Chapter 386. Making appropriations for the service of the Post-Office Department for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-seven
1,813 words·~8 min read·
/statutes-at-large/vol-29/chapter-386-1491662·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
CHAP. 386.— An Act Making appropriations for the service of the Post-Office Department for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-seven. June 9, 1896. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled*, That the following sums be,Postal service appropriations. 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. For advertising, five thousand dollars.Advertising. For miscellaneous items in the office of the Postmaster-General, oneMiscellaneous. thousand dollars. office of the first assistant postmaster-general. First Assistant Postmaster-General. For compensation to postmasters, sixteen million two hundred andPostmasters. fifty thousand dollars: *Provided*, That no post-office established at any*Provisos*.Post-offices at county meats to he continued. county seat shall be abolished or discontinued by reason of any con solidation of post-offices made by the Postmaster-General under existing law, and any such post-office at a county seat heretofore consolidated shall be established as a separate post-office at such county seat: *Provided,Exceptions. however*, That this provision shall not apply to the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts, or to Towson, Maryland: *And provided further*,Restriction on establishing stations and branches.
That hereafter no station, substation, or branch post-office shall be established beyond the corporate limits or boundaries of any city or town in which the principal office to which such station, substation, or branch office is attached is located, except in cases of villages, towns, or cities of fifteen hundred or more inhabitants not distant more than five miles as near as may be from the outer boundary or limits of such city or town in which the principal office is located.
For compensation to clerks in post-offices, ten million four hundredClerks in post-offices. thousand dollars; six hundred thousand dollars of which shall be314FIFTY-FOURTH CONGRESS. Sess. I. Ch. 386. 1896. available and may be used in payment of clerk hire in third and fourth class separating post offices. Rent, light and fuel.For rent, light, and fuel tor first, second, and third class post-offices, one million six hundred thousand dollars: *Provided*, That there shall *Proviso*.Limit third-class offices.not be allowed for 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.
Miscellaneous.For necessary miscellaneous and incidental items directly connected with first and second class post-offices, including furniture, one hundred *Proviso*.Expenditures.and fifty thousand dollars: *Provided*, That the Postmaster General, in his discretion, under such regulations as he 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 Postmaster-General. Advertising.For advertising at first and second class post-offices, fifteen thousand dollars. free-delivery service.
Free delivery. Letter carriers.For pay of letter carriers, twelve million two hundred and forty thousand three hundred dollars; Murine delivery.For marine free delivery service, three thousand five hundred dollars; Horse hire.For horse hire allowance, three hundred and forty-four thousand dollars; Car fare, etc.For car fare and bicycle allowance, one hundred and seventy thousand dollars; Boxes, etc.For street letter boxes, posts, and pedestals, fifteen thousand four hundred dollars;
For package boxes, ten thousand two hundred and fifty dollars; Mechanics.Twelve mechanics in the six largest cities, exclusively employed in repairing boxes and locks, and erecting boxes, planting posts and pedestals, at nine hundred dollars per annum, ten thousand eight hundred dollars; Incidentals.Incidental expenses, including repairs, painting, height, straps, time cards, maps, directories, furniture, and so forth, twenty-four thousand dollars: In all, twelve million eight hundred and eighteen thousand two hundred *Proviso*.Interchange of objects.and fifty dollars: *Provided*, That ten per centum of the foregoing amounts for free delivery service may be available interchangeably for expenditure on the objects named, but no one item of appropriation Rural free delivery.shall thereby be increased more than ten per centum: *Provided further*, That ten thousand dollars of this amount may be used to defray the expense of experiments in rural free delivery under the direction of the Postmaster-General, and that the amount heretofore appropriated for this purpose and still unexpended be available for said experiments.
Stationery.For stationery in post offices, fifty thousand dollars. Twine.For wrapping twine, eighty thousand dollars. Paper.For wrapping paper, fifty thousand dollars. Scales.For letter balances, scales, and test weights, and repairs to same, ten thousand dollars. Canceling, etc., stamps.For postmarking and rating stamps, and repairs to same, and ink and pads for stamping and canceling purposes, thirty thousand dollars. Packing boxes, etc.For packing boxes, sawdust, paste, and hardware, one thousand five hundred dollars.
Printing.For printing facing slips and cutting same, card slide labels, blanks and books of an urgent nature for the postal service, fifteen thousand dollars. Canceling machines.For rental of canceling machines, sixty thousand dollars. office of the second assistant postmaster-general. Second Assistant Postmaster-General. Inland mail transportation.For inland mail transportation, namely: Inland transportation by star routes, including temporary service to newly established offices, five million three hundred and fifty four thousand dollars.
