lmlle system of Caselll, by
which an exact copy of anything that can be
drawn r written may be Instantaneously
made to appear at a distance of hundred of
mile from the original, and the counties
other application of electricity to the trans
mission of Intelligence yet to be made, must
aooner or later Interfere moat serlomly with
tho transportation of letters by the slower
mean of the post.
Meanwhile, the Immediate defect and
abuse ofthe teleirraph call loudly for reform
The st stem Iim grown up with and by the
siue oi rauroaoB. ana n&s naiurauy uirccicu
Itself to profitable and easily accessible dis
tricts ll har followod the march of civiliza
tion, and not. like the nost office. led the van
It ha waited for certain remuneration before
advancing without attempting to educate the
people through lis use to tn appreciation of
Its advantages On the contrary, It sptrlt
h js been too often Illiberal and un progressive
A glance at the telegraph map of the country
shows targe district totally unprovided with
tc ftrraniii! facilities, ana mauv important
place with post ofilce In their business cen
tres uepcnacm upon tne uuujihk ruinnw
station for the mean of telegraphing The
tariff are exorbitant, unequal and complex,
supplemented iu some cue uy enormous
charges for local dallverv. and resrulated en-
r. ;" t; -;.-i ''.- 1 -
lireiy oy ine 1 lensuro ui mo ruuiiiiuw iu
thi connection I ask attention to the table
(Telegraph, 3) appended to this report It
ha been carefully compiled from statistics
kindly furnished me by tno International Bu
reau of Telegraph lu Europe, by the direc
tor of the different national bureaus, by Mr
George Saner, an American gentleman resid
ing in Europe, who hM made the subject of
goternment telegraph a special atudy, and
by the officer f several of the American
companies, to all of whom I desire to express
my acknowledgments.
The table show that, with a cost per mile
for construction and enntnment much lower
here than in Jlavarla, franc, QcfiAt Britain,
Italy, and the average of Europe, and about
equal to that In Belgium and North Germany,
Biifi wiin . Year it ciucuin irei iiiiiu ut nut
which will compare most favorably with that
of the countries mentioned, the telegraph In
this country collect an average of TO cents
on each message, against an average of 10
cents in jlBTSris mm omnium, m ,',
39 In Great Krltaln, : in Italy, -a in uermanr,
and 38 In Europe generally. On tho conti
nent, the minimum tariff I for twentr words.
inMnitinir ajidreaa and alirnature ("which are
estimated together to aterage seven wordsi)
in the United Kingdom it is tor twenty worn-,
exclusive of address and signature! while in
the United States tho addres and signature
are excluded, nnd tea word only allowed
The table (Telegraphs, i) jglve a compari
son of telegraphic tariff In Europe with those
In tho United State m regards distance,
showing the lowest average rate per mile on
33 me-sago sent from W ashlngton to points
east of the Mississippi river to he higher than
the highest average rate per mile abroad (that
in Russia,) and the average rate per mile on
W messages here to be from one and one half
to four time as high ft those of Kurope, not
withstanding the greater Distance in mis
country
ine same taoio aiso uiiiu uiob ummj .mb
Inemmlliv and dbtciimluatlntr character of
tmcrlcae tariffs, m opposed to the generally
uuirorm rate 01 turop
The unliortn system dm recently ueen
However tintust mar be th SnSPlflon that lenatrma an.l ,-MA.iatl in wnnr tht
t hose oontrolllog the telegraph make use of principal, eteo at the greatly redoewl
Ihe Information pMsing over their wire, It rale whlrii prevail In foreign rAonlrlee.
w 11 probably rooilnue to impair public con-1 W bile the limited data now at my commanjl
fldenee In Oil mean of correspondence m will not permit mo to give detailed estimate,
1 mg a It remains In the naodsofperaon en- my Information on tbe subject 1 sufficiently
gaged in commercial pursuits The bu1ne I accurate to enable me to lay before you th
community, from whhh In thi country by following general plan riefnr It can ln
far the larger part of the telrtfrajhlc patron clal-orated. It Is neccMary that I should bn
age Is derived, will certainly t-o more reluc- autliorl'c.l to appoint the appraiser prot ldel
- """ " MtTw nrw iwhw '' 1 " " ine acior ioisi, ami, in ewioiiion inercio.
