The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1840-12-22


will be disposed either partially Temporarily to
throw the Department for It's support on the National
Treasury.
Any sudden and material reduction of lis revenue
therefore, would render il necessary 10 make CORES
ponding curtailmen Of the mail service, which all
must would be attended with the most serious m
convenience 10 the whole community. And Ms the
present revenue with the existing service, and such
necessary improvements and extensions az VIII be re-
CURED II il evident that there be reduction OF
ITS aggregate revenues
The question Therefore Of the reduction Of its reye-
nues is excluded from consideration; and the only
matter tor inquiry Is, whether the same amount oil
revenue can be collected with the proposed or any
other reduced rates of postage2 There may be cases
IN every branch OF indirect taxation in which the re-
duciion OF the tax will increase the amount Of rese-
nue.. But this result only be realized when the
duty is so exorbitanty high TO either occasion gross
evasion OF the law or TO check the business which
the tax falls. And although the reduction Of the rate
of postage would increase correspondence there is IN
my judgment to believe that the addition Of
revenue from that would equal the loss from
the reduction of rates. The experiment, now making
in England appears to afford little support 10 contra
ry opinion, for if unofficial information can be relied
upon the revenue there has fallen of more than %
per cent or about $4,000 pounds sterling, on reve-
nue. Of less than 600 900.
Shall we than be forced to the conclusion that the
present high rates of letter postage TO be Perma'
nently maintanedl
This would seem TO be the case, unless there be
chhibe IN the system, Dy winch tne expense VI .e
transportation may be reduced the correspondence IN
creased, and the postage newspapers and printed
matter be equazed and raised All these objects are
practicable and their united influence would probably
admit of greater reduction in the rates of letter post
age than proposed in the resolution of the House Of
Representatives.
Such return in the system in my judgment, Is
demanded by views Of public policy, and the higher
considerations Of private justice The institutions OF
this country based the principles Of justice and
equal rights and any legislation, and more especially
any system Of taxation which manifest violation OF
those principles only be sustained by the orbear-
of public opinion in subjecting to that test by
which all public measures must stand or fall
A slight examination of cur tariff Of postage in
comparison with the expense of the mail establish
ment, is sufficient to show its manifest injustice
The quarterly returns of postmasters furnish no
data for determining the relative proportions of the
different kinds Of matter conveyed in the mail During
one week in June, 1898, account taken OF the
number and weight Of the letters, and the weight of
the newspapers and other printed matter received TO be
conveyed in the mail at the offices in New ork PHI
| ladelphia, Baltimore Washington city, and Rich
| mond. The tabular statement containing these facts
is herewith submitted There were some omissions,
and no doubt inaccuracies in the process, but
the results sufficiently correct for the present pur-
pose.
The whole weight was So, 24l pounds of which
"A 46S pounds consisted of newspapers 1857 OF pc
| riodcas and pamphlets more than fve-eighths of
which being public documents, or other free packets,
deposited in the Office at Washington city; and the
| letters both taxable and Free amounted to only ,922
pounds being something less than four per cent The
proportion Of printed matter received at these offices,
and especially during the session of Congress, may
have been something greater than that OF the whole
| mails in the United States.
II will not be far from the truth TO estimate the
printed matter constituting ninety five per cent OF
the whole mails whilst it pays but about twelve per
cent of the whole gross revenue and but about eight
per cent of the nett revenue the commissions on the
postage from newspapers and pamphlets being more
| than ON that from letters
In the transportation constituting the principal e1
pendture Of the establishment there three main
| elements OF price.
L. The bulk and weight Of the mail
2 The expenditure with which it is conveyed.
3 The mode of conveyance when not controlled by
the bulk and weight of the mail but in reference to
accommodating the public travel.
i As the expense of expedition depends mainly on
the weight Of the mail these two elements of price are
essentially resolved into one that the expense of
transportation depends the bulk and weight of the
mail and the mode of conveyance, where it has refe
TO the public travel and is Of higher and
expensive grade than the mail service would require
The services of postmasters depend on the amount
/ of mail matter; the number of packets which
ceved distributed, delivered at their respective of
fees. But the letters, being made up into mails,
quire more labor than the newspaper and other
packages not sent in that form.
From this analysis, il is apparent that nearly the
whole expenditure of the mail establishment is thrown
upon correspondence; pays the whole expense OF
free matter the greater portion of that of
periodical pamphlets and the entire additional ex
pense incurred for accommodating the public travel.
With all these burdens, not properly belonging TO
it, thrown upon correspondence, the high rate Of post
age on letters cannot be surprising; it be
duced and keep up the present extent of the mail
vice, with the improvements and additions which will
be required, without some portion of those burdens
are removed by change in the system
Nothing can be more apparent than the palpable
injustice to our present system OF postage tariff.
The objections against high protective tariff on
| importations apply with still force to tariff
of posages both in respect to principle and the de.
gree of injustice. In the former, the whole
nifty indirectly taxed for the benefit Of particular
class and the whole interests of the country bur-
bened to relieve particular interest but the be-
ing indirect, those on whom it falls may in some way
derive an incidental advantage from it. This at
least is conended for by its advocates The postage ia
riff is direct tax on man for the benefit Of
other-a direct burden one class for the relief of
another class
What principle OF justice or public Icy
tain law which taxes correspondent in New York,
who has occasion TO send letter by mail New Or
leans two hundred and fifty per cent. hanthe
| vice is WORTH or cost to enable a subscriber in New
fork to newspaper in New Orleans to have it con-
veyed 10 him by mail eighty eight per cent less than
the actual cost of the service : And what adds to
this injustice is the fact that the mail establishment il
Government monopoly, which, by prohibiting pri-
vae posts compes the correspondent to send his let
ter by the public conveyance
Our system of postage tariff was derived from Eng
land, where postage was tax for analogous
TO the stamp tax, as, like that, it was tax bust
ness. Here it is not tax but in the nature of
freight or a charge for the service performed The
injustice therefore, much greater where the postage
is levied not for revenue, but for deraying the
pense of the mail service.
The low rates of postage newspapers and other
printed matter originated in considerations OF public
policy, and were designed to promote the general dis
seninaon of intelligence among the people. But the
f..rt tfnI h~ta
just, have in great measure ceased TO exist. When
the mail establishment was first organized printing