| Show BY Y TELEGRAPH PER WESTERN UNION inq MN A X E it I 1 C A N washington 22 the report of postmaster general vilas for the year ended June SOth 1886 says in immensity and extent of means expenditures and results su I 1 ts the postal machinery of tile the united states exceeds in some points far exceeds that of auy any other nation on the globe the entire length of all the railways employed in the united states nearly equal the combined extent of juose of all other countries in the world while the other post routes more than quadruples the total of any single peoples besides and the mile age ageos of last last year of our mail transportation exceeded by more than miles the service rendered rende redby by any b other government no other nation has one third oar number of post offices it is estimated that more letters were mailed in the united states than in great britain and nearly that n number u in more than were mailed in germany france and austria combined the proportion of each inhabitant is estimated e ti in the united states at 66 great great britain 57 germany 19 at the close of the fiscal year the total number of flees was besides branch offices of f these lacau 2244 were presidential offices concerning appointments the report says tae itce appointments appointments of postmasters Postman aters during the last fiscal year numbered al together toge of which were made to fill vacancies occasioned by resignations or expired commissions to flu fill vacancies caused by death on the establishment of new offices and upon removals of to the e total number oi or appointments 1039 were made by the president vacancies having occurred from akom the following causes respectively viz by expiration of by resignation by dlen 24 by removals or suspensions and to offices to which had been assigned assi ened from the fourth to third class 47 the work performed by carriers is summarized as follows the number of pieces of mail matter counting collections and deliveries handled by the carriers during tile the year was an increase over the previous years Lif or 11 per cent while the carriers increased but 1108 percent in number the money order system has been extended 0 po o additional offices during the year while 10 were dropped from the list during the year there were issued domestic orders amounting to nearly st postal notes amounting to and international orders aggregating il besides the payment ot of foreign orders reaching a total of almost tile the entire amount ot of teas feas received was waa 1214 I 1 less by than the previous yea yeast the act establishing the special delivery system limited its privileges to post offices during the full year of its use to september 1886 letters were received tor for special del delivery lvery at these places taking the full year the total amount ot of fees received from this service was leaving a gross the government of from the enlarged system of exten extending din the privileges of the act to all pos icea and all mail mai ible lible matter the postmaster general expects results the total revenues of the department for the year were an excess of cost over revenue of of the total appropriations lor for the year amounting to 54 I 1 1 the entire outlay actually M made e a aud ad estimated to be made is but leaving a balance to be eventually covered into the treasury of the letter sheet envelopes the report says have been long authorized but no real attempt was made to introduce them until last october when a contract was made with the owner of the patent by which the department issues them without cost and pays for only what it sells so bo far the envelope appears to find popular favor but the postmaster general thinks a longer experiment is desirable before recommending the purchase of the patent and its manufacture by the government the dead letter office during the year handled pieces of mail matter of which number were delivered unopened to the proper parties and foreign pieces feces leces were returned to 0 the coun country tr 0 of F origin fi of those opened about onas one half were destroyed or r valueless letters to the number of containing an aggregate of 1732 besides letters containing drafts or other instruments for the payment of money of the total face value ol 01 0 were delivered to the owners the revenue dei derived ived from dead letters which could not be restored to owners and from the auction sale of unclaimed parcels amounted to the records of the inspectors show the following facts for violation of postal laws WO persons were arrested of whom were in the servi service ceana and were not were postmasters postmaster assistants or clerks 14 railway postal clerks 24 letter carriers 37 mau mail carriers and 11 of various employment seventy nine burglars and 31 postmasters are included among arrests outside of the service state courts took jurisdiction of cases and the federal courts of the latter convictions followed in cases acquittals in 26 trial awaits and the residue were dismissed or fail td id of indictment three foreign postal agencies at colon and panama in the united states of columbia and at shanghai in china have been maintained the cost of the panama agency was and of the colon agency up to the end of march so far as allowed the expense of the shanghai oaie office 1 in part