than to officer of Uie flnvernmant W'
the tatter, however, to have the same motive
for scrutinising messages, the vast amount of
business under a low Government tariff would
render llmnch less practicable. The tue of
ciphers, now frequent among business men,
Iim to some extent nentrallwd the danger of
tbe divulge men l of secrets) !mt theso cannot
lrt used on every otcaMon In commercial
transactions
The sendtnir nf free messnire not onlv Im
pose a large burden upon the paying public,
but leads to conieonencce, which I need not
here discuss, more dangerous In proportion
10 ineir extent, man tnose wnicn spring irom
the abuse of the franking privilege of the
post office About 7 per cent of the entire
' The f. il low Ing paragraph of the report must business men controlling them 1 theenonnons shown that tbe erren-e of acquiring acorn
I now bo read wlih tciillar Interest 1 and damremu extent of tbe free-m? nrhanit-r.i..rtr. tinH.artianhnfne.
It appeara f rorn the acoompanylng report The committee might easily add to the business the dlserlml nation ttweo the and that the system, nre acquired, can b-
if the Auditor that, af tee oavment of all net- Views .n1 arirtimrnla which they have now bie.sfes of different rnatotner. both aa lo tninir(t m aiira tmm ih Mlnii nf th v
Ural uus owuzeriana on ton bxcubmik u
monsr-oraer auring tne year, a net pre
f2.A4A.AQ .upnad J, (h ITnlteil filatei
. , . . ... . .... ... i -
rnsniMnrnn Tint ta nf tn nrmnm krnun wniin or in mo rmerireociea oi war.
aid for gold fond to meet balances due I Rid Its singular adeptcdnes to render our
wltxerland. havlmr amounted to onlf i8fi 00. "ystcm of irovernment easily and certainly
of which t30.ll were commission to post maintainable ovor the Immense rpace f rom
masters, and 57 7 Incidental expense Tho 1 tbe Atlantic to tbe Taciflc which nor territory
total cost of premium on payment of gold over Doubt hM been entertained by many
balance wn 0,005 30. palrlotte mind how far Ihe rapid, full, and
Adilltlonal article to the postal convention "oroiijiii iniermniunicaiion m tnougnt anu
it 13, 1807, for tbe "Htiigriico so necessary 10 a people living
conrtuue!
coni
mission for tho bwue of International orduf
are simplified Formerly each postal admin
istration charged, In the first place, it ordi
nary domestic rate for the Issue of an inter
national order, and then deducted, at It dis
patching exchange office, one per cent, from
the amount of tho order to meet the cost of
exchange. Finally the exchange office of tbe
paying country made a further deduction
from tbe order, as a charge for payment,
equal to the amount of Us ordinary domestic
fee At present a single fee only I charged,
which I paid by the remitter, and each postal
department pays to th other one per cent of
the total amount of order whhu it Issue
The rate of the commlnston for the Issue of
order In Switzerland I fixed at two per
cent , gold value, and In thi country at two
and one half per cent In eurrency A copy
of the convention making tlicso modification
accompanies this report
ja ino ibi 01 uctooer, lin, tne system ior
the exchange of money order letwoen the
United State and the United Kingdom wa
put Into operation. From that date to tho
close of the fiscal year the amonnt of order
Issued In this conntry for payment In the Uni
ted Kingdom wa )77.430 08, and the amount
of order from that kingdom paid hero w a
1X1810 83. The fee received amounted to
33, 400.64, and the om paid for commission
to postmaster, clerk hire, and Incident!! ex
pense, was 0,833 85.
