Chapter 165. making appropriations for the service of the Post-Office Department for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-three
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CHAP. 165.— An Act making appropriations for the service of the Post-Office Department for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-three.July 13, 1892. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled*,Appropriations for postal service. That the following sums be, and they are hereby, appropriated for the service of the Post-Office Department, in conformity with the act of July second, eighteen hundred andVol. 5, p. 80. thirty-six, as follows: office of the postmaster general.Postmaster-General.
For advertising, eighteen thousand dollars.Advertising. For miscellaneous items in the office of the Postmaster-General, one thousand dollars.Miscellaneous. office of the first assistant postmaster general.First Assistant Postmaster-General. For compensation to postmasters, fifteen million two hundred and Postmasters.fifty thousand dollars. 146 For compensation to clerks in post-offices, eight million three hundredClerks in post-offices. and sixty thousand dollars. For rent, light, and fuel for first and second class post-offices, sevenRent, light, and fuel. hundred and forty-seven thousand dollars.
For rent, light, and fuel for post-offices of the third class, six hundred *Proviso*.and ten thousand dollars: *Provided*, That there shall not be allowed for Limit, third-class offices.the use of any third-class post-office for rent a sum in excess of four hundred dollars nor more than sixty dollars for fuel and lights in any one year. For necessary miscellaneous and incidental items directly connectedMiscellaneous. with first and second class post-offices, including furniture, one hundred and ten thousand dollars.
For free-delivery service, including existing experimental free-deliveryFree delivery. offices, ten million seven hundred and fifty-four thousand nine hundred and forty-three dollars, to be disbursed in such manner that no New offices.additional free-delivery offices shall be established in any congressional district created by virtue of the congressional reapportionment act in which there may be established one or more free-delivery offices, until every congressional district in which there may be a place possessing the necessary qualifications shall have been supplied with at least one free-delivery office.
For stationery in post-offices, fifty-seven thousand dollars.Stationery. For wrapping twine, eighty-five thousand dollars.Twine. For wrapping paper, fifty-six thousand six hundred and twenty-two dollars.Paper. For letter balances, scales, and test weights, and repairs to same,Scales. eighteen thousand dollars. For postmarking and rating stamps and repairs to same, and inkCanceling, etc., stamps. and pads for stamping and canceling purposes, forty thousand dollars. For packing boxes, sawdust, paste, and hardware, one thousand fivePacking boxes, etc. hundred dollars.
For printing facing slips, card-slide labels, blanks, and books of anPrinting. urgent nature for the postal service, seven thousand dollars. office of the second assistant postmaster-general. Second Assistant Postmaster-General. For inland mail transportation, namely, inland transportation byInland transportation. star routes, five million eight hundred and forty-five Star routes.thousand dollars. For inland transportation by steamboat routes, four hundred andSteamboat routes. sixty-five thousand dollars.
For mail messenger service, one million two hundred thousandMessenger service. dollars. For mail bags, and mailbag catchers, cord fasteners, label cases, andBags and catchers. for labor and material necessary for repairing equipment, two hundred and sixty thousand dollars. For mail locks and keys, chains, tools, and machinery, and for laborLocks, keys, etc. and material necessary for repairing same, thirty-five thousand dollars. For the purpose of enabling the Postmaster-General to rent a buildingRepair shop. for mail bag repair shop and lock-repair shop, and for fuel, gas, watchmen, and charwomen, oil, and repair of machinery for same, six thousand five hundred dollars.
For inland transportation by railroad routes, of which a sum not exceedingRailroad routes. Freight. thirty thousand dollars may be employed to pay freight on postal cards, stamped envelopes, and stamped paper, and other supplies from the manufactories to the post-offices and depots of distribution, twenty-three million six hundred and thirty-three thousand six hundred and fifty-seven dollars and fifty-one cents. For railway post-office car service, two million eight hundred andPostal cars. nine thousand seven hundred and fifty dollars.
For railway post-office clerks, six million six hundred and thirty-oneRailway mail clerks. thousand dollars, of which sum not to exceed fifteen thousand dollars may be used to pay necessary traveling expenses of chief clerks andTraveling expenses. 147railway postal clerks traveling on duty under order of the Postmaster-General. For necessary and special facilities on trunk lines, one hundred andSpecial facilities. ninety-six thousand six hundred and fourteen dollars and twenty-two cents.
For miscellaneous items, five hundred dollars.Miscellaneous. For transportation of foreign mails, one million one hundred and twoForeign mails. thousand two hundred and ninety dollars, said amount being made up Reappropriation.of the unexpended balances of appropriations for the same object for the fiscal years eighteen hundredVol. 26, pp. 208, 1081. and ninety-one and eighteen hundred and ninety-two, amounting to five hundred and two thousand one hundred and sixty dollars and eighty-one cents and the additional sum of six hundred thousand one hundred and twenty-nine dollars and nineteen cents: *Provided*, That hereafter the Postmaster-General shall*Proviso*.
