refused from and after the first of August last to carry other mails than such as were dispatched to those countries with which they had made contracts requiring the service. This attitude they have since maintained, and the transportation of the mails has been somewhat embarrassed and some public inconvenience has been sustained in consequence. There is ground for suspicion that besides the refusal of their service, some attempt to otherwise embarrass the Department has been made. The letter of the postmaster of New York, bearing date the first of August, which is annexed with other correspondence, relates the fact that the Atlas Company, a British line sailing from New York to Colon, with which an arrangement had been concluded to carry our mails to that port for sea postage, was finally compelled to decline the promised service upon the demand of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, based upon a contract previously made between the two companies, by which the former had engaged not to carry freight from New York to Colon. The latter company, in some inconsistency with the arguments its counsel had addressed to me, now claimed this engagement forbade the former to transport the mails for the Government, and the claim was conceded. But, the terms of the contract being limited to the port of Colon only, the Atlas Company was not precluded from carrying to St. Thomas, whence by other vessels the carriage to Colon was completed; and thus the interference resulted only in some slight delay to our mails and increased cost to the Department. Another communication from the postmaster, of date the 7th of August, narrates the refusal of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company to deliver the incoming mail arriving from South America on one of their vessels at the post office, and their demand that the postmaster should take it at the ship's tackle. The attention of the company was invited to section 3988 of the Revised Statutes, which imposes a penalty of $100 on such action, and that attempt to economize or annoy was not renewed. It happened that a vessel of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company was due to sail from the port of San Francisco for Panama on the first day of August, and the postmaster there had suffered mail addressed to southern ports to accumulate during some time in the expectation that it would be carried by that steamer, although a different provision had been made by the Department. I received, during the night of July 31, a telegram from the postmaster giving these facts and desiring instructions. In the particular emergency he was directed to send an agent as a passenger with the mail as baggage, in case the company refused a tender of the mails in the usual manner. The company, in breach of its duty as a common carrier, refused to allow the agent of the Government to take mail-bags with him as baggage, though tendered a passenger's fare to each of the ports to be touched at, and their charges for extra weight of baggage. The method was proposed because of the pressing exigency and to prevent if possible any inconvenience from delay to the writers of the letters; but it illustrates the sufficiency of the rate of sea postage as compensation to observe that the company would have received less for a passenger with such a weight of extra baggage than for the mails alone. The report of the Superintendent of the Foreign Mails Office gives a full account of the manner in which the mails have been dispatched since the 1st of August, from which it will be seen that the inconvenience resulting from the action of the companies, though annoying in character, has not been very great. Between New York and Havana the service is stated now to be three times a week instead of two, as formerly, and within a short time it is expected to be lessened in time to about 74 hours, a gain of a day and a half over the time of steamers. The Australian mail has not been specially interrupted, and a new company has undertaken the service under contract with New Zealand for three years. Some delays and inconveniencies have arisen between New York and Colon, San Franciseo and Japan and China, and to the west coast of Mexico, by the refusal of the Pacific Mail Company, and some between New York and Venezuela, by the like action of the Red D Company. Except these, all the foreign mails are transported either in the same manner or a better than during the past year. Early action by Congress is very desirable to provide such means as it shall deem appropriate to relieve the inconvenience sustained on the routes indicated. The Department recognizes its obligation to the business men of the country who have forborne complaint, with but few exceptions, rather than manifest a willingness to see the Government compelled to a course which upon careful consideration had been decided inexpedient and unwise to be pursued. They are entitled to the earliest practicable relief which can be given. Whatever measure of compensation or pecuniary aid shall be deemed appropriate, it is worthy of serious consideration whether the steamships which have the protection of the Government should be suffered to refuse their service, if the compensation provided shall be esteemed unsatisfactory. That should be conclusively determined by Congress, or by the Department. The inconvenience of this year is but the renewal of a nearly for gotten experience. The first step to the enactment of the laws which were repealed in 1884 appears to have been taken in consequence of a similar embarrassment once before attempted, as is shown by the letter of the Hon. Montgomery Blair, addressed, when Postmaster-General, to the Senate and House committees, a copy of which, found in the Department, is annexed hereto, as of interest and value to show the original occasion and reasons for such a provision. From 1864 the law remained, and the mail service was not contumaciously interrupted-a result which has immediately followed its repeal. It should be esteemed the wiser course to leave any insufficiency of compensation to be redressed by Congressional decision, rather than to subject the Government to a risk of embarrassment from such action as those intrusted by the people with its administration regard it to be their duty to take. An Additional Departmental Building, for the use of the money-order office and the money-order division of the Auditor's office, was authorized by an appropriation of $4,500 for the current year, in the act of March 3, 1885. It was sorely needed. The rooms of the Department building were not only stuffed with records and files, but the hallways to a great extent obstructed by the cases which had necessarily been erected in them, and, in some parts, by piles of returns and written documents accumulated in the transaction of business with the numerous post-offices of the country. In May proposals were solicited by newspaper advertisement from the owners