In purenance of the provision of a posUl
convention concluded at Berlin July 23, 1871,
a copy of which 1 hereto annexed, tho ex
change of postal money order between the
United State and the German Empire wa
commenced October 1, 18T3
MiBCELLANEorj rruijcift. PHtVIieOE
In my three pre v ion report I have ur
gently recommended the Immediate and un
conditional repearof the franking privilege
The experience of the past year has strength
ened my conviction that Its abolition Is abso
lutely necessary to an c tilde nt, economical
and vigorous administration of onr postal sys
tem Hy reference to a special report mate to
CongreMOu tbe 12th of January, 1871, It will
appear that the actual cost of free matter. If
ennrgeq wiin tno regular rates el postage,
wm then t3,&t3 ,337 TJ aunnally Ourlng tho
lite Presidential canvas, tbe quantity of such
matter wa largely Increase!, and I think It
safe to y that the free matter carried during
tho past year, if taxed at ordinary rale,
would havo yielded a revenue of three and n
half millions of dollar, a sum larecr than the
entire deficiency of tho year Iu addition to
mo neavy iom 01 revenue thu indicated,
Sreat lnoontenlen.ee wm experienced from
erungemrnt and delay In the regular and
prompt transmission of the. malts pmml hv
,uu iuiiiiniki biuiiuiii ui irea uinucr iiirowu.
unueniy, ana witnont notice Or system, nnon
the postal routes of the country Tho dofiys
aud lrregularltie wholly chargeable to this
cause hare been the subject of many com
plaint during the past year At the last ses
sion nf CookTress, a bill PMsed the House of
Representatives, by a vote of 131 to Si, for
tne unconditional repeal of the franking
privilege, but reached the Senate too late for
action before the adjournment If It bo
deemed desirable to reduce the public expendi
tures by removing tbe constantly increasing
burden Imposed upon tbe TreMury by the
irnuaing pnvuege, ana it ii do consiaerea a
wise measure of administration to make the
postal service as nearly a practicable self
mus preparing tne way ior tue
telegraphing of the country I done without
apparent remuneration
The discrimination between the message
of different customer consists, first. In the
transmission of "commercial news In ad
vance of Its regular order for distribution
among subscriber, to the delay of the mes
sages of those, who do not patronise the
"commercial new bureau," although of tbe
same or an equally Important class, and, see
ond, In unequal charge for equal service,
from which Injustice a portion of the newipe
per press 1 the chief sufferer
The relations of tbe telegraph to tbe press
are necessarily of a very Intimate character
Tbe pnbllcatlon of telegraphic items tmlng
become at an early day a large and essential
part of tbe bnslness of newspaper, arrange
ments were soon made for their collection
and transmission Press association were
formed, with agencies at all Important new
ceatre, and by co-operation were enabled to
secure the transmission nf tbelr dispatches at
rate which, though hardly le profitable to
the companies than those for prlrate mes
sage, were still exceedingly low when divided
among the several newspaper In addition
to their associated dispatches, manr of these
papers received "special, " for which Ihe tel
egraphic charge were also somewhat lower
man tne orumary lanu
For mutual advantage and protection
against competition, an exclusive character
wa given 10 inese arrangement, ine news
paper agreeing not to rmtronlre or encour-
t.V .rSruvik!UII II11CW, UUU .tic Cirial l.fll-
panle agreeing on their part to charge higher
raw ior --special 10 paper not oeinngiug
to the associations, but at the same time re
talnlng control over the Msoclated papers hy
refusing to enter Into permanent or long con
tracts with them
The result of thi combination has been the
repression of newspaper enterprise, the asso
ciation requiring In ome cases a unanimous
vote for the admission of a new member, and
the rate for "special" to non-aoclatlon
paper being o high a to prevent, In many
cases, their establishment
The Immediate Interest of the associated
paper have led man of them. In conjunc
tion with the telegraph companies, to appose
a Government telegraph I am satisfied, how
ever, that the press generally would derive
such great benefit! from the change that even
those papers to which the sale of dispatches
1 a source of actnal revenue will gain rather
