The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1848-12-19
CITY OF WASHINGTON.
TUESDAY MORNING, DEC. 10, is4s.



This subject attracts much attention since the report
of the Postmaster General has been published and day
has been set apart for its consideration in Congress
The subject has been taken up by the Cheap Postage
Association in New York; and we regret to that
the association as well as certain editors do the great
est injustice to the Postmaster General, in the strong
declarations they make of his former hostility to the
cheap postage system, which is mainly inferred from
his having voted against the bill of ls45 The
Postmaster General was favorable to reduction OF
hostages whilst in Congress- but wished reduce the
high gradually not to make it charge upon
the treasury and opposed the act of ls5, under the I'M
preston that the reduction great to be made at
once He apprehended that could not be made to sustain
itself under so great reduction If the Cheap Postage
Association had carefully examined the late report OF the
Postmaster General they would have that the present
prosperous condition of the department is much to be
attributed to the Reduction Of expenses the Of
business in the Offices The has been very great
but without reduction in the expenditures the
would have been now near half million OF dollars below
them and such would now have been the case if the in
OF the offices had produced correspond
ing increase in the expenses as it did in England The
bles published by the Cheap Postage Association in Bos
ton show that the expenses of the cheappostage sys
postages grea. they represented to be- The
citation does to remember that the tariff of hostages
may be too low well high, for the purposes of
revenue and the great object of getting enough
to support the system may be defeated well by the
the other The report of the Postmaster General proves
beyond question: that the rates prior the act of 1925
too high for that purposea deficiency for eight
successive years is conclusive 1t will be easily shown
a.. b,, rho,n Asan
as well as in the bills of Messrs Niles and Goggin are
too low to raise the requisite revenue.
The expenses OF the present year will amount to
four and half millions, and for the next year about
three hundred thousand more estimated in the report
of the Postmaster General 1t is probable the
whole Union has been let to contract under the law OF
1885, that further reduction of the expenditures be
expected Indeed if the service continues increase,
il must do from the recent extension of territories
cannot safely calculate upon less expenditure than
about five millions Of dollars after the present year.
Nearly that sum must be raised from hostages on let
tiers and newspapers.
1t will be seen from the report that less than sixty
millions of paying letters passed through the mails the
last year, yielding revenue of $3,55o3oi About one
fourth of this arises from the tencent rate If the
two had been in operation, and the number
been but one million two hundred thousand dollars
leaving deficiency of than three Millions 10 be
supplied from newspaper postage, which only amounted
last year to about S75oo)o twenty per cent higher
than any former year How this deficiency to be sup
piled The Cheap Postage Association says, from the
great increase OF letters If the letters were ebed in
the next yearwhich could reasonably expect in
this countryst there would be left great deficiency
to be supplied from the general revenues The number
of letters in the mails have been doubled in four years
under the present rates. If upon the reduction
cents they should be again doubled in the next four
years, the drain from the treasury would be
million annually if the expenditures should increase
If such great increase in the business of the Office
should follow, the expenses every branch OF the
vice would increase ii did in England and would
probably exceed six millions before the close of the
administration.
Great stress is laid upon the operation OF the cheap
postage system in England and its operation wholly per
verted overlooked by of its advocates. Upon
examining the tables as published by the Cheap Postage
Association in Boston, it will appear that, for the las
year of the high rates OF postage ending the 9Th
January, 1910, the whole revenue was e., ,7G5
And for the first year under their penny sys-
tenn, ending the 5th of January, 1871,
amounted 10 1,359,46c