Department Operations—General and Detailed Descriptions and Cost of Service

History of Rural Free Delivery

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

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

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

Rural Delivery Defined

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

The Struggle for Rural Free Delivery

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

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

The Advantages of Rural Delivery

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

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

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

Rural Delivery as Viewed by President McKinley

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

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

The First County Rural Service

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

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

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

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

Country-wide Extension, Rural Delivery

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

How Rural Delivery Enhances the Value of Farm Land

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

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

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

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

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

The Per Capita Cost in Rural Delivery

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

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

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

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

Some Necessary Conditions of Rural Delivery

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

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

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

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

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

Population and Extension of Rural Service

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

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

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

Speeding Up the Rural Service by Motor Vehicle

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

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

Village Delivery

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

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

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

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

City Delivery

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

Star Routes

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

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

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

Postal Savings

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

Money Order System

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

Stamp Books

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

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

Postal Cards

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

Division of Stamps

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

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

Division of Classification

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

Purchasing Agent

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

The Dead Letter Office

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

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

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

Mail Locks

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

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

Mail Pouches and Sacks

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

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

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

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

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

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

Post Office Supplies

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

Special Delivery

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

Foreign Mail Service

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

Topography Branch

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

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

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.