thanloe by It The great majority will halt
with Joy a relief from their dependence upon
the telegraph companies, without which relief
thev never can be entirely free
The Department could not, of course, at
tempt to regulate the membership nt press m
soclatlon. It could, however, abolish the
distinction In charge between association and
outside paper with, regard to special dl
. Patches. Looklnir noon the ores m the irreat
agentof popular education, the Government
would make a liberal reduction In It favor
from the tariff for private messages, and would
measure inecnarge Dy ine wnra aone, wnetner
for a single paper or an Msoctatlon. Tho
rate, 11 is uopoo, won in txt o low a to per
mit a free uo of the telegraph by all The
renting of special wires by the press would
oe rncoiirafreu
The consideration above noted have long
appealed to Congress for the establUhment of
a postal telegraph. The importance of the
meMura has been urged from all point of
view by State Legislatures, by board of
iraae. nv commercial convention", ov ine in-
alevat4nt pre, and by private person,
many ot wnom nave neen prominently identi
fied with the practical working of the tele
graph in thi and other countries The legis
lation of Congre, which had previously been
confined to the liberal encouragement of the
telegraph In private hands, wa directed,
after the close of the rebellion, toward It as
sumption by the Government M part of the
post-office establishment Strenuou opposi
tion wm manifested to this proposal Tbe
rcMoui alleged against It adoption were prin
cipally 1 That the teleirraph was essentially a Pri
vate Interest, and should not be controlled by
Government, especially In a republic.
3. That under our political ststem a Gov
ernment telegraph would be a dangerous In
strument m tue nanus 01 inn party in power,
adopted In Canada, and a tariff of twenty-five
cent established tnruugbout tue imnunion,
with hla-blv satisfactory result, as will be
seen by reference to th statement of the pre-
euteni 01 ine Montreal acirgrapu vuiui'aujr,
(teiegrapn, n,j ior wnicn 1 am inuauicu 10
itia linnnrahi Postmaster General of Canada
The complex and uncertain character of
our rate, necessitating somettmea a personal
visit to tbe office, aud frequently a lengthy
computation to ascertain tne cost, 1 aisq,one
of tlie greatest obstacle In the way of the ex
tended ue of the telegraph A uniform or
Implo and well-known rate of charge per
mit the use of letter-boxe or other place f
deposit
The table (Telegraphs, A) Illustrates the ex
tent to which Uie rate to large rltle In the
United State are burdened with delivery
charge, which often double the cost of a
message addressed lo point very fr within
the free delivery of th pott office Tbe abo
lition of thi delivery charge tn England by
the Government ha produced a most salutary
effect
Hut nerbao the irreaiesl at 11 of the Ameri
can system. In this regard, 1 the utter luck of
restraint upon the compauie m to their
charge. When tho "exclusive right," or
patent, referred to tn the report above quoted
tinlnvi. it wm believed that competition
would afford a remedy for the etll which
were eten then oppressively frit by those who
had oct aslon to use tbe telegraphs
LvtmLs. however, have shown tbl belief to
hav e been unfounded Although now compa
nies have from time to time sprung up to di
vine tne prouu ui ten Kraiwj, iuev uio Km
erally proved short lived, and their reduc
tion 01 isriuusts ewwo uut iuipu(j auu
within narrow limit Tbe vast extent of the
line of the compauie now consolidated nnder
tue name 01 me western union iim enaoioa
thein to reduce rate between place reached
tv tne opposition to a itoint wnicn naroiv en
ables the latter to meet expenses, without
seriously Impairing their own revenue. In
credible m It may appear, tbe olllclal state
ment of the W eatern Union Company bow
that their average receipt per message bu
been lucrcawd eleven ccut, or nearly M per
cent, sluce 1807, notwithstanding tbu un
doubted reduction of tariff between import
ant points vtuemer tni is nue to me aug
mentation of rate lie t ween otltce not rcachud
by competition, or to some other cause, I do
not kuow
Not only hM competition thus failed to af
fect the great uiui of tli telegraphic biui
uesa, but, In addition, there are evidence of
a combination between the competing partlc
which has recently resulted In au advanco of
rates between points reached bv the wire of
