The domestic postal service continues to grow with extraordinary
rapidity. The expenditures and the revenues will each exceed
$100,000,000 during the current year. Fortunately, since the revival
of prosperous times the revenues have grown much faster than the
expenditures, and there is every indication that a short period will
witness the obliteration of the annual deficit. In this connection the
report of the Postmaster-General embodies a statement of some evils
which have grown up outside of the contemplation of law in the treatment
of some classes of mail matter which wrongly exercise the privilege
of the pound rate, and shows that if this matter had been properly
classified and had paid the rate which it should have paid, instead
of a postal deficit for the last fiscal year of $6,610,000, there
would have been on one basis a surplus of $17,637,570, and on another
of $5,733,836. The reform thus suggested, in the opinion of the
Postmaster-General, would not only put the postal service at once on a
self-sustaining basis, but would permit great and valuable improvements,
and I commend the subject to the consideration of the Congress.
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