Clerks on steam ships. be authorized to expend such sums as may be necessary, not exceeding fifty-five thousand dollars, to cover one-half of the cost of transportation, compensation, and expense of the clerks to be employed in assorting and pouching mails in transit on steamships between the United States and other postal administrations in the International Postal Union. For balance due foreign countries, eighty-seven thousand five hundredBalance due foreign countries. dollars. office of the third assistant postmaster-general.Third Assistant Postmaster-General.
For manufacture of adhesive postage and special-delivery stamps, twoStamps. hundred and nineteen thousand seven hundred dollars. For pay of agents and assistants to distribute stamps, and expensesDistribution. of agency, nine thousand dollars. For manufacture of stamped envelopes, newspaper wrappers, andStamped envelopes. letter sheets, one million and forty-seven thousand dollars: *Provided*,*Proviso*. That it shall not be lawful after the thirtieth day of September, eighteen Printed return requests not to be furnished. *Post*, p. 733.
Permissible printed requests.hundred and ninety-four, for the Postmaster-General to have requests for the return of letters printed upon any envelope sold by any postmaster or by the Post-Office Department: *Provided further*, That the Post-Office Department may continue after the thirtieth day of September. eighteen hundred and ninety-four, to furnish in any quantity stamped envelopes containing the following words: “If not delivered in ten days, return to”: *Provided further*, That this provision shall notExisting contracts not affected. be construed to interfere in any wise with existing contracts for furnishing stamped envelopes or newspaper wrappers.
For pay. of agent and assistants to distribute stamped envelopes,Distribution. newspaper wrappers, and letter sheets, and expenses of agency, seventeen thousand eight hundred dollars. For manufacture of postal cards, two hundred and twelve thousand Postal cards.dollars. For pay of agent and assistants to distribute postal cards, and expensesDistribution. of agency, seven thousand eight hundred dollars. For registered-package, tag, official, and dead-letter envelopes, oneOfficial, etc., envelopes. hundred and sixteen thousand dollars.
For ship, steamboat, and way letters, one thousand four hundredShip. etc., letters. dollars. For engraving, printing, and binding drafts and warrants, threePrinting, etc., drafts. thousand two hundred dollars. For miscellaneous items, five hundred dollars.Miscellaneous. office of the fourth assistant postmaster-general.Fourth Assistant Postmaster-General. For mail depredations and post-office inspectors, and fees to UnitedMail depredations. States marshals, attorneys, and the necessary incidental expenses connected therewith, two hundred and thirty-five thousand dollars. 148 Sec. 2.
That, if the revenue of the Post-Office Department shall beAppropriation to meet deficiencies. insufficient to meet the appropriations made by this act, a sum equal to such deficiency of the revenues of said Department is hereby appropriated, to be paid out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to supply said deficiencies in the revenue of the Post-Office Department for the year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-three. Sec. 3. That the Postmaster-General is hereby authorized andPurchase of Confederate postal records directed. directed to expend the amount appropriated by the act entitled “An act making appropriations for the service of the Post-Office Vol. 26, p. 1079.Department for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-two,” approved March third, eighteen hundred and ninety-one, for the purchase of “certain books and records ” which are especially referred to and described by the Attorney-General in his letter to the Postmaster-General of October twentieth, eighteen hundred and *Provisos*.
If sum not used.ninety-one: *Provided*, That the amount thus appropriated by said act has not yet been expended: *Provided also*, That the purchase of said books is Recommendation by Secretary of Treasury and Attorney-General.recommended by the Secretary of the Treasury and the Attorney General, and that in their judgment said books would be valuable as aids in protecting the Government against overpayments and frauds, and in facilitating the settlement of mail contractors’ accounts, and claims now pending in the office of the Auditor of the Treasury for the Post-Office Department and the Court of Claims: *Provided further*, Price.That the purchase price to be paid for said books shall be such sum (within the limit of the appropriation) as may be agreed upon between the Postmaster-General, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Attorney-General, or by any two of them and the party having possession of said books or his duly authorized attorneys.
Sec. 4. That the Postmaster-General is hereby authorized to establishWorld’s Columbian Exposition. in the Government Building, upon the ground of the Branch station.World’s Columbian Exposition,Appropriations. a branch station of the Chicago Illinois, Post-Office: and there is hereby appropriated the sum of forty thousand dollars, for clerks, letter carriers, and incidental expenses necessary to maintain the same and a further sum of twenty-three Transportation.thousand dollars for transportation of mails by Railroad and Mail Messenger Service, the branch office herein provided to begin not earlier than January first, eighteen hundred and ninety three.
Sec. 5. That hereafter the Postmaster-General is authorized to provideTransportation of official matter by express. etc. for the transportation of official matter of any Department of the Government, over any railroad or express company, whenever he can do so at a saving to the Government and without detriment to the *Proviso*. Congressional matter excepted. Examination of pneumatic dispatch of mails.public service: *Provided*, That nothing in this section shall apply to official matter franked by members of Congress.
Sec. 6. That the Postmaster-General is hereby authorized and directed to examine into the subject of a more rapid dispatch of mail matter between large cities, and post-office stations and transportation terminals located in large cities, by means of pneumatic tubes or other systems, and make report upon the expense, cost, and advantages of said systems when applied to the mail service of the United States, and the sum of ten thousand dollars is hereby appropriated therefor. Approved, July 13, 1892.