both Ihe table 1 Icleirrapu. 71 ir ve a few
s pet I men of rati In operation previous to
ana aiuco tue 11 01 tiay, inrt, wuien were
fixed by u-creeinent Utwcvn coiupanle for
merly rival Tbe movement 1 erfcily natu
ral, and, from tht companies standpoint, jus
tifiable, for it cannot lm expected that a tariff
which U perhaps highly profitable looue com
pany wlllpuy, un a divided business, tbe more
lncreMlng It patronage, aud permitting it to
scrutinize and detay the message of the op
position
3 That Government management, thouirh
more expensive, would bo le elllcleiit, and
mat ine puouc would not ie o wen served
tberehv
4 That the cost nf the postal telegraph
would te more than the finance nf the coun
try would permit, particularly If, a wa
claimed. It could not be made self-supporting
Tlie drat three of these objections were not
deemed sufficient to counterbalance tbe ad
vantage which the proposition offered It
wa contended, and with effect, that the busi
ness f telegraphing wm nttantlally the
am m letter-carrying, and that no reason
tould be advanced lu favor of governmental
management of Uie one which did not apply
with vquol force to the other; that the Incor
poration of tbe telegraphs with the 1'ost Ofilce
would not at first add largely to the number
of official, and that tbe technical training
and experience which these officials must
have In order to perform their d u tie at all
would preclude tuelr selection for political
reasons, that the simple precaution of timing
the receipt, transmission, and delivery f mes
sage would prevent their delay, and that
ineir aecrecv rouia ne Menectuaur iruaraea
by Government under restraint of law m it
eter has Wen by private parties, that the
same motives for efficient management exist
on the part of salaried officials, whether iu
ine employ ni lueuovernmemor 01 awiaeiy
extended corporation, that the people could
exert a much greater Influence on a Govern
ment Department, through Congress aud
through the press, than they can upon a com
pany managed in the Interests of iu stock
holder, notwithstanding the legal responsi
bility of tlie latter, that the consolidation of
competing line and tho removal of the unices
Into the poet office would cause a large re
duction In the expense of management, and
that tbe employment of one staff for loih
postal and telegraphic service at perhaps two
third of tbe stations, beside further reduc
ing the expense, would enable the Depart
menttopay ltler salaries than are now re
ceived by either clM of employee, and secure
greater efficiency
Ihe fourth objection, supported a itwa
v ...i..i- .li- ,.. ;.. .' i.
uj siaiunii-a t-iaiiuiiig to muw mat gov e ru
le actor 1MHL ami. In aritllllon tnereto.
that a commission should l appointed, to)
consist of three member, conversant wttli
the subject, to examine tho different system
of telegraphy, and tn prepare a scheme! for
snbmlMion to tenures with the report of tba
appraUcrs.
cikhi me eniorcement ni tno an 01 1
the United Slate will come into possession.
of some 75,000 miles of telegraph line, carrv
Ing about 100 000 mile of wire. Upon tha
supposition, however, that If the Cf unpen le
not now operating nnder the act shall decline
to accept lis provisions. It will be necessary
for the Government lobnlld line of It own
covering their territory, I have made the fol
lowing estimate, to Include the lota! facili
ties 01 an tne companies, m shown in tne ta
ble, (Teleirrapbs, 8,) vlt, 77,000 miles of Una
and 105,000 mile of wire
Tit majority of line In thi conntry havo
been bnllt very cheaply, their entire cmt, In
cluding patent, bring probably mnch 1cm
than ttOOOOOOO. In fact, the pole havo
been erected In many case entirely without
cost to the telegraph companlea, by tlie rail
road along who tracks they are bv.llt. But
should It prove Impossible for the appraUere
to ascertain thi cost for each of tbe compa
nle. the mm for which the Government could
duplicate the existing system Is easily deter
mined Data In possession of this Depart
ment show that many line har been lately
built, probably not of the beat quality, but
fully np to the average standard, for not more
than f 113 per mile of slngle-wlr line, and
tilO per mile of additional w ire For equip
ment an allowance of (5 per mile of lLueie
ample W ere all the wire to be strung at tba
same time, m they would be If tho present
system were to be duplicated by tho Govern
ment, the cost would probably be much 1cm.
