1st TEMPORARY LOANS. LETTER No. 58. FROM THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY, TRANSMITTING A statement of temporary loans authorized by acts of February 25, March 17, and July 11, 1862, and June 30, 1864. JANUARY 14, 1874.-Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means and ordered to be printed. TREASURY DEPARTMENT, Washington, D. C., January 10, 1874. SIR: In response to a resolution of the House of Representatives, passed on the 18th ultimo, directing the Secretary of the Treasury to furnish a "statement of the total amount of money received on temporary loan under the acts of February 25, March 17, and July 11, 1862, and the act of June 30, 1864, stating specifically the largest amount on deposit under each act at any time and the rate of interest thereon, together with the amount of said certificates presented for payment, exclusive of exchange for other securities, in each month while said certificates were outstanding; also, whether any of said certificates, and, if so, what amount, were paid and redeemed out of the redemption fund of fifty millions of dollars, authorized by said acts to be held by the Secretary for the prompt payment of said temporary loans," I have the honor to transmit herewith a table showing the issues and redemptions, by quarters of fiscal years, of temporary loan and the amount outstanding at the close of each quarter, by which it will be seen that the date at which the largest amount was outstanding was the 31st of March, 1866, at which time it had reached the sum of $115,815,008.71. No separate account was kept with the issues under each specific act, for the reason that the terms of the several acts were substantially the same; the later acts merely increasing the amount to be issued, and the rate per cent., and also providing for the issue of notes to secure the prompt payment of the loan. The rates of interest were 4, 5, and 6 per cent. Of the notes specially provided for the redemption of this loan, $47,074,374.10 were used. The amount of said loan presented for payment, exclusive of exchange for other securities, cannot be stated, as no special account of that character was required to be kept, either by law or the business of the Department. I have the honor to be, very respectfully, Hon. JAMES G. BLAINE, WM. A. RICHARDSON, Secretary. Speaker of the House of Representatives. Temporary loans authorized by acts of February 25, March 17, and July 11, 1862, and June Quarter ended 30, 1864. $20, 291, 619 43 46, 187, 704 67 22, 813, 843 14 36, 992, 211 74 20, 383, 790 43 35, 036, 916 90 32, 690, 013 84 14, 758, 923 23 29, 696, 784 57 92,072, 323 17 21, 198, 951 97 28,956, 953 18 22,746, 038 46 58,536, 129 25 50, 015, 576 12 40, 120, 817 02 39, 807, 131 65 93, 130, 609 02 7, 285, 659 64 59, 000 00 50, 000 00 3, 000, 000 00 200, 000 00 GO, 000 00 $1,415, 215 00 7, 137, 992 53 9, 913, 510 66 24, 820, 507 99 11, 212, 703 82 21, 570,271 01 27, 203, 017 44 82, 547, 267 22 21. 934, 305 71 65, 615, 143 67 46,507, 680 49 19, 747, 517 98 33, 564, 751 27 18, 668, 888 45 33, 677, 413 29 45,364, 977 69 25, 589, 555 84 100, 613, 448 34 64, 487, 182 00 39, 794, 580 94 3, 534, 115 64 3, 183, 635 00 2,615, 986 45 3,076, 105 00 1,020, 633 00 484,940 00 208, 771 00 385, 400 00 8,600 00 $18,876, 404 43 57, 926, 116 57 70. 826, 449 05 82, 998, 152 80 92, 169, 239 41 105, 635, 885 30 111, 122, 881 70 43, 334, 537 71 51,097, 016 57 77, 554, 196 07 52, 245, 467 55 61, 454, 902 75 50, 636, 189 94 90, 503, 430 74 106,841, 593 57 101, 597, 432 90 115,815, 008 71 108, 332, 169 39 51, 130, 647 03 11, 395, 066 09 7,860, 950 45 4,727, 315 45 5, 111, 329 00 2,235, 224 00 1,274, 591 00 789, 651 00 580,880 00 195, 480 00 186,880 00 1,400 00 185, 480 00 Total.. WARRANT DIVISION, January 10, 1873 The expenses incurred in his Department upon the abolition of the frank ing privilege, and also inclosing a copy of a report to the Senate on the same subject. JANUARY 20, 1874.- Referred to the Committee on the Post-Office and Post-Roads and ordered to be printed. POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT, Washington, D. C., January 20, 1874. SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of a certified copy of a resolution passed by the House of Representatives on the 8th of December, 1873, in the following words: Resolved, That the several Executive Departments of the Government be, and they are hereby, directed to report to this House, at as early a day as practicable, a statement of the expenses incurred by the said Departments, respectively, since the 1st day of July, 1873, consequent upon the abolition of the franking privilege; and that the Postmaster-General be, and he is hereby, also directed to furnish to this House a statement of the receipts of his Department from all sources in consequence of the said abolition of the franking privilege. In reply to the first branch of the inquiry, I have to say that, if I may except the amount due for postages, (shown in the table herewith submitted,) the only expenses incurred by this Department "in consequence of the abolition of the frauking privilege" have been in connection with the manufacture of official stamps and stamped-envelopes, authorized by the act of March 3, 1873. (Sec. 4, p. 542, vol. 17, Stat. at L.) The manufacturers have asked an extra allowance, on the ground that the act to which I have referred, requiring special designs for each Department, entailed upon them, in the preparation of dies, rolls, plates, &c. &c., a considerable expense, which, they allege, was not contemplated by their contract for manufacturing the ordinary stamps. This claim has not been adjusted, but is the subject of an examination now pending. The total number of official stamped envelopes furnished up to the Sth December was $6,636,300, at a cost of $19,823.10. This latter item might, however, be properly omitted from the "expenses consequent upon the abolition of the franking privilege," for the reason that envelopes would