United States Postmaster General

I'm the letter carrier walking up to the door, and the customer says, "I'm looking for my, uh, ballot." And you say to them what? "Oh, well, I'm sorry, but I'm not going to bring it to you because you're not worthy" some kind of way.

That's who would end up answering to the customers, not the Postmaster General or some politician.

It would be a city letter carrier having to answer this.

I think that's totally wrong, and there's nothing wrong with mail ballots to start with.

Operations does.

And you have a supervisor who has a station manager that's over them, who has a postmaster, who has a POOM, who has a district manager, who has an area vice president.

And I want to start with the Postmaster General and work my way down on this.

But they have got to, we have got to get them involved and get them to understand the kind of liability situation they've created for themselves and ca- keep on doing with this, you know, just moving grievances and not solving, and not solving, and not solving.

But also the challenges on Capitol Hill.

I mean, this debate and this reality of, you know, the Postmaster General looking to delay mail frequency of delivery and the such.

These are going to be challenges that we have to face head on.

And look, you know, for me here in this region, um, from the time that Rick DeChecker announced his retirement in the middle of March, I hit the ground running.

I also heartily join the Attorney General in recommending legislation fixing degrees of the crime of murder within federal jurisdiction, as has been done in many of the states, authorizing writs of error on behalf of the government in cases where final judgment is rendered against the sufficiency of an indictment or against the government upon any other question arising before actual trial, limiting the right of review in cases of felony punishable only by fine and imprisonment to the Circuit Court of Appeals, and making speedy provision for the construction of such prisons and reformatories as may be necessary for the confinement of United States convicts.

The report of the Postmaster General contains a detailed statement of the operations of the Post Office Department during the last fiscal year and much interesting information touching this important branch of the public service.

The business of the mails indicates with absolute certainty the condition of the business of the country, and depression in financial affairs inevitably and quickly reduces the postal revenues.

Therefore, a larger discrepancy than usual between the Post Office receipts and expenditures is the expected and unavoidable result of the distressing stringency which has prevailed throughout the country during much of the time covered by the Postmaster General's report.

At a date when better times were anticipated, it was estimated by his predecessor that the deficiency on the 30th day of June 1893 would be but a little over a million and a half dollars.

It amounted, however, to more than five millions.

At the same time, and under the influence of like anticipations, estimates were made for the current fiscal year ending June 30th, 1894, which exhibited a surplus of revenue over expenditures of $872,245.71.

But now, in view of the actual receipts and expenditures during that part of the current fiscal year already expired, the present Postmaster General estimates that at its close, instead of a surplus, there will be a deficiency of nearly $8 million.

Fully aware of the delicacy, not to say the danger, of the subject, I commend to your careful consideration whether this power of making judgments final may not properly be given to the court, reserving the right of appeal on questions of law to the Supreme Court, with such other provisions as experience may have shown to be necessary.

I ask attention to the report of the Postmaster General, the following being a summary statement of the condition of the department.

The revenue from all sources during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1861, including the annual permanent appropriation of $700,000 for the transportation of, quote, free mail matter, unquote, was $9,049,296.40, being about 2% less than the revenue for 1860.

The expenditures were $13,606,759.11, showing a decrease of more than 8% as compared with those of the previous year, and leaving an excess of expenditure over the revenue for the last fiscal year of $4,557,462.71.

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The proposition, equally important to our adopted citizens and to the commercial interests of this country, has been favorably entertained and agreed to by all the governments from whom replies have been received.

I ask the attention of Congress to the suggestions of the Postmaster General in his report respecting the further legislation required, in his opinion, for the benefit of the postal service.

The Secretary of the Interior reports as follows in regard to the public lands.

I've called.

I've called the Postmaster General's office.

It's exhausting.

I'm so tired.