The cost of a new system, equal In extent l
the present, would, at the above rates, bet
911,880,000. Many nf the wire having, bow
ever, lieen In use for a long time, the apprais
er would probably ded net largely from thi
amount on account of deterioration, t ut tba
sum so deducted, at least, would hive: to l
paid out for reconstruction
It may be proper instate that 011.1 of tha
companies has advanced the theory that Ibe
Government should purchase, not only It tel
egraph lines, property, and effects, but also
tne good-will of it bnslness, baaed on present
and prospective profit. A It I difficult to
see how mere good-will can l brought before
the appraisers under the law m It stand. It
Is, perhap. unnecessary for me to discuss at
much length the merit of thla claim. It ha
not hitherto been thought neccuary for the
Government, In undertaking enterprise In
wnicti private parties arc aiso rncngru, euorr
to acquire the lacllltle of such prlrate parllea
or lo compensate them for their los on ac
count of it competition Up to the t ear 1800,
the Government wa certainly at liberty t
compete with telegraph companies, a It now
doe with bank aud express companies In It
money-order buslnce and parcel-post If.
then, m claimed by this company, the act of
imia oouna tne uorernment do; to enter ino
telcirraoliie field for fire rears, and when It
did enter to buy out the existing line Instead
01 no lining a more periect system 01 n owo,
the granting of these and the other conces
sions contained tn the act ought to have Im
proved th position of thu Government, In
stead of making It worse
There wm nothing compulsory lwt the
act, It acceptance by ihe compnnle wm
purely voluntary It looked toward a future
postal telegraph, set a time after which the
com panic mlirut expect to ee one established
and offered inducements, which it soera were
suffick-nt, for the companlc to agree to yield
up tbelr facilities upon the expiration of the
time designated.
The numne r In which the llrltisb Gotern
ment recently acquired tlie telegraphs cannot
)e cited m a precedent for tlie I nlied State.
there wm no ucn previous agreement
tween Her Majesty Government and the
companlc of tho united Kingdom, a con
tained In our act of 1800. The British Gov
ernment offered to nay twenty year profit,
and, the companlea having accepted tbe pro
position, the sitting Parliament sanctioned It
iiau uie compauie ecn earning percent,
which U a. fair retnrn to British capital on a
reliable home Investment, the price would
have simply equaled the cost of their line
it tnrncu out mat tncir proute were nearer
15 per cent 1 but the new Parliament, with
some opposition, sustained tbe agreement.
auu autnonzcu tue expeuuimrp. it must uu
rememlered, however, that tho Hrlttsu Gov
ernment ha always derived a revenue from
It pot office, and naturally took a commer
clal view of the acquisition of the telegraph
the argument wm uiai 11 ine nronts werr
higher than wm expected the Government
would get so much more for Its money, and
the sooner the purchase wa completed tbe
lictter The comprehensive, energetic, and
careful managemeet of Mr Sudamoro and
hi associate ha enabled the llrltUh Govern
ment to realise tbl view
Without the data to he acquired by thn
commission tt bleb. I have asked to be appoint
ed, I cannot givejtn accurate cut t mate of tho
addltlqatal faclhtltc which will tie necessary
to meet the increase of business on existing
route, or tbe exact extension which should
bo undertaken to point not now roached by
tne telegraph ttitu luorou-tu reconstruc
tion, however, the use of Improved Instru
ment, and the separation of potal from rail
way wire, tne capacity 01 existing routee
may, wlihont doubt, 1 doubled Certainly
will this be the case If, a Is anticipated, tha
additional message Induced by low tariff are
largely of a social character, sent out ot busi
ness nonrs, aua jienuuiiug a mum equal dis
tribution of buslne throughout the day and
night An increment of SO message per day
Iwtween any two office will, at an average
receiptor 33 cents, yield (1130 per Tear of
300 working dats, which will pjtup OOmlleA
nf additional wire, at 930 per mile, and leave
)180 for additional expenses. A business nf
40 messages dally, 'JO each way, will yield
t&lkV), sufficient to build a single-wire lino 35
miles, at )130 per mile, (luclmLTngflUpermlle
for additional expense away from railroad,)
leaving (710 for icrilcg and expense.
