Recent Developments of the United States Mail

Washington Star

"Now that every postman in the United States and all the rural free-delivery carriers are limited walking postoffices for the additional purpose of registering mail matter, I will give you a point or two of value about this, one of the most important offshoots of the people's branch of the government which are imperfectly understood, and in some communities not understood at all," said a postoffice official.

"In the first place, articles of value should not be sent through the mails unregistered. If an article is of any value at all it is worth the small fee the government demands for its safe transmission and its insurance up to the amount of ten dollars, which amount of indemnity it is proposed to increase to thirty dollars.

"One reason why the people have not registered their letters to greater extent is because a trip to the postoffice was necessary. The innovation of walking postoffices has been tried now long enough to demonstrate its success, and the people should patronize them. These additions swell the number of postoffices in the country for this purpose up to over ninety-five thousand, as there are 76,600 regular offices, over 16,400 carriers, and the remainder is made up of substations and rural free-delivery carriers. The postal service is certainly extending.

"That the people at large are appreciating Uncle Sam's system of registration, with its chain of checks and the earmarks of some kind of evidence against every man who handles a valuable letter or package registered, is shown by the fact that 1,300,000 registered packages were mailed last year, an increase of a quarter of a million over the preceding year. Of these 198,000 went to our friends across the sea, an increase of 41,000. Large as this percentage is, it is not large enough by one hundred per cent. Packages are especially liable to miscarry, and if the public wish to save pecuniary loss and much trouble and correspondence, use the registered mail.

"If persons of an economical turn of mind wish to know how easily the pennies accumulate in small sums when paid over and over again, let them be cheerful in the thought that the government collected last year in payments of eight cents each $1,238,000, an increase of $158,000 over the year previous, on 12,000,000 domestic and 1,875,000 foreign letters. In addition, the government transported and registered free over three million pieces of mail, a large portion of which originated and was delivered in Washington. That the government has done some business in the registry branch in twenty years is shown by the fact that it has registered 216,300,000 pieces of mail in that time.

"The system of checks and counterchecks adopted to safeguard the public's property is about complete, when it is borne in mind that out of all this great total of individual pieces carried a loss of but eighty-seven was chargeable to depredations by postal employees, and only 174 pieces were lost because of the carelessness of the clerks. In fact 7,165 complaints of loss were received, and of the 4,900 investigated only 1,700 were found to constitute an actual loss, and of these 1,130 were chargeable to burning and wrecking of postoffices, postal cars, steamboats, and to minor accidental causes. Out of these 1,700 cases of loss, in 1,340 recovery was effected in one way or another to the owners.

"A loss of but three thousandths of one per cent is truly remarkable, considering the great amount of business done, distance covered, and the dozens of hands through which each piece of mail must pass.

"The government liberally patronizes its own registry service, and sends large sums of money from point to point, especially out of Washington, as well as articles of value. The Treasury Department transmitted last year in actual money value $1,371,000,000 in this manner, and some of it was cash sent to the Philippines, without the loss of a penny. To this vast amount should be added money values to the sum of three hundred million from the Postoffice Department, while the other executive departments, also avail themselves of the system to a large aggregate annual amount."

Washington Star.

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