Chapter 385. Making appropriations for the service of the Post-Office Department for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight
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CHAP. 385.— An Act Making appropriations for the service of the Post-Office Department for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight. March 3, 1897. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled*, Postal service appropriations.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 and thirty-six, as follows: office of the postmaster-general.
Postmaster-General. Advertising.For advertising, five thousand dollars. Miscellaneous.For miscellaneous items in the office of the Postmaster-General, one thousand dollars. office of the first assistant postmaster-general. First Assistant Postmaster-General. Postmasters.For compensation to postmasters, sixteen million seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Clerks.For compensation to clerks in post-offices, ten million six hundred thousand dollars. Rent, light, and fuel.For rent, light, and fuel for first, second, and third class post-offices, *Proviso*.one million six hundred thousand dollars: *Provided*, That there shallFIFTY-FOURTH CONGRESS.
Sess. II. Ch. 385. 1897.645 not be allowed for the use of any third class post-office for rent a sumLimit third-class offices. 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 fifty thousand dollars: *Provided*, That the Postmaster-General,*Proviso*.Expenditures. in his discretion, under such regulations as be shall prescribe, may authorize any of the postmasters of said offices to expend the fund he may allow them for such purposes without the written consent of the Postmasters General.
For advertising at first and second class post-offices, fifteen thousandAdvertising. dollars. Free-delivery service: For pay of letter carriers in officesFree delivery.Letter carriers. already established, and for substitute letter carriers and for temporary carriers at summer resorts, holiday and election service, twelve million five hundred and twenty-nine thousand dollars; For pay of letter carriers in new offices entitled to free delivery serviceNew offices. under existing law, ninety thousand dollars;
For horse-hire allowance, three hundred and seventy thousandHorse hire. dollars; For car-fare and bicycle allowance, one hundred and seventy-fiveCar fare, etc. thousand dollars; For incidental expenses, including twelve mechanics in the six largestIncidentals. cities, exclusively employed in repairing boxes and locks, and erecting boxes, planting posts and pedestals, at nine hundred dollars per annum; letter boxes, package boxes, posts, satchels, repairs, marine free-delivery service at Detroit, and so forth, sixty thousand dollars; in all, thirteen million two hundred and twenty-four thousand dollars: *Provided*, That ten per centum of the foregoing amounts for free delivery*Proviso*.Interchange of objects. service may be available interchangeably for expenditure on the objects named, but no one item of appropriation shall thereby be increased more than ten per centum.
The Postmaster-General is authorized to apply to the payment of theUse of balances to pay letter carriers. salaries of letter carriers for the fiscal year eighteen hundred and ninety-seven the sum of twenty-three thousand dollars, being an unexpended balance of thirteen thousand five hundred dollars of the appropriation for the current fiscal year for street letter boxes, posts, and pedestals and an unexpended balance of nine thousand five hundred dollars of the appropriation for the current fiscal year for package boxes.
For experimental rural free delivery, under the direction of the Postmaster-General,Rural free delivery. fifty thousand dollars. For stationery in post-offices, fifty-five thousand dollars.Stationery. For wrapping twine, eighty-five thousand dollars.Twine. For wrapping paper, fifty thousand dollars.Paper. For letter balances, scales, and test weights, and repairs to same, tenScales. thousand dollars. For postmarking and rating stamps, and repairs to same, and inkCanceling, etc., stamps. and pads for stamping and canceling purposes, thirty thousand dollars.
For packing boxes, sawdust, paste, and hardware, one thousand fivePacking boxes, etc. hundred dollars. For printing facing slips and cutting same, card slide labels, blanks,Printing. and books of an urgent nature for the postal service, twenty thousand dollars. For rental of canceling machines, sixty-live thousand dollars.Canceling machines.Books, etc. Blanks, blank books, and printed matter for the money-order service, one hundred and twenty thousand dollars. Stamps and articles pertaining thereto, and metal cutters, for theMoney-order stamps, etc. money-order service, two thousand five hundred dollars.