Whenever, therefore, sueh an iucreaa
take place on a circuit already established,
or such a hiulne can be predicted cf au
office away from the line, the above exten
sion will be Justified There are undoubted
ly large district and important point a
than doubled expense of two. cten if tho
capital lnvesii d In the oppobllloii system could
afford to wait for It dividend until the Hoe
the consideration of this proposliloi
Gotcrnmei
mental tolegrat b in Europo were nut self
supporting, weighed strongly against lmme-
aiate action on ine proamnion ior a postal
telegraph lo thi country
ih abuse of the existing erstcm were,
however, deeply felt Relief therefrom seemed
to be offered In 1806 by a new company, called
tho National, which sought to ottaio from
Concres certain valuable franchises, and
proponed in return to transmit Goternment
dispatches In advance of aud cheaper than
those of private partlc, aud lo submit lo a
proviso resertlng the right uf Government to
sirp iu at any time aim taae us lines at ail
appraincu vniue
In the cousU
uvnvicii ui a iuvn in iiiium ciovcruiueiie
telegraph still predominated It wa dee Ided
not to restrict the prltilegc asked for by the
National Company to that nnranliatlon. and
they wore freely offered to all companies w ho
vuubv to aee-cpt tue terms 01 me act inn
frovuion tn the original draught d-ilanng
liat tbe Government might purchase tbelr
Hue at any time wm altered o as 10 make It
uerativa auer uie expiration 01 nre tears
It value a a check on the companies wa
thus utterly lost, and It intent w a chamied
from the exertion of a perpetual control over
private Interests to a notification that, after
a certain date, tbe Government inlirhl assume
tne management 01 wnat was manuesiiy con
sidered a public business and to the ex nre
slon of a wllllngnesa to acoulro tbe necessary
uncuiuprj uii'rviur tair iirim irom com
panies already possessing it. In preference to
purcuasin auu e reeling new macuinery
. . in rtwii-rind w u tt& t7D VJ and lo of revenue will oo-oprat with, tba coin-
KTwE. ml.l! la ". .. ajr "m Plalnl. Bud .mterlnE, of IU. pDU to do whnt
I?!. nlri Inrlliii m.nl her. wai tU Wl 35, w.r UlUr done at once, namelj to nVU.L
fVQ M. r lJ 8 r q. , In U ., Ua ranch el the pest em
were so vxteudud a lo secure a fair share of
iiiilrniia ru
Uhlle as I have stated. I bellere that lm- waa &l onca L cental t,v tb Ua.tino- .,..
proved mean of transmission will eventually I pan!, of whom the following are now ope
render tbe telegraph a formidable rival of tb I rating tbelr line ubjt tolls provision
mall, which ll tauuut be without large reduc I Western Union, International. International
tlous iu tariff, I am conviuced by experience Ooean, Northwvateru, Missouri River, Atlan
that these Improvements will be adopted too tic and Pacific. Paclfl and Atlantic, lrl
lowly to meut the nceliie of tbe people, Western. IraoUio, Uuuthern and Allan Us,
ana national
The time having now come, In my opinion,
r
hi
and that, whatever tbe raus may be, the wires
will be practically coutrollvd by oue copora
ttou bo long m they remain In private hands
The gradual reduction lu rate, If ever mode,
will, therefore, be more than couuWrbalanoed
by the growth of tbe evil attending the
management of the telegraph by a i mate
monopoly
Among these evil may be tlaued the po.
