H.-Statement of the number, description and prices of mail-bags, mail-catchers, and maillocks and keys purchased, and of the expense incurred on account thereof, during the fiscal year ended 30th June, 1877, viz: I.-Railway post-office lines in the United States June 30, 1877, showing the increase and decrease in the service since June 30, 1876. *Dubuque to Fort Dodge, Iowa. *Service performed by route-agents detailed to this line. Formerly Milwaukee, Wis., to Saint Paul, Minn. †These routes cover the one formerly called Chicago to Quincy, Ill. a b (See recapitulation of foregoing table on page 138.) POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT, OFFICE GENERAL SUP'T RAILWAY MAIL SERVICE, Washington, D. C., November 1, 1877 RAILWAY POST-OFFICE CLERKS. SIR: The expenditure for railway post-office-clerks for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1876, was $1,223,750.19. The expenditure for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1877, was $1,223,569.41, a decrease of one onehundredths of 1 per cent., (.01 per cent.) The appropriation for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1878, is $1,225,000, allowing no margin whatever for increase. At the commencement of the fiscal year the salaries of employés of this service were rearranged, with a view to the reduction of the expenses. The salaries of head clerks, railway post-office (except those designated to take charge of the different lines) were reduced from $1,400 per annum to $1,300. The salaries of clerks, railway post-office, were reduced from $1,200 to $1,150 per annum. The salaries of assistant clerks, railway post-office, were not reduced, but left at $1,000 per annum. The mileage of daily railway post-office service has increased over that in operation June 30, 1876, which included the fast mail-service, 4,625 miles, and the mileage of annual service 1,688,135 miles, although during the year the fast and limited services on the New York Central and Hudson River, Lake Shore and Michigan Southern, and Pennsylvania Railroad and its connections were discontinued, and but partially restored. The appropriation, however, does not allow a proportionate increase in the force of railway post-office clerks, and it has been necessary to make details from various other lines where, by any possibility, the men could be spared. At present there are about 50 route-agents detailed for duty in the railway post office cars to perform the local work, while their services are needed upon the lines to which they were appointed. It is deemed that the public service would suffer less by using them to perform that portion of the duties on railway post-office lines, which, though strictly route-agents' work, is generally performed by the railway post-office clerks on the same lines, or, in other words, in making distribution of local mails. In addition to this, this branch absolutely needs for the proper performance of its work about twenty additional men to be distributed to the different new lines in various sections of the country. This branch of the service would then stand as follows: Number of clerks in the service June 30, 1877. 1,046 70 1,116 1,042 1,116 74 71%% The mean increase of the force in this service each year since 1870 has been 19.6 per cent. In this connection particular attention is called to the reasons given, |