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
Postage stamps and other stamped paper
on hand in post offices, July 1, 1915 $104,035,823.48
Stamped paper charged to postmasters 287,352,176.84
Sales by postmasters, July 1, 1915, to
June 30, 1916 277,728,025.20
Stamped paper on hand in post offices,
June 30, 1916 112,332,714.66
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.
Of the 3,010 counties in the United States there are 2,630 in which
rural delivery service is in operation. Accurate maps, showing
rural service in 984 of these counties, have been completed, while
preliminary maps for 755 others, giving similar information, have been
drawn. Base maps and other data are in hand which will be used in the
compilation of maps of 432 additional counties. Active steps are being
taken to procure information from every possible source for use in
compiling maps of the 459 remaining counties.
These maps of every county in the United States in which rural
service has been established, are made on a scale of 1 inch to the
mile. They show all public roads, rural routes, post offices, houses,
school-houses, churches and streams. Negative prints are sold at 35
cents each by application to the Third Assistant Postmaster General.
Lists are furnished on request showing maps completed.
Division of Post Office Service
On the first of July, 1916, a new division was created in the office
of the First Assistant Postmaster General to be known as the Division
of Post Office Service. This new division absorbs the duties formerly
performed by the City Delivery and the Division of Salaries and
Allowances. All persons employed directly in post offices as well as
the city carriers will now come under the control of this division.
It will also include every function relating to the handling and the
moving of the mails in the cities and towns of the country. More
efficiency and better results generally are confidently expected to
follow this change which is in line with the general policy of placing
all closely related duties under the same jurisdiction and control.