of such buildings as might be desirable, which resulted in the proffer of several, from among which was selected the building known as Marini's Hall, designated as No. 914 E street N. W., in Washington, and located on the south side of E street, between 9th and 10th streets. An agreement was made with the owner, Louis G. Marini, of Washington, to build additions, make changes, and properly fit the building, according to certain specifications prescribed, for, occupancy by the 1st day of July last, at his cost, and to lease it to the Government for the term of one year from that date, with the privilege of renewing the lease from year to year for nine additional years, at the option of the Postmaster-General, without further writing; which course was pursued because no authority existed under the appropriation to contract for a longer term than the current year. The improvements and equipments proved more expensive, and the work of preparation was longer protracted, than had been anticipated, so that occupancy was not had until the 1st day of August, 1885; aud, accordingly, the lease was executed to begin on that day and terminate with the current year, whereby one-twelfth of the appropriation for rent will be unexpended. A copy of the lease is annexed to this report. The building, so secured for a term of years at the pleasure of the Congress, is very satisfactory. It is located in fairly convenient proximity to the Department, and furnishes floor space for clerks to the amount of 11,475 square feet, besides an excellent basement, and other space of 6,964 square feet well adapted to keep files and records, and of storage and halls 3,186 feet, in all 21,625 square feet of floor room. The rooms for clerks are especially suited to the desired use, because of their size and height. All the necessary appliances for comfort and convenience have been provided for, and except that it is not fire-proof, it affords as good accommodation proportioned to the space as the Department. Gaining so large an amount of floor space by the new building, a considerable relief has been obtained for the Department by removing a large number of the Auditor's force from the former money order building and from the Department and filling the vacated apartments in both buildings from the overcrowded rooms of the other divisions. The renewal of the appropriation for rent of the building is recommended and the amount included in the estimates, together with sums for its care, service, heating, and lighting. The relief to the Department which has been gained by the use of the Marini building cannot be expected to continue sufficient for many years. In the natural growth of its affairs and increase of its force, together with the accumulation of records and papers, no long time will be requisite to overcrowd its present accommodations. Three buildings beside the Department are now under lease, at an annual rental of $14,000. The Washington city post-office occupies still another, at a rental of $5,000, which has become inadequate already for the transaction of its growing business. None of these are fire-proof, and the destruction of either would probably involve the loss of valuable records, especially of the first mentioned. In view of the many years which will be required for its construction, the recommendation of my predecessors that a new building or an addition to the Department should be constructed merits early consideration. THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR. So much has been said already in respect to the financial problem of the present year, as affecting probable receipts, that nothing need be added to explain the necessarily arbitrary character of the estimation attempted in order to furnish some indication of future revenue. No way is open but to conjecture the probabilities, and no test of the value of different conjectures is possible. Starting with the unknown quantity of the present. year's ordinary postal revenue, taken at the figure, previously arrived at arbitrarily, of ... $43,630,022 34 And deducting the amount therein counted as arising from second-class matter 1,091,426 00 Gives a result for the ordinary postal revenue of ..... And the gross revenue for the year ending June 30, 47,142,252 64 400,000 00 47,524,252 64 The estimate of probable expenditures has been submitted with more confidence of reliability. Much care has been taken by the different Bureau officers and chiefs of division to give its figures trustworthy exactness. The amounts named under each head have been carefully reviewed, and in their accompanying explanations will be found approving reasons for every sum. It will be seen that the total is but about 20 per cent. in excess of the appropriations for the current year-a less increase than has been generally deemed requisite. This proceeds from the belief that the charges for the present year will be kept below the appropriations; and from the opinion that the most accurate expression of the best judgment of the departmental officers should be submitted to the Congress, in respect to the necessities of the service as it is conducted. Should the legislative body regard a diminution of the extent or efficiency of any particular branch of the service to be desirable, a reduced appropriation will then necessarily accomplish it; and the cost of whatever increase in any direction it shall order it, may be estimated and added in the provision it shall make for the year. The total sum of the proposed appropriations for the postal service of the next year is $54,986,166.89. These estimates of revenue and cost indicate a deficiency for the year 1887 of $7,443,914.25, not reckoning the cost of transportation of mails by the Pacific railroads, which will be placed to their credit. Besides the uncertainty attaching to the revenue, the heavy items of expenditure for compensation to postmasters and railway mail transportation, which are practically beyond Departmental control, may exceed the sums named. An unexpectedly large growth of demand upon the service, involving issues of stamps and stamped paper much beyond present anticipation, might swell the charges of the Third Assistant's Office over the estimated limits; but as it would be productive of proportionable revenue, the deficiency would be desirable. GENERAL TOPICS AND RECOMMENDATIONS. The public service which this Department performs is of a dual character, and directed to accomplish two general objects, quite dissimilar in their nature. The primary object is to furnish to the people the means of easy communication and correspondence, and of transmission of small articles, including money. The secondary purpose is to collect from the people, in the way of special assessment upon the beneficiaries of the service, taxes for the maintenance of it. The agencies employed to effect these ends are so combined in administration as to lead sometimes to confusion of ideas. Yet different 6755 F M G-4 |