Stationery and necessary miscellaneous and incidental expenses forStationery. the money-order service, seven thousand dollars. 646 office of the second assistant postmaster general. Second Assistant Postmaster-General. Inland mail transportation.Star routes.For inland mail transportation, namely: Inland transportation by star routes, including temporary service to newly established offices, five million four hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Steamboat routes.For inland transportation by steamboat routes, four hundred thousand dollars.
Messenger service.For mail-messenger service, one million dollars. And the Postmaster-General may, in his discretion, use not exceeding the sum of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars of this amount in the transportation Pneumatic tubes, etc.of mail by pneumatic tube or other similar devices, by purchase or otherwise. Wagon, etc., service.For regulation, screen, or other wagon service, seven hundred and ten thousand dollars. Bags, catchers, etc.For mail bags and mail-bag catchers, cord fasteners, label cases, and for labor and material necessary for repairing equipment, three hundred and twenty thousand dollars.
Locks, keys. etc.For mail locks and keys, chains, tools, and machinery, and for labor and material necessary tor repairing same, forty-five thousand dollars. Repair shop.For the purpose of enabling the Postmaster-General to rent a building for a mail-bag repair shop and lock-repair shop, and for fuel, gas, watchmen and charwoman, oil, and repair of machinery for said shops, eight thousand five hundred dollars. Railroad routes.For inland transportation by railroad routes, of which a sum not exceeding 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, Transfer to Saint Louis, Mo.twenty-nine million dollars; and the Postmaster-General is hereby authorized, in his discretion, to pay from the foregoing appropriation for the special transfer and terminal service between the Union Station at East Saint Louis, Illinois, and the Union Station at Saint Louis, Missouri, including the use, lighting, and heating of mail building, and the transfer service at Saint Louis, at the rate of not exceeding fifty thousand dollars per annum, beginning on the first day of July, eighteen hundred and ninety-seven.
Post-office cars.For railway post-office car service, three million six hundred thousand dollars. Railway mail clerks.For railway post-office clerks, eight million one hundred thousand dollars, of which sum not to exceed fifteen thousand dollars may be used to pay necessary traveling expenses of chief clerks and railway postal clerks traveling on duty under order of the Postmaster General. Electric and cable car service.For inland transportation of mail by electric and cable cars on routes not exceeding twenty miles in length, two hundred and fifty thousand *Proviso*.Compensation.dollars: *Provided*, That the rate of compensation to be paid per mile shall not exceed the amount now received by companies performing said service; and the Postmaster-General shall report to Congress at its next regular session the prices paid for such service.
Special facilities.For necessary and special facilities on trunk lines from New York and Washington, to Atlanta and New Orleans, one hundred and seventy-one thousand two hundred and thirty-eight dollars and seventy-five *Proviso*.Condition.cents: *Provided*, That no part of the appropriation made by this paragraph shall be expended unless the Postmaster-General shall deem such expenditure necessary in order to promote the interest of the Use of balances for fast mail service.postal service.
In the discretion of the Postmaster-General, any unexpended balance of the appropriation for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-seven, for necessary and special facilities on trunk lines, may be used for other fast-mail facilities. Free transportation to clerks.All railway companies carrying mail may furnish free transportation on the line of their respective roads to railway mail clerks. Canceling machines.For rental of canceling machines for use in postal cars, seven thousand five hundred dollars.
Miscellaneous.For miscellaneous items, one thousand dollars. 647 For transportation of foreign mails, one million eight hundred andForeign mails. thirty-six thousand dollars, including additional compensation to the Oceanic Steamship Company for transporting the mails by its steamersOceanic Steamship Company. sailing from San Francisco to New Zealand and New South Wales by way of Honolulu, all mails made up in the United States destined for the Hawaiian Islands, the Australian colonies.
New Caledonia, and the islands in the Pacific Ocean, eighty thousand dollars: *Provided*, That*Provisos*.Limit. the sum paid the said Oceanic Steamship Company shall not exceed two dollars per mile, as authorized by Act of March third, eighteenVol. 20, p. 832. hundred and ninety-one, entitled “An Act to provide for ocean mail service between the United States and foreign ports, and to promote commerce:” *And provided further*, That hereafter the Postmaster-GeneralClerks on steamers. shall 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 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; and not exceeding forty thousand dollars for transferringTransfers at New York. the foreign mail from incoming steamships in New York Bay to the several steamship and railway piers, and between the steamship piers in New York City and Jersey City and the post-office and railroad stations.