reported and in part estimated waw was 1800 arrangements have been effected with the panama railway company to directly perform all the necessary services at colon and the employment of a consul there is dispensed with which will result it is bell believed ved in relieving the interruption and inconveniences hitherto occasion ally sustained at that point the chinese government has recently in dilated its purpose to establish esta blesh postal with other countries which it perfected will enable the shanghai agency to he be discontinued b by the end of the current fiscal year the disagreement between some Ame american americal steamship companies and the department in to their compensation and method of engaging their vessels in the service occasioned much heiLl healthy thy discussion the carriage ageos of our foreign mails was however but very slightly I 1 interrupted or inconvenienced the principal diminution from ali the best services attainable on the existing lines was due to the refusal by the pacific mall mail steamship company and the red bed D coin V pany ay of the use of their vessels to the government and occurred chiefly on two ro routes from san francisco to japan and china t the tie service was performed by the oriental and occidental steamship line alone whose steamers sail from our port at intervals ot of about twenty days alternating with like sailings by y vessels of toe the pacific mail company and the refusal of the latter to reduce tile the frequency of of its outward dispatches by one half though not otherwise di or impairing the service which was well performed by the former company the other course lay between new york and Vene zulean ports on which the outward malls mails were usually dispatched first to barbadoes and thence to venezuela protracting protract ing the duration of their carriage four or live five days a loss compensated pen sated by the greater frequency ot the trips obtained being five in a month to three by the red bed D line aside from these two routes the interruptions and delays were wera but little more tihan than are almost inseparable from the existing means of communication with the states of central america inward mails wore were not affected the actual additional inconvenience to the general public on either mentioned routes proved comparatively insignificant for the reason that aside from such mail mat matter hatteras teras as related to the cargoes of steamships the correspondence pon dence between the cou countries atries re berred to and the united states is very limited and such as concerned the cargoes of recusant companies paules were transported on the same vessels under sections and of the revised statutes no ih interest terest being more sub served by such mails than their the irown own the proof of the generally favorable condition of this portion of the service is seen in the facts that the weights of all mail to various ports not adt frans atlantic increased from a total in the previous year of gram sito a total in the last year of a gin gain L of grams being incompatible pm b I 1 e witti with much interruption in the 1 mail I t transportation ran por had the interests of the contestants not have awakened attention and aggravated complaint through the press it is probable the difference in the service such as it was might have taken place without attracting special notice except by the shippers on these lines the cullom ary monthly invitations to all amerie american can steamship companies for the tender of their vessels were continued during the year and after the passage bacon by congress of the postal service appropriation li n without a provision for imy any subsidy id y the red D company placed their vessels vesse Is at the service of the department part ment meat or off the usual terms and the venezuelan mails have swee since the of august last been carried by those steamers in their former satisfactory manner the pacific mall mail steamship company at first declining in the end proffered the service of their ships also and since bluee the beginning of se september they have been regularly arly placed pla ceTon on the monthly schedules of dispatches for ports to which they ply and have transported the mails as usual the department having during dating the past fiscal year allowed sea and inland hostages po stages to united pursuant to section of the revised statutes and the appropriation for the burret year having been passed upon theunis of that rate of compensation a similar rate of payment coall to all such vessels is still continued and the estimates for toe the next fiscal year have been calculated accordingly this provides a rate of bf compensation to such steamships three times greater than with the exception of two lines they had habitually received for seven years previously a compensation quite adequate to ave the service when the carri carriage ake is performed by vessels sailing in the course of their own business as common carriers and departures regulated by their own wn convenience and without other obligation to the government than so to car carry and deliver with proper per care and diligence it will bacelo observed from the figures aln already ten ven riven that while the proportion 0 of mius mails during daring thelast the past year to those countries to