have been needed in any case; and without the embossed stamps, these envelopes were fairly worth what the Department paid for them. In regard to the receipts, the only definite data that can now be given are the issues of official stamps and stamped envelopes to the several Executive Departments up to and inclusive of the 8th December, amounting to $1,190,478.02, a statement of which, in tabular form, will be found herewith inclosed. It is of course impossible to determine the exact extent to which the postal revenues have been benefited by the sale of the ordinary stamps for the prepayment of other than executive matter that has been debarred from free carriage through the mails by the repeal of the franking privilege. An approximation, based on the issues for the first quarter of the present fiscal year as compared with those of the corresponding periods of several previous years, was, however, given on pages 27 and 28 of my last annual report. It will be observed that, including postal cards, which are to be considered among the regular issues, the increase for the quarter ending September 30, 1873, over the same quarter of 1872, was $583,198, or 12.5 per cent. The average rate of increase for the corresponding quarters of the four preceding years was only 8.4 per cent.; so that 4.1 per cent., or $191,288.94, of the increase above mentioned may be fairly considered as due to the abolition of the franking privilege, and proper to be added to the other revenues accruing therefrom. It is only just to believe that this increase would have been greater had it not been for the recent introduction of postal cards, which, serving to cheapen postages, and to decrease the amount of letter-corre spondence, could not fail to seriously diminish the revenue. The Auditor for this Department, in a letter dated the 5th instant, approximates the total sales of postage stamps, stamped envelopes, and postal cards for the quarter ending September 30, 1873, at $6,350,826.06, or $55,283.86 more than the total issues for same period, ($6,295,542.20,) on which the foregoing estimate was based. To a resolution of the Senate, adopted on the 15th December ultimo, making more extended inquiries respecting the effects of the abolition of the franking privilege upon the receipts and expenditures of the Post-Office Department, I have this day returned an answer, of which I take the liberty herewith to inclose a copy. I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, Hon. JAMES G. BLAINE, Speaker of the House of Representatives. Postmaster-General. Statement showing the total number and value of official postage-stamps and stamped envelopes supplied to each of the Executive Departments up to and inclusive of December 8, 1873. POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT, Washington, D. C., January 20, 1874. SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of a certified copy of a resolution adopted by the Senate on the 15th December, 1873, as follows: Whereas the abolition of the franking privilege was intended to economize the expenditures of the Government; and Whereas its abolition prevents the general distribution to the people of improved field and garden seeds, thus defeating in a measure the benefits which otherwise would accrue to the agriculture of the country from the establishment of the Agricultural Department; and also discourages the distribution of public documents, which afford important information and are an educator of the people; and Whereas, to compensate the people for these losses, there should be an important reduction of the expenditures in the postal service of the Government: Therefore, Resolved, That the Postmaster-General be requested to report for the information of the Senate 1st. What amount of expense, if any, has been saved to the Government by the abo lition of the franking privilege, and that he state specifically and fully the items in which expense has been saved and the amounts so saved in each and every particular, separating, in his report, the particulars in which expense has been saved and the amounts so saved, by the abolition of the privilege, as it relates to members of Congress, heads of Departments, and all other formerly free mail-matter. 2d. How many employés in the postal service have been discharged, and how much less is charged by railroads and other carriers of the mail, since the abolition of said privilege; and if any additional clerks and additional expense have been added to the Department in the care, sale, &c., of postage-stamps, and the amount of clear profit arising by reason of the additional sale of stamps. 3d. The amount of revenue derived from each class of mailable matter respectively and specifically, as to letter-postage and postage upon books, newspapers, and pamphlets, and as to "registered letters" and the "money-order business," and the gross amount avoirdupois of each class transported through the mails. 4th. Whether it has been the practice of the Departments, or either of them, since appropriations have been made for official stamps, to send documents or packages beretofore sent by mail by express; if orders have been issued by any Department to its subordinates to send such matter to the Department by express and not by mail, and out of what appropriation payment for such expressage has been made. 5th. Whether the Postmaster-General construes the law as authorizing the free transmission of mail by or to the Post-Office Department. 6th. How much less appropriation will be required for the postal service now than prior to the abolition of such privilege. The following answers are respectfully submitted: 1st. In my annual report for the year 1873, I say "Publications of the class heretofore printed and sent out by order of Congress have been almost entirely cut off since the 1st of July. Of the relief thus afforded, some idea may be formed from the fact that, during the three months next preceding that day, there were forwarded from this city |