BRITISH POST OFFICE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22052, 7 September 1933, Page 3

BRITISH POST OFFICE

£10,700,000 SURPLUS POLICY OF EXPANSION. ' (From Our Own Correspondent.) LONDON, July 27. Sir Kingsley Wood (PostmasterGeneral) announced in the House of Commons that he anticipated a surplus of £10,792,000 on the past year. “The expenditure of the Post Office,” he said, “ is something of a barometer, from which can be read many of the conditions and prospects of the country. 1 think our accounts in many respects show signs of returning prosperity. The postal revenue has for many years'shown an upward trend, but in October, 1930, the trend was reversed, and for a period of nearly two years until August last there appeared a small but almost unvarying decline in postal receipts. In September last the trade turned, and once again the postal revenue figures have been showing a consistent increase. “ The public telegraph service has been falling considerably for some years, but in the later months of last year the rate of decline was much lees, and in the first five months of this year it was stationary, while in January and February it showed an increase. For the first months of 1933 the number of telephone subscribers has shown an increase of some 15 per cent, over the corresponding period last year. INCREASE IN POST OFFICE SAVINGS. “Another welcome sign of the times is the position of the Post Office Savings Bank. It has well over £300,000,000 standing to the credit of its 9,500,000 depositors. There are 1,000,000 more live accounts to-day than in 1912. The average balance standing to the credit of each depositor is 50 per cent, more than 20 years ago. That is one of the best evidences, not only of the strength of our country, but of the sagacity and commonsense of our people.”—(Laughter.) The gross turnover of the Post Office is the tremendous figure of £760,000,000, More letters are being written than ever in the British Isles. Nearly 7,000,000,000 postage stamps were sold last year. It is not always the Post Office that makes mistakes. Four hundred thousand letters are posted in the wrong box in Loudon every week.” —(Laughter.) The Postmaster-general said he recognised the desirableness of reducing charges whenever it was prudent and financially possible to do so. There had been a number of minor reductions in the

charges during the last two years. “I wish I could have done more,” he said, “ but I think all those who stand for business management of the post office will agree that I must have regard to the financial side, particularly of the telephone and telegraph accounts.” BEAM LINES FOR SHORT DISTANCES. During the past 12 months there had been many technical and important scientific developments at the Post Office. One of the most interesting of recent developments had been the use of beam lines and cables for the dual use of telegraphy and telephony. The moat interesting and farreaching of all had been the utilisation of very short radio waves of five metres in length or less for short distance coinnumcations. Across the Bristol Channel between Cardiff and Weston-super-Mare, linked with the inland telephone service, a regular commercial service had been introduced for the first time on a wavelength of 5.4 metres in one direction and 5.1 in the other. Experience suggested that this system was likely to have a wide field of application for communication, at any rate over short sea routes. The post office has been preparing for a trade revival rather than waiting for it, and has steadily followed a policy of expansion and modernisation. SUCCESSFUL ADVERTISING. Last year there had been a decrease of 2,000,000 telephone stations throughout the world, and it was therefore satisfactory that Great Britain had increased its stations last year by 66.293, and was just past her imtncdiate rival in that connection, Germany, for this country had now 4.63 telephones for each 100 of the population ns against 4.57 in Germany. Whatever success had been achieved in the extension of post office services during the past year or two was due in great measure to the publicity campaigns of the department. Last year saw the beginning of national advertising for the telephone service, and so successful had it been that it had now been extended to advertising the Post Office Savings Bank and the telegraph service. Lord Wolmer, formerly assistant Post-master-general, suggested that the surplus was proof that post office charges are too high; that the post office was, in fact, being used as a vehicle of taxation.