ilkle abuse el the wtrv fer peiteaaleads ky
Hie act was final) v passed In that shape
and approved on the 34th of July, 1800. It
wholly unprovided with telcicraphlc facilities.
but I cannot at preaent Indicate them with
accuracy The present system extend u
0,1 OJ different point, with about 000 branch
office. At perhaps 1,000 of tht so, principally
mere railroad station, there are no post
office. Should It not be found expedient at
any of these latter office to open poet-offtce,
the Department could secure their use to thu
public by such arrangement v 1th the rail
road m prevail In Eurupe In Great -(aIo,
according to Mr Scudainore' report, thcra
are 1,807 railway stations pen to the publla
for telegraphic buslne, aud 8,891 postal
telegraph station t but the railway office
transmit only 7 per cent of the messaj-e
Wtlle, therefore, these office must h
counted among the telegrapldc faculties, their
receipt and their cost aUo will always bo
small. It hM been broadly, but 1 think proix
erly, stated that th transmission of letter.
telgram, or other correspondence, should
not be considered tu Itself m a proper ourct
of revenue The tax on correspondence ought
to rpreent merely the actual cost, and tha
mall aud telegraph should be need m freely
m possible tn stimulate other source of rev
enue Should the postal telegraph be adopted
the Government will probably stait with a
bualnes of 1000,0U0 message Alter tha
thorough renutallun f tbe line, 1 bettera
tbe tariff can Imj adtantagvously reduced to
an average of 30 cent throughout tbe United
State A a minimum such a tariff would bn
too high I rbould, therefore, be In favor of
adopting a simple graduated tariff, hexed upon
well-known geographical dltUlon. To lav
ut such a tariff In accordance w lib. the cm
tabllahed course of bualoe would be part of
the lator of the commission for whose ap
pointment I ask K afforded the necessary
upportnnlth by the compauie they could
pt rform tbl work and at the same time learn
what new facllltle, If an, were llktly to Im
licet ary
The experience f Swlticrland at..! soma
other conutrlc show that k reduction of CO
per cent In tariff was followed hy an Increasa
of 100 per cent. In business In Great Britain,
except for porterage, there wa no redaction
In rate for more than half of th buslne, .
reduction of 83J per cent on IhrcotJentha of
the message, and on the retnaiuderafedm.
lion of t per ccut Under these clxcuiu
stauces the message nearly doubted In twu
tear.
In the communication from the president o
Ibe Montreal Telegraph tompauy addressed
to Hon Vlexander Campbell, Postmaster Geu-
eral of tbe Dominion of Canada, under data,
of aah October, 187J, before referred to, It U
tatedthat "Ullevlog that tbl )tem(t'ar-.
enttal aud distance rates,) waa erroneous, I
with tbe concurrence of the directors, com
uieuced a gradnal aud ury cautious reduction.
In the rates, uud fuund that every .educltou
un'Uui umivnff i uutmcH mu.cn morat
than the reduction and Increased expeue
KMnl.li An.lln.1 . i......7. i"
wb.u lb. Uncllt. ol a Ooemin.nl l.lrlnh ,m." ",7 ,".,'"" iV? ' "f!5?..Dr
proTl. it. b jilniM of lb rear l&Ott abc-ed m. tbal
.bouUb.Kur4tolb.peU.le UUihiTr.Ua lloo from 'j .ar lo year tut ai aiaralaatlou of
tbal adnnug, .bould U l.Len ol lb. ororl- ,. kutoite ol lb. rear 1SC .bo-id mdYbii
emu ot mi. aci, aua luunceot iom. or aa , nearly W) per cent ol ourlolal rei-lpn wai
nu. va v inu tiuarut a uw vur WUJV
Uoq.io each a ooarw baitcg, 11 la balleTadi
brn fall, aatwarad, It eulj reualiie t e
Ihirtlirt f
Tbl and th dleourairmnt of An- i rnnoaa.l
eppodtlon line induced me to adapt a nnl
feraehargeo. u oonu lor tea wtrtU acd. I