Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIII.djvu/774

 754 POST United States Nov. 1, 1864. It is intended to promote public convenience, and to secure safety in the transfer by mail of small sums of money. Security is obtained by omitting from the order the name of the payee. Informa- tion relating to the order is sent without delay by the issuing postmaster to the postmaster at the office of payment. Orders are issued for any sum not exceeding $50; a larger sum may be transferred by two or more orders ; but postmasters are instructed not to issue more than three money orders for the same person in one day. The charge for issuing a money order not exceeding $10 is 5 cts. ; over $10 and not exceeding $20, 10 cts. ; over $20 and not exceeding $30, 15 cts. ; over $30 and not exceeding $40, 20 cts. ; over $40, 25 cts. The business transacted by this branch of the postal service has increased annually with marked rapidity. In 1870 there were 2,076 money order offices, from which were issued during the year 1,671,253 orders, amounting to $84,054,184. In 1874 the number of offices had increased to 3,404, the number of orders issued to 4,420,633, and the aggregate value to $74,424,854. The average amount of the orders issued was $16 83. Only 74 orders were paid to persons not entitled to receive them. The money order system is not self- sustaining, the excess of expenditures over receipts amounting in 1874 to $77,000. To remedy this, an increase of charges for orders is recommended. The above statements re- late only to domestic transactions. Postal conventions for the exchange of money orders have been concluded with Switzerland, Great Britain and Ireland, and Germany. In 1874 there were issued for Switzerland 2,721 orders, amounting to $72,287, and received from Switzerland 793, $21,222; issued for Great Britain and Ireland, 77,351, amounting to $1,491,320, and received 15,992, $303,773; issued for Germany, 35,542 orders, $701,634, and received 20,607, $535,210. The system of free delivery by carriers, adopted in 1863, has been established in 87 cities. The act of 1872 provides that carriers shall be employed for the free delivery of all mail matter in every city containing a population of 50,000, and may be employed in every city containing a population of not less than 20,000. The total number of carriers in 1874 was 2,049, the number in each city varying from 4 to 379. The amount paid to carriers, including inci- dentals, was $1,802,696. The railroad post office system has been widely extended since its adoption in 1864. It has been established on all important railroads, to insure the trans- mission of mails with the greatest rapidity, by assorting and distributing them in the cars while in motion, thus avoiding delay in local distributing offices. In 1874 the number of railroad post office lines was 63, extending over 16,414 m. of railroad and steamboat routes, on 13,271 in. of which the service is performed daily, and on 3,122 m. twice a day. There were 850 clerks employed in this service, at an annual cost of $1,058,200. By act of June 8,1872, the postmaster general was author- ized and directed to issue postal cards to the public at a cost of one cent each. The first cards were issued in May, 1873. The object of the postal card is to facilitate letter corre- spondence by providing for the transmission at reduced rates of short communications, either written or printed. Nearly 100,000,000 of these cards are annually used. Letters not prepaid, those not called for and which cannot be de- livered, and those which cannot be forwarded on account of illegible or omitted addresses, are sent to the dead letter office in Washing- ton, where they are opened. The writers of those containing valuables are notified, and the contents forwarded on application. Let- ters on which the address of the writer is written, if not deliverable, are returned un- opened. In 1874 the total number of letters received at the dead letter office was 4,402,- 348 (4,133,928 domestic and 268,420 foreign), representing an actual or nominal value of $5,795,764, of which 1,826,108, representing $5,377,923, were delivered to owners or wri- ters. The expansion of the postal system of the United States is shown as follows: YEARS Number of Length of >. poit |post roads Paid for transporta- tion. Postal revenues. Expendi- tures. 1790....; 75 1,875 $22,081 $37,935 $32,140 1795. . . .1 453 13,207 75,359 160,620 117,893 1800... 903 20,817 128,644 280,804 213,904 1805. 1.558 31,070 239!635 421,373 377,367 1810. 2,300 36,406 327,966 551,684 495,969 1815. 3,000 43,748! 487,779 1,043.065 748,121 1820. 4,500 72,492 782.425 1,111.927 1,160,926 1825. 5,677 94,052 785,646 1,306.525 1,229,048 1830. . 8,450 115,176 1,272,156 1.919,300 1.959,109 1835. . 10,770 112.774 1,553,222 8,152.376 2.585,108 1840. 13,463 155,739 3,213.042 4,543,521 4,718,235 1845. 143.940 2,898,630 4,439,841 4320,731 1850. 18,417 1 78,672 ] 2,965,786 5,499,986 5.212,953 1851. 19,796 192,026 3,538,063 6,410.604 6,278,401 1852 20,901 210,020 3,989,971 6,925,971 7,108,459 1853. 22,820 217.743 4,495,968 5,940,724 7,982,756 1854. ! 23,548 219,985 4,630,676! 6,955,586 8.557,424 1855. 24,410 227,908i 5,345,238 7,352,186 9,968,342 1856. 25,565 239,642 6,035,374 7,620,821 10,407,868 1857. 26,586 242,601! 6,622.046! 8.053,951 11,507.670 1858. 27,977 260,603 7,795,418 8,186,792 12,721,636 1859. i 28,539| 260,052 9,468,757 7,968,484! 14,964,493 1860. 28,498 240,594 8.808,710 9,218,067 14,874.772 1861. ! *28,536 140,399 t5,309,454 9,049,296 13.606,759 1862. ! *28,875 134.018 t5,858,834 9,012.549 11,125,364 1863. 1864. i *28,878 t!39,598 t!39,171 t5,740,576j 11,163,789 t5,818,469 12,438,253 11,814,206 12,644,786 1865. t!42,340 6,246,884 14,556,158 13,694.728 1866. 23,823 tl80,921 7,630,474 14,386:986 15.352.079 1867. 25.163 208,245 9,886,286 16,137,0261 19,235,483 1868. 26,481 216,928 10,266,056 16,292,600 22,730,592 1869. 27,106 223,731 1 10,406,501 18,844,510 23,698,131 1870. 28,492 231,232 10,884,658 19,772,220 23,998,837 1S71 . 30,045 238,359 11,529,395 20,037.045 24,390.104 1872. . 31,863 251,898 12,572,264 21,915.426 26.658,192 1873. 33.244 256,210 13,635.341 22,996,741 29,084,945 1874. . 34,294 269,0971 15,402,057 24,596,568 32,126,414 From the above it appears that in recent years the cost of the postal service has greatly ex- ceeded the income, the deficiency varying from 15 to 20 per cent. In some of the states, t Kxclusive of routes in certain southern states.
 * offices, j in miles.
 * 29,047
 * 20,550
 * Including suspended offices in southern states,