New-York daily tribune., 1844-01-15
rcne Postage Refor,,.

The Postage Reform.
Correspondncc0t Of The MGdtsontan
NEw-I OAK fan, 10, ISll
,srce;va l nm artcl. in vour paper ef H.. 9th
TIA. 1t IS likely tst t19,s boz e5%rs M'9 ndGe ~ ss ecomo
.%oo" o" 592a 70 b. Gsl gps fs ,t % e viii net be
finch from the bargain hey suggested sp1 s @ on NV y
their side OF the yoke without mAur; ad thus prove
they can that there difference beWtc te'i profession
One word only IN reference the hur-bny c[y tst has
been By few tdGts s se os5 hut U do eg 10
simple facts There axe not IN ths cGni
fco io,ey or asho hG.e eiea JestotG~d THOUGHT
ON THE SUBJECT sAYrHIs At RANDOM T. EE 81 ~ 'Bt /
In this civ m.e;ing was held the; Exchange 10 adopt
measures touching The mater ana t M
efforts were made TO call u! RRIitHde iet. 49,
one hundred aud fifty souls il attendance a maJontF Of
those who attendance ca % III y tef T".!o-
ty and were very much aoue iad that the whole ;s
had It's origin couple OF very dtStH'sreSt.,e lie ST.
ment of the United States ought be destroyed Tor the pur
poss OF facilitating their circulation and ',ns their Rocke's
paid By the commercial general business classes those
classes have never complained nor viii fy IL cor coni or
ask for reduction o1he OF postage All they ese Is
safe aud rapid mails and they already IN possession o
both But few merchants what the rates Of postage are
merchandise they sell. precisely as all mpor are
On an average not one one nabtant writes
letter year; and IN tye hundred avail lheInNeye
occasiona make complaint about the present
rates of postage. The whole clanor comes from lew pub
iisheTs md those ad,idua WIG -s . "ne m%, or me ON @
er engaged IN e private express business another hae 100
i t"ngess Should nS M to reduce the rates
currency and DO awsy with fractions the con-
As the petitions praying for the reduction OF the ra'eS
Of postage that are TO @ bongFe T o ' e
very easily and nine OUT of zen the persons who ssa
them do not know what they are n hls CITY they are OBJ
who paid for signature they obtain pc
on ws5 got ' up here Ead M p ,1I"st .o1's ws @
be sgnad by upwards OF hundred thousand voters The
names were purchased az penny piece ana IN less an
ry Of the people Of the city of New-Ior most soiemnly
voted TIA, they wr opposea t? h anu az
hoped will remain ln1exly frm IN hs position flg
most honosSy sustained by the american People Thus far
ne has noby acquitted himself and fancy he made OF
stuff quite stern TO be LED astry oy the pornSs oil some
dozen or two newspaper editors
We ask our readers to give careful heed to
every word of the foregoing. The place aohence
it was written, the journal acherein it appears,
and the style fargumentationit employs, are each
and all most significant
The Post Office Department and its servitors
in Congress, it seems, are engaged, not otnredress-
ing the grievances of the People, but in punish
ing those newspapers which have had the temer-
ity to give utterance to those grievances The
great aim at headquarters is not to render the
Mail charges and service more tolerablc to the
People but more oppressive on the journals winch
have ventured to speak out iu their behalf
Very good-we are ready for our part OF the
infliction. We have been among the chief sin.
ners in this business; and if any body Is to be
punished, we cannot hope to escape nor do we
desire it. Bring on your instruments of torture
Mr.. WickEtfe and see if we arc first TO finch
from the bargain Make such u reduction in
the Rates of Postage as is cxpedient and cquita-
bic, and you are welcome top punish our advocacy
of that reform to the extent of your power
But what have these few Editors done 10
deserve such condign punishment What is
their crime For our own part, we make an.
swer-
We have urged that the present Post Ohice
charges on the conveyance OF Letters are exor,
bitant. oppressive and most injurious to the busi
ness of the Country;
We have urged that they obstruct and rende,
lntrequent the communication between relatives
and friends, leaving the sons and daughters who
are separated from their parents, and subjected to
the novel temptations of our grea, cities and
towns, exposed TO temptations from which = more
constant intercourse with their monitors would
often preserve them;
We have urged that the general diffusion and
increase of knowledge, OF Intelligence, ana Of
correct views OF Public and Private Duties-ot
duties to God to the State, To relatives, neighbors
and Mankind-,is prevented by THIS unreasonable
tax on correspondence, whereby letter weighing
quarter OF an ounce is charged higher for con
veyance from Troy to lhs City than a barrel O
flour weighing l., 500 times as much;
We have urged that it is impossible to make
the post Office Department sustain Itself at such
e1osptant rates, which are constantly reprcsS;ng
the desire to write, by the consciousness that 50
serious tax IS thereby incurred, and driving
People to evadc this tax when they do write. AT
this moment, the $4,000 women who work for a
living IN our City must each pay the average re-
compense of hard day work Tor the convey.
ance of a letter to her parents or friends 200
miles away; said conveyance costing the Depart
ment perhaps three minutes work;