in the Pacific. These critics failed to see that no foreign nation could properly take exception to a practice cruise of American men-of-war along the coasts of the United States, whether in the Atlantic, or in the Pacific, even if both coasts be not continuous. The fleet left Hampton Roads on Dec. 16, 1907, after being reviewed by the President. A flotilla of four destroyers left the same port on Dec. 2, also for the Pacific The fleet stopped at various South American ports, passed through the Straits of Magellan, and reached San Francisco on schedule time, without a mishap on the way. The continuation of the voyage from San Francisco was due to invitations from Australia, New Zealand, China, and Japan. The fleet left San Francisco on July 7, 1908; Manila, Dec. 1, 1908; and, on Dec. 31, 1908, was on the way from Colombo to Suez; it was to be reviewed by President Roosevelt at Hampton Roads on Feb. 22, 1909. The whole cruise will have lasted one year, two months, and six days; the distance traveled being about 42,227 miles. The ports of five continents were included in the itinerary; and the voyage naturally divided itself into three parts. The first part, from Hampton Roads to San Francisco, was actually 14,441 nautical miles. The second, from San Francisco to Manila by way of the Hawaiian Islands, New Zealand, Australia, and Japan, approximated 16,218 miles. The third, or homeward bound part, from Manila to Hamp ton Roads, by way of India, the Suez Canal, Mediterranean ports, and Gibraltar, was about 11,568 miles, not including the side calls at Mediterranean ports. The value of this cruise to the Navy was enormous. The fleet not only made all needed repairs; but increased the steaming efficiency through competition in daily consumption of coal. Drills were carried out regularly on the long sea passages; tactical exercises were carried out as time permitted; and even target practice was not omitted. Away from the distractions and attractions of shore leave, home, and navy yards, it enabled of ficers and men to acquire the sea habit, and inevitably resulted in the development of a strong esprit de corps. And the gain on the administrative side was also great, the solution of the various problems relating to supplies giving valuable data for future reference.

POST OFFICE. The report of the Postmaster General for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1908, shows the total receipts of the Post Office Department for that period as $191,478,663.41, while the expenditures were $208,351,886.15, leaving a deficit for the year of $16,873,222.74. This deficit is the largest in the history of the Post Office Department. The deficit in 1907 was $6,653,282.17. The great increase in 1908 is due mainly to an increase in the salaries of rural carriers, post office clerks, railway mail clerks, and other employees of the department. Had it not been for these increases the deficit would have been but little larger than that of 1907. The appropriations for the fiscal year 1909 were $222,960,892, and it is estimated that the deficit at the end of that period will again be over $16,000,000. As in his report for the fiscal year 1907, the Postmaster General recommends the appointment of a Director of Posts, who shall be a business man of wide experience and who shall hold office during good behavior.

The rural free delivery system continued to develop rapidly during the year. On Nov. 10, 1908, there were in operation 39,516 routes with

a patronage of more than 18,000,000 people. Free delivery is now established on nearly 1,000,000 miles of routes throughout the country. The expenditure for the maintenance of the rural free delivery system for the fiscal year 1908 was $34,361,463. The Postmaster General advocates the establishment of a limited parcels post composed entirely of rural free delivery routes. He states that this would enable farmers to have small parcels delivered at their gates, to live better, and to obtain more easily the necessaries of life. The increased consumption would in turn increase the business of the local merchant and would benefit jobbers by the additional orders transmitted through commercial travelers.

The establishment of postal savings banks is urgently recommended in the Postmaster General's report. He asserts that it would be of the greatest value in localities where there are no savings banks or facilities for depositing money. He says, "It has been estimated that altogether fully half a billion dollars not to-day placed in any bank, due to want of opportunity or lack of confidence, might be put back into circulation through the agency of postal savings banks." This service, he points out, would operate principally in territory not now covered by private enterprise.

New designs for stamps were prepared for engraving during the year. Of these, the onecent stamps embody the portrait of Franklin and stamps of all other denominations, portraits of Washington. The colors of one- and twocent stamps will be the same as heretofore, except that the green of the one-cent stamp has been lightened to give a brighter effect. A new special delivery stamp has also been designed to be placed on sale about Jan. 1, 1909.

During the fiscal year 14,119 postmasters were appointed, of whom 2,174 were of the presidential class. The Postmaster General notes a marked improvement in the efficiency of the service due to the policy of retaining postmasters of all grades whose records have been satisfactory. A new salary law went into effect in 1907. Under this law, 15,825 clerks and 19,792 carriers were advanced in salary on July 1, 1907; 1,459 clerks and 1,190 carriers on Oct. 1, 1907; 1,436 clerks and 1,342 carriers on Jan. 1, 1908; and 1,160 clerks and 1,179 carriers on April 1, 1908; the total number of promotions being 19,880 for clerks and 23,503 for carriers. The efficiency of the employees affected has been materially increased as the result of these increases in salary. The free delivery of mails by letter carriers was extended during the year to 92 additional cities. The total number of regular letter carriers in the service on June 30, 1908, was 26,352, a net increase during the year of 1,175. An experiment was tried in Milwaukee with success to collect mail by the use of automobiles. It was found that the same force of collectors could do twice the amount of work under this system as when using horse-drawn vehicles.

On June 30, 1908, the number of railway mail routes in operation was 3,293, with a length of 213,220.47 miles, and an annual travel of 407.799,039.44 miles. The expenditure for railway post office cars for the fiscal year was $4,681,777.58, being 20.5 per cent. less than the previous year. There were in operation, on June 30, 1908, 508 electric and cable car routes with a length of route of 6,764.77 miles and an annual travel of 11,716,416.26 miles.

