Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1839-05-23
From the Macon Tclegraph.

1HE POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT.-lt
is undeniable, many abuses exist in the
post office establishment, and great inter-
ruptions occasionally occur in the lraus-
mission of the mails. Post Masters. are
no better than other men, and doubtless
will have their full portion ofsins to an
swer for. Blu, really are they so much
worse than other men, (if they are the
deputies Of Amos Kendall as to be dcser-
wing subjects for all the abuse that is
heaped upon them by every whig whip
per snapper of an editor, who lacks any
thing better to write about!
The main cause Of The Just complaints
against the department, we opine, is the
parslmoniousneSs Of the government, in
moi allowing sufficient compensation 10
post masters. The public need not ex-
pect something for nothing. If they wish
important services TO he properly perform
ed, they must offer such salaries As will
induce competent men to accept Of the
Office. While in the large cities the post
masters are handsomely paid, in the small
villages, and at the cross roads here the
mails are opened, it is otherwise. We
are bold to say, that out of the 1880 post
masters ia the corps, two-thirds of them
do mol receive adequate compensation.
Aud one half receive, literally. no
compensation at all! Yet they are re-
quircd to open and sort and make up the
mail SO many times week-lo take care
of all the letters and papers brought to
their "otlice"-to attend there to hand
them out when called lor-to keep an ac-
count of the postages received-lo keep "A
llsl OF all the newspapers taken al their Of
fice-and Of their subscribers-and TO
collect the postage on lhem--and 20 make
a return once quarter, of all their doinss
10 head quarters-all for the piliful sum Of
some S5 or $40 year!.!!!! To say no'h-
Ing Of the abuse they incur, for ignorance.
neglect, malpractice, &c.
Looking al the thing seriously, our only
wonder is, not that it sometimes fails, but
that the system works nj all! By what
other body of men on the face of The globe
is such an amount of labor performed, for
SO little compensation, if compensation il
can be called! A mail sometimes miscar-
rles, il is true: but is it to be wondered at,
when we consider how many hands il
passes throush-of men too, who have no
stimulus, by competent salaries, to an ac.
live performance of their duIy-who ac-
cept the appointment oul of acconmoda-
ton to their neighbors, or because nobody
else would-and who are often totally ig-
noranl Of geography and scarcely able 10
read! By the ignorance or carelessness
of any one of these, the whole system is
thrown into dis1rder--and every post
master exposed to censure.
One fourth Of the post Offices in the U.
States ought TO be abolished! Instead of
being convenience. clrse proximity of
post Offices is a nuisance TO the public
lnasmuch as it dininishes the profits at
each, and divides the compensation that
is scarcely adequate TO one, among sever.
al post masters; thereby rendering it more
difficult to gel competent men 10 accept
the appointment; and hence, being filled
hy non-comPelent post masters, the du-
ties are but slovenly performed or wholly
neglected-lhe mails miscarried, the de.
parment abused, and the Post Master
General wished a, the Devil!
For our part, we believe nothing is
gained by getting work done for nothing
in the end it is sure 10 "cost as much as
it comes to-" We should have fewer
post offices, and our post masters should
he better paid. Every pnsr master should
receive at least one hundred dollars a
year for his services. If this plan was
adopted, we should hear less complaint of
'rascally post masters" "irregularities of
the mall" &c. sc.