Star routes.Separating offices. 315 For inland transportation by steamboat routes, four hundred thousandSteamboat routes. dollars. For mail-messenger service, one million one hundred and thirty thousandMessenger service. dollars. And the Postmaster-General may, in his discretion, use not exceeding the sum of thirty-five thousand dollars of this amount inPneumatic tubes, etc. the transportation of mail by pneumatic tube or other similar devices. Regulation, screen or other wagon service, six hundred and seventyWagon, etc., service. thousand dollars.
For mail bags and mail-bag catchers, cord fasteners, label cases, andBags, catchers, etc. for labor and material necessary for repairing equipment, three hundred and forty-five thousand dollars. For mail locks and keys, chains, tools, and machinery, and for laborLocks, keys, etc. and material necessary for repairing same, forty-five thousand dollars. For the purpose, of enabling the Postmaster-General to rent a buildingRepair shop. for a mail-bag repair shop and lock-repair shop, and for fuel, gas, watchmen and charwoman, oil, and repair of machinery for same, eight thousand five hundred dollars.
For inland transportation by railroad routes, of which a sum notRailroad routes. 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, twenty-eight million dollars. For railway post-office car service, three million four hundred thousandPost-office cars. dollars. For railway post-office clerks, seven million seven hundred and thirty-nineRailway mail clerks. 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.
For transportation of mail by electric and cable cars on routes notElectric and cable car service. exceeding twenty miles in length, one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. For necessary and special facilities on trunk lines from Boston, Massachusetts,Special facilities. by way of New York mid Washington, to Atlanta and New Orleans, one hundred and ninety-six thousand six hundred and fourteen dollars and twenty-two cents: *Provided*, That no part of the*Proviso*.Condition. 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 postal service.
All railway companies carryingFree transportation to clerks. mail may furnish free transportation on the line of their respective roads to railway mail clerks. For miscellaneous items, one thousand dollars.Miscellaneous. For transportation of foreign mails, one million seven hundred andForeign mails. fifty thousand dollars: *Provided*, That hereafter the Postmaster-General*Proviso*.Clerks 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 ten thousand dollars for transferringTransfer at New York. the foreign mail between the steamship piers in New York City and Jersey City and the post-office and railroad stations.
For additional compensation to the Oceanic Steamship Company forOceanic Steamship Company.Pacific mails. transporting the mails by its steamers 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 said additional sum*Proviso*.Limit. with the sum now paid shall not exceed two dollars per mile, as authorized by Act of March third, eighteen hundred and ninety-one, entitledVol, 26, p. 832.
“An Act to provide for ocean mail service between the United States and foreign ports, and to promote commerce.” For balance due foreign countries, one hundred and twenty thousandBalance due foreign countries. dollars. 316 FIFTY-FOURTH CONGRESS. Sess. I. Chs. 386, 387. 1896. office of the third assistant postmaster-general. Third Assistant Postmaster-General. Stamps.For manufacture of adhesive postage and special-delivery stamps, one hundred and sixty thousand dollars. Distribution.For rent of office tor use of the agent of the Post-Office Department to supervise the distribution of stamps of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, six hundred dollars.
For pay of agents and assistants to distribute stamps, and expenses of agency, twelve thousand dollars. Stamped envelopes, etc.For manufacture of stamped envelopes and newspaper wrappers, eight hundred and thirty thousand dollars. Distribution.For pay of agent and assistants to distribute stamped envelopes and newspaper wrappers, and expenses of agency, seventeen thousand eight hundred dollars. Postal cards.For manufacture of postal cards, one hundred and eighty-six thousand dollars.
Distribution.For pay of agent and assistants to distribute postal cards, and expenses of agency, seven thousand eight hundred dollars. Official, etc., envelopes.For registered package, tag, official, and dead-letter envelopes, one hundred and five thousand dollars. Ship. etc,, letters.For ship, steamboat, and way letters, one thousand dollars. Printing Grafts, etc.For engraving, priming, and binding drafts and warrants, one thousand dollars. Miscellaneous.For miscellaneous items, five hundred dollars. office of the fourth assistant postmaster-general.
Fourth Assistant Postmaster-General. Mail depredations.For mail depredations and post-office inspectors, three hundred thousand dollars. Rewards, etc.For payment of rewards for the detection, arrest, and conviction of post-office burglars, robbers, and highway mail robbers, twenty-five thousand dollars. Detailed estimates, money-order system.The Postmaster-General shall for the fiscal year eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, and annually thereafter, submit in the annual estimates to Congress estimates in detail for all expenses of the money order branch of the postal service.
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-seven. Approved, June 9, 1896.