For balances due foreign countries, one hundred and forty-two thousandBalances due foreign countries. dollars. office of the third assistant postmaster-general. Third Assistant Postmaster-General. For manufacture of adhesive postage and special delivery stamps,Stamps. one hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars. For pay of agents and assistants to distribute stamps, and expensesDistribution. of agency, twelve thousand dollars. For manufacture of stamped envelopes and newspaper wrappers,Stamped envelopes, etc. eight hundred and forty-four thousand dollars.
For pay of agents and assistants to distribute stamped envelopesDistribution. and newspaper wrappers, and expenses of agency, seventeen thousand eight hundred dollars. For manufacture of postal cards, one hundred and ninety-sevenPostal cards. thousand dollars. For pay of agent and assistants to distribute postal cards, andDistribution. expenses of agency, seven thousand eight hundred dollars. For registered-package, tag, official, and dead-letter envelopes, oneOfficial. etc., envelopes. hundred and three thousand dollars.
For ship, steamboat, and way letters, one thousand dollars.Ship, etc., letters. 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, four hundred thousandMail depredations. dollars: For payment of rewards for the detection, arrest, and conviction ofRewards, etc. post-office burglars, robbers, and highway mail robbers, twenty-five thousand dollars.
Section four hundred and thirteen of the Revised Statutes is herebyAnnual reports. amended so as to read as follows: " “Sec. 413. The Postmaster-General shall make the following annualPostmaster-General’s reports.R. S. sec., 413, p 68, amended.Finances. reports to Congress: “First. A report of the finances of the Department for the preceding year showing the amount of balance due the Department at the beginning of the year, the amount of postage which accrued within the year, the amount of engagements and liabilities and the amount actually paid during the year for carrying the mail, showing how much of the amount was for carrying the mail in preceding years. 648FIFTY-FOURTH CONGRESS.
Sess. II. Chs. 385, 386. 1897. “Second. Expenditures.A report of the amount expended in the Department for the preceding fiscal year, including detailed statements of expenditures made from the contingent fund. Printing.“And the Postmaster-General shall cause allot such reports to be printed at the Public Printing Office, either together or separately, and in such numbers as may be required by the exigencies of the service or by law.” " Section four thousand and twenty of the Revised Statutes is hereby amended so as to read as follows:
" “Sec. 4020. Superintendents of railway postal service.R. S., sec. 4020, p. 776, amended.The Postmaster-General may appoint two agents to superintend the railway postal service, each of whom shall be paid out of the appropriation for the transportation of the mail a salary at the rate of two thousand five hundred dollars a year, with an allowance for traveling and incidental expenses, while actively employed in Accounts.the service, of not more than five dollars a day: and the Auditor for the Post-Office Department shall charge to the appropriation for mail transportation the salary and per diem of the assistant superintendents of the postal-railway service, and to the appropriation for the freedelivery system the salary and per diem of the special agent detailed for that service.
” " Money-order stationery.R. S., sec. 4048, p. 780, repealed.Estimates in detail for free-delivery service.Section four thousand and forty-eight of the Revised Statutes is hereby repealed. The Postmaster-General shall for the fiscal year eighteen hundred and ninety-nine, and annually thereafter, submit in the annual estimates to Congress estimates in detail as far as practicable for expenses of the free delivery service. Money-order statements to be destroyed in seven years.Vol. 28, p. 107.Section four of the Act approved July sixteenth, eighteen hundred and ninety-four making appropriations for the service of the Post-Office Department for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-five, is hereby amended by inserting the word “seven” in place of the word “ten” wherever it occurs in the section.
Appropriation to meet deficiencies.That if the revenues of the Post Office Department shall be 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 revenues for the Post-Office Department for the year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight. Approved, March 3, 1897.