New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1844-04-26
THE TRIBUNE.
-, Office Reform, and wherein the pre-
fo ssnt Mail Department of the United
s,a,cs does not perform its appropriate
Ur,Jes FOR tho People.

att
nutIes for tho People.
r,., Editor Of The Tribune:
III. The Proper Bases Of Postage.
Postage is nominaIIy pay for the Mail Depart
,.sots expense for services requested.
Of these services on similar parcels the ex-
,.oss varies only with a PARCELS weight.
The present piece postage is devoid of any
.,,c,;cal, we'll grounded principle, and evinces
+, antiquity and crude notions of the Mail De-
.,,,ment at the period oft adoption. Whether
=. letter marcel be one sheet OF paper or two
h,,f sheets or 20 pieces of one sheet; whether
| i be one paper weighing o. or or 80 papers
n one parcel weighing the same there is the
| same trouble There is-therc can be, no posi-
: uo difference Of expense, whatever the number
If neccs IN one parcel of given weight and
sic. This postage basis comprchends thrilling
,,o-sl item, and should be considered. Laws,
,mong free people, ought to be respccted.-
None should be passed, that can easily he pri-
va,cly violated without detection, nor with pro-
visions so unequal ard so contemp!uous, as to be
known necessarily to be violated, without incur
tng the censurc of the wise and prudent. How
ali with this piece basis 1t is daily violated.
MT a mail but contains parcels undercharged;
that is, there will be enclosed in one parcel
greater number Of pieces than is marked by the
fostare. Docs any one return 10 the Post Office
10 correct the error, to pay the undcrchargc?
No. Yet the person receiving the undcrchargcd
p,rce is not discountcnanced by the community,
not even by It's more reputable part. 1t blazons
the disreputc of this Law and weakens the CON-
munity's respect for all laws. Let there be no
Laws, but such as will gain the appreciation ofthe
good and just.
But this piece basis is not a mere negative
immortality. 1t is actively, directly immoral,
positive bride for deception. A citizen goes to
the Post Office to pay postage, in Advance If
of several pieces, he tells the precise number OF
Dieces or not according to his consciousness,
and without the Departments right to ascertain
The truth thereof. The Department has not and
ought not to have a right to break letter parcels.
Right or wrong, the Department loses.
But this temptation is not limited to the peo-
pie Post Office Clerks receive preparing letters,
nd'pry instantly and impudently into their inner
ilds How humiliating this observance TO the
conscientious scnder,-and how many Clerks
yes how many Post Office Clerks by this required
pryng have been tempted to peel the envelopng
paper and fitch the contents Thus Govern
ment and Laws connve temptation for its Off
GERS! Tear away, then, these Laws which en-
courage deception, protect lying and invite Rob
bery, Give us Laws plain and 10 protect the
morals of tho people. Weight-basis of postage
can and will be cffectual against such tempta-
tom and all frauds. Weight-basiS, then, ,rc
must and ,oil, sooner or later, haze. This being
the inevitable result, wo examine
". The Rates Of Postage.
We have already defined postage to be pay for
The hail Departments expenses for services
requested.
Those services upon Mail parcels are
l. Receiving and stamping parcels.
O. Envelops, enveloping, superscrlblng &C
counting.
g. Transporting.
A. Opening and delivering.
S. Publishing mcalled for parcels and &C.
counting.
g. Mail. Bags.
Obviously, all nail-parcels require not all these
services,-somc parcels are ,critteR and paludbie,
require envelops to protect from wear, others
require no envelope. The former may be termed
g. letter parcels" all others, printed parcels"
The letter parcels require much attention and
care-therelore should be taxed "a greater post
age than the printed PARCELS which may be
consigned at once to the Mail! Bag.
Therefore we enquire
lst The postage on g Letter parcels"
These parcels require all the above services,
but Of those services, past experience has shown
the expense to the Department of the Sd above
service, to wit, transportation" has been go
nearly equal to the expense of the residue OF the
service, that we assume the entire postage on
"elter parcels" should be equal to double The er-
pense or cost Of " Transportation"
Il, true, the expense Of receiving, enveop'ng,
&c., parcel weighing one pound is no; double
that OF half pound parcel, nor 10 times greater
than that of all ounce parcel; still the expense
Of this service varies in proportion to the weight,
but no, equally with the weight,-and the pre-
else allowance for this variation Can not he prac-
tically computed. Hence in our estimate, as
general rule TO quadr.plc the size OF the smallest
mail parcel, call its increase of expense equuI
to its increase of weight, and to vary with the
expense of Transportation" which increases
precisely with the increase OF weight.
Having thus perceived postage on 81 letter par
cells" should be double the expense of ,rausporta-
ton; we enquire
Cd. The postage on printed parcels
These parcels, besides transporting, require
only the additional services OF receiving and de-
hvering which is very slight, and practically
need not be taken into consideration as Pest.
Masters should have no fee on printed parcels.
Hence then the postage on "printcd parcels"
should be only equal TO transporting the same