The growth of business transacted by the New York post-office is illustrated by the following statement showing the postal revenues for the years mentioned. It appears that the first account of revenues of the New York post-office was published in the year 1786, and the first city directory was also published in that year, and contained 926 names.
| Year | Amount |
| 1786 | $ 2,789.84 |
| 1873 (estimated) | 2,500,000.00 |
| 1922 | 54,109,050.61 |
According to a recent statement by Hon. Hubert Work, Postmaster-General, the postal business now done in New York City alone is equivalent to that of the United States twenty-five years ago, and is double that of the Dominion of Canada.
During my personal experience with the postal affairs of this great city, the service has been expanded from a post-office with eleven stations and 973 employees to an enormous establishment having a total of 362 stations, including fifty carrier and financial stations, 271 contract stations, and forty-one United States Warship Branches; requiring a total force of 15,600 post-office employees. The postmaster at New York is also the Central Accounting Postmaster for 1375 district post-offices (365 third-class and 1010 fourth-class post-offices) located in thirty-five counties of New York State.
The transactions of this important office are constantly increasing in volume as a result of the great expansion and growth of New York City, which is greatly influenced by the progress and growth of the entire country. New York City, as the metropolis of the United States, is taking her place at the head of the large cities of the world in population, finance, and commercial affairs.
If the progress made in the past fifty years by the United States and its possessions in the conduct of national and international business continues, the postal business here will, no doubt, make tremendous strides.
At the end of another fifty years, or in the year 1972, the postmaster at New York will be the head of a much greater establishment than the present office, which will be comparable to that organization of the future as the first post-office in New York City, located in the "Coffee House," Coenties Slip, in 1642, is comparable to the present post-office. The future postmaster of New York, in 1972, will probably be the head of a number of consolidated post-offices in the metropolitan area, and, no doubt, other public services will be placed under his supervision.
The further development and improvement of the aëroplane mail service will no doubt result in a greater use of that facility for the transportation of mails. The transportation of the mails through the streets of New York is a great problem. At present motor trucks are principally used for that purpose. It is anticipated that even with this service augmented by the re-establishment of the pneumatic tubes, future extensions to the underground method of transportation will be necessary. It is likely that before many years are passed a system of tunnels for the transportation of mails in pouches and sacks will be built and placed in operation.
Congress and the Post-office Department are now looking into the matter of providing the post-office at New York with a large amount of additional room in new buildings specially constructed for post-office purposes and it is the constant aim and purpose of all concerned in the operation of the New York post-office to furnish its patrons the best postal service.