Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1848-01-07
THE POST OFFICE AND RAIL ROADS
From the PHILADELPHIA Ledger.

| Whenever the Post Office is involved in a
dispute with any corporation of common car
| rers, whether on railroads, steamboats, or
| stage coaches, many of the newspapers, and
no small portion of the public, invariably take
| for granted that the former is wrong, and that
| the latter are right. But, in every case which
has thus far occurred, the former was right,
and the latter were wrong These erroneous
| judgments and hasty COMBINATIONS are too
often prompted by partisan animostes poll
ticians assuming that, if the Post Office can be
convicted of wrong, the conviction will inure
to the benefit of their party Whether " de-
mocrat'' or " whig,' every Postmaster Gener-
al must expect this treatment from his partisan
opponents. To censure him will manufacture
partisan capital for them and beyond that
point they never investigate. Another source
is the Impotence of the mercantile and other
portions OF the community depending daily on
the mails for letters or newspapers. If, thro'
the arrangements of the Post Office, then en-
counter delay in the mails, they take for
granted that the Postmaster General is wrong,
and censure accordingly. If the mal-depen-
dent portion of the community would always
trace the evil to Its source, and resolve to
have the cause of the evil removed, they
would not so frequently suffer through de-
engagements in the mails, and the Postmaster
General would have a much easier task in
managing his department.
On the 22d instant we published letter
from the Postmaster General, showing that
he has been driven, by the ertortion-that is
the word-of the Richmond Railroad Compa-
ny, to choose another route for the great
southern mail, which causes delay of twen-
ty-four hours in IFS arrival in this city. This
dol iS IN h., 4
every newspaper in this community, and to
all readers of newspapers, which they should
not tolerate, if they can find remedy. But
the first inquiry should be, "Where is the
fault - If they find it in the railroad compa-
ny, then justice and policy demand that they
should assemble in public meeting, express
their opinions upon the conduct of this COM
pany, and ask Congress for stringent laws of
prevention and remedy. The Postmaster
General is bound BY existing laws he con-
strues them like his predecessors they for
bid him from acceding to the demands of the
Richmond Railroad Company force him to
contract with another carrier, and he tells the
whole to Congress. What should the people
do: Ask Congress TO restrain the company
from controlling the Post Office, andto enable
the Post Office to control the company. And
what should Congress do !? Comply with the
wish of the people.
The Post Office is created for public conve-
nienee-for the benefit of the inhole people.
II Inc government cannot serve this purpose
Oe'.fl man private enterprise, then it should
, abandon r. inc monopoly of transporting the
mails II f" can' then it should be armed with
all necessary power, however extensive, over
all common carriers Ii the mails skonld he
left to private enterprise, then thew would
= cease, excepting on the. main routes and the