which american vessels sail as com compared pared with the farans atlantic Atlant lc service was matey one ninth the cost was nearly one fifth because of the me higher rates paid I 1 d the vessels of united states registry ra t ry dispatches frona from san Fran francisco citco to the orient are arc now majda made at intervals of ten days one half of the sailings being of shi ships ps of the orien oriental tal and occidental steamship company that company is ot of united states ownership as I 1 am credibly informed yet two of its three vessels are arc not of united states registry momieque comie consequently que but one the san aau pablo pabio lias bas received yea sea and inland stages hostages po the other two being limited to sea postage only notwithstanding that company faithfully performed this bervice at i a time when the ref refusal ansal of its competitor worships ships rendered its aid more than usually desirable the statutory rule works still more unfair uclair results now that the two companies divide the carriage because the quantity of mails on which the compensation is computed is reduced approximately one half and this company which deserves recognition of its timely fidelity rinds finds not only the extent of the service materially reduced nd but the rate payment of two ship anly one third that allowed to ships whose service was then denied to the government it would seem too ous to require particular expression that the department ought to be authorized zed to pay the vessels of the and occidental line the same rate of compensation as is paid others being also of american ownership as a to the general rule although tile the department has h sedulously preferred the steamships of the united states wherever they sail the greater proportions about nine tenths of the foreign malls mails have been necessarily transmitted in foreign bottoms no instance has arisen of a declination by any such sach vessel ito to carry whatever quantity of mail has been offered it for sea postage ony only and no losses of mails dis ached by us have been sustained dking during the tao year our transatlantic service has bas teen especially excellent and may be pronounced without doubt the most expeditious and satisfactory patis factory of any upon toe the seas I 1 THE NAVY the chief of the bureau of f construction and repair in his annual report states that the cruisers atlanta and boston are in the navy yard at brooklyn u new york they have both been aked docked and their bottoms cleaned and painted and independent of the work which had to be done by the government to fit them for sea alterations and addi additions tiong have been and are being made to them as called for far from time to time by the advisory board the chicago is still abill at chester Cheste raud and the work on her is now being pushed rapidly towards completion the chief of construction says the appropriation of made the act of july 26 would not be sufficient clent to complete the work on these vessels and in order that delay iu in its prose calion may inay be occasioned by a laok of funds he has asked for an additional dit ional appropriation of it which it is expected will complete the 1 vessels provided that no further f alterations or extra work involving any considerable expenditure of money and time are arc recommended by the advisory board the Lac kavana now at the mare island navy yard california while not yet condemned cannot be repaired repa ir ed for active service and it is suggested feted that she be converted into a receiving ship to replace the old line battle ship independence which is now unfit for further use as a receiving ship the tennessee the only first rate wooden vessel in active service can be kept in active service but a few months longer she is undoubtedly in a very bad condition her main wales strakes are so badly decayed as to preclude their being re calked balked her lower mast heads are so badly decayed that it is not considered prudent to carry a press of sail upon them also has been surveyed and found to be beyond repair the number of serviceable vessels 1 in n the navy has been reduced to two farst rate ten second rate twenty third rate and seven fourth rate vessels the latter class includes two torpedo rams in IB addition to these vessels the naval list comprises thirteen iron and twelve wooden sailing vessels used for receiving and transport ships the new vessels completed building and authorized to be built are summed up as follows the dolphin completed two the boston and atlanta armament incomplete five the chicago and the monitors incomplete five the baltimore char leston aud and and two gunboats gun boats under advisement four an anchored anchor ed cruiser a battleship battle ship a pneumatic dynamite boat and torpedo boat not yet designed plans and specifications have been completed for two composite built fine modeled shipston ship sto be used as training ships and they could be commenced at once it if an appropriation were made for them the board appointed to design plans for th tire the e con completion of double turreted monitors has dais nearly finished its specifications the chier chief constructor recommends that in the event of only one of the large vessels provided for at the last session of congress being built at the navy yard |