In 1908 parcels post conventions were negotiated with the Netherlands, to take effect July 1, 1908; with Uruguay, to take effect July 1; Italy, to take effect Aug. 1; France, to take effect Aug. 15; and Austria, to take effect July 1, 1909. The parcels post rate of 20 cents a pound to Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile, and Peru was reduced to 12 cents a pound. The weight of the parcels post mails despatched from the United States was 968,513 pounds, consisting of 350,484 parcels, and the weight of the parcels post mails received was 584,667 pounds, consisting of 200,660 parcels.

Negotiations were concluded during the year with the Postmaster General of Great Britain, resulting in the establishment of the two cents an ounce rate of letter postage between the United States, and the United Kingdom and Germany. On May 8, 1907, the agreement between Canada and the United States, which provided for the transmission of second class matter originating in either country and addressed for delivery in the other at the same rate as if addressed for domestic delivery was terminated at the instance of the Canadian postal administration. Under the new arrangement which then went into effect, the postage rate applicable to second class matter in each country addressed for delivery in the other, was one cent for each four ounces or fraction thereof, calculated on the bulk weight of each package and prepaid by stamps affixed. This arrangement did not prove satisfactory and

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the Canadian administration consented to restoration of the former privileges in so far as newspapers published six days a week were concerned, and daily publications may now be mailed to Canada at the rate of one cent a pound.

On Dec. 1, President Roosevelt issued an order putting all fourth-class postmasters in States north of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi in the classified service. This order affects more than 15,000 fourth-class postmasters in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Appointments to these places will be made hereafter on certification by the Civil Service Commission of names of applicants who have passed an examination for qualification. It was announced on Nov. 27 that Frank H. Hitchcock, formerly First Assistant Postmaster General, and later Chairman of the Republican National Campaign Committee, would serve as Postmaster General in the Cabinet in the administration beginning March 4, 1909.

PENSIONS. The report of the Commissioner of Pensions for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1908, shows 951,687 pensioners on the rolls at the close of the fiscal year. During that period there were added to the roll 38,682 names and 54,366 names of pensioners were dropped, leaving a net loss for the year of 15,684 names. The net decrease in the number of pensions since Jan. 1, 1905, when the highest number attained, 1,004,196, was carried on the rolls, is 52,509, and the decrease in the pension roll during 1908, 50,676, was caused by the death of pensioners. The total number of survivors of the Civil War the pension rolls on July 30, 1908, was 620,985, as compared with 644,383 on June 30, 1907, a decrease during the year of 23.353. The number dropped on account of death during the year was 34,333. The death rate of the survivors

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of the Civil War during the year was slightly in excess of 5 per cent. and the number dropped on account of death was 3,132 greater than during 1907. At the close of the year there were 7,099 original claims of survivors of the Civil War pending in the Bureau of Pensions. This number added to the number of survivors of the War makes a total of 628,084, who either are pensioners, or have claims pending. Under the act of April 19, 1908, all widows of soldiers and sailors who served in the Civil War on the roll under the act of June 27, 1890, were transferred to the pension roll. The total number of widows of soldiers and sailors of the Civil War receiving was 75,515. There still pensions in 1908 remained on the rolls of the Pension Bureau two pensioners of the Revolutionary War, daughters of Revolutionary soldiers. Both are pensioned by special act of Congress. were 471 widows of soldiers and sailors of the War of 1812, a decrease of 870 as compared with 1907. Of the Indian Wars there were 1,820 survivors and 3,018 widows drawing pensions. There were 2,932 survivors of the War with Mexico, and 6,914 widows drawing pensions. On June 30, 1908, there were 20,548 invalids drawing pensions on account of the War with Spain, 1,145 widows, and 3,096 mothers. In the regular establishment there were on the pension rolls on the same date 11,786 invalids, 2,580 widows. The annual value of the pension roll at the close of the fiscal year was $159,495,701, as compared with $140,850,880 at the close of 1907, a gain of $18,644,821. The annual value was the amount required to pay all pensioners on the roll at the close of the fiscal year for one entire year, should there be no changes in the rates or the number of pensioners during the year. The increase in the annual value of the roll is due to the large number of certificates issued during the year under the Act of Feb. 6, 1907, and the increase in the rates to widows granted by the Act of April 19, 1908. There were disbursed during the year for pensions $153,093,086.27, as compared with $138,155,412.46 in 1907. The amount paid in 1908 is the largest since the organization of the Pension Bureau, with the exception of the fiscal year 1893, when the amount was $156,906,637.94. The total amount paid for pensions since 1866 is $3,654,663,365.73. It is estimated that the total amount paid for pensions since the foundation of the government was $3,751,108,809.96. Of this, the sum paid for pensioners of the Civil War was $3,533,593,025.95. There were pending on June 30, 1908, 123,483 claims for pensions.

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The Act of Feb. 6, 1907, granted pensions to persons who served 90 days or more in the military or naval service of the United States during the Civil War or 60 days in the Mexican War, and were honorably discharged, at the following rates: $12 per month when 62 years of age; $15 per month when 70 years of age, and $20 per month when 75 years of age. the date of its approval to June 30, 1908, there were filed 431,113 applications for pensions or increase of pensions under this act, and 377,192 certificates were issued to applicants. Of these only 11,223 were original allowances for certificates issued to persons who were not already on the pension rolls. The Act of April 19, 1908, referred to above, provides that the rate of pensions for widows, minor children under the age of 16 years, and helpless minors as defined by the existing laws, now on the roll or here