Appropriations for the Post Office Department are made by the Congress upon estimates submitted to the Postmaster General by the heads of the various bureaus according to the nature and needs of the service. After examination and approval by the Postmaster General, these estimates are sent to the Secretary of the Treasury where the estimates for all Departments of the Government are assembled for transmission to Congress. Hearings on the estimates submitted by the Postmaster General are then held by the House Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads, the members of which go over the items in detail, the various bureau heads being in attendance to explain more fully, if need be, the public necessity and requirements of the estimates submitted. The Postmaster General may also be called upon to explain these estimates if the Committee so desire. At the conclusion of these hearings, the result of such inquiry and the recommendations of the Post Office Committee are submitted to Congress and are considered in Committee of the Whole. When the post office bill is under consideration and upon its passage through the House of Representatives it is in charge of the Chairman of the Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads, who answers all inquires made and defends the action of his committee in submitting these estimates to Congress for its action and approval. Auditor for the Post Office Department All accounts of the Post Office Department are audited by the Sixth Auditor of the Treasury, who is the Auditor for the Department. When the Department was reorganized in 1836 this position was created for the purpose of relieving the Postmaster General of the responsibilities of this particular form of official duty. The statutes define these duties which are numerous and important, the fiscal relations, owing to the great growth of the postal service, being of such magnitude and involving such an amount of detail that the office has become one of the greatest of the auditing branches of the Treasury Department. The annual reports of the Auditor to the Postmaster General show the financial condition of the Department at the close of each fiscal year and are a part of the Postmaster General’s report to Congress. A very large force of clerks is required to conduct the operations of the office and the most approved devices and methods are used to facilitate the dispatch of business. For greater convenience the office of the Auditor is lodged with the Post Office Department. CHAPTER III Department Operations--General and Detailed Descriptions and Cost of Service History of Rural Free Delivery