The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1849-02-03


81 cents, which is something than one half It's
| estimated by Major Hobbie, First Assistant Postmaster
General that the reduction by the act OF s45 was 36 per
cent What the effect of that reductions What was
the result of it to the revenueof reduction oil more
than so per cent upon the rate OF postage why SIR the
postage upon letters In lSt5, amounted TO S36ooisl
This the last year under the old rates The trst
year after the act OF lS45, the postage amounted TO
81, ssl ,607 making deficiency OF S77S4s3 The de-
hciency, however, compared with the expenditure.
not 50 geatamountng $597 09S. That bill provided
The with The present bill 10 supply dehclences
$50, 000which found TO be more than was required
In The next year, S47 the revenue IRON letters including
the appropriation tor government letters amounting to
$500 0OO SO 2543l2; being increase upon the pre-
ceding year OF 372sl3 The letter postage for lsis was
SO 304 being increase upon the preceding year OF
$95792 and being only Sl09S77 less than the revenue
of ls45
So seems sir that under this system of reduction of
than So cent upon the rates OF postage we have
in three years realized in this branch of the revenue
less than that under the high by only about
hundred thousand dollars That has been the result oil
experiment of three years The first year, of course
there diminuton compared with that under the old
law in the second year the greater than IN
$500 900 and indeed this the first year from which
could judge of the success OF the experiments and IN
the third year the increase was nearly 100000
Now sir, Major Hobbie, IN the report which senators
have undoubtedly read carefully in review OF this mat
ter, to conclusion which do not concur tie
thinks that the effect of the reduction of the postage by
the act of AS has exhausted itself because The
of letter postage last year not much more than what
regards the ordinary increase OF this country from
in this opinion believe that this principle OF low post
aye will operate series Of years. and will not ex
haust itself in the third year from the first trial The
increase of revenue for the year 4S the year AT
only about per cent which ID the ratio OF the gen
eal increase of the population and growth OF the
country and consequent increase OF business In the de-
partment.
But it seems me, sir that Major Hobbie did not take
into view other which operate to produce this
effect The increase of per cent. has not been UNI
form Increases but taking five ten successive years.
you will find that the average increase Is about per
cent per annum. There are many years when there
is increase; but, on the contrary decline. w hen
! there unusual amount OF business and great
amount of the revenue from the post ohce
would be likely increase; but in year OF scarcity
and prosratei commerce, the revenue would be likely
very materially to fall Oft The fact then, that the reve
of ls4s has been very little over what IT was IN the
preceding year, does not by any means. prove, think,
that the principle of cheap postage has lost its efficacy
because the of the last year should not be com
pared with year of great commercial activity have
no doubt that the has been very materially al
| fected by that cause.
believe sir, that shall ind under the present law
an increase in the beyond what it has been
der the old system Major Hobbie, the Assistant Post
master General has made estimate upon the PROPOSE
ton of the rate contained in this bill He has as
ssmed that per cent of reduction under the act
of 1885, produced certain reduction OF the revenue
that say, 56t per cent reduction in the rate OF post
shows reduction Of 81 Is per cent in the revenue
received and he has applied that principle to the proposed
of cents He makes simple calculation OF arith
metc If the reduction of So per cent would reduce the
81 per cent what reduction in the revenue would
be produced by reduction the rates OF 523 per cent
That is the basis upon which he has made his caIcula
ton On that basis he calculates follows: He says
that it will produce reduction OF 10 as per cent. EST
mating the letter postage in lS4s to amount to 3 $50 30
he makes this deduction OF nearly 20 per cent-and will
call it 20 per cent--whch will be 7O6oS, making the
revenue for the first year under this BILL from letters ST.
69G Add to this postage from newspapers &C. $780,
ooO appropriate by the bill $4,000 and the surplus
on the LIST of July, ls49. SIPS 1885, and it will make the
whole of the OF the department., for the next year,
| 81 las, 032
| But have more sangune expectations than that l
Kali,
because it assumng principle which certainly Is
not tuethe principle that higher rate OF postage gives
larger In an lower rate. Whether the rednc-
ton OF for the first year under this bill will
respond with the reduction OF the rates OF postage pre-
csely upon the ratio under the act OF 1885, think
very doubtful | am inclined to think that the operation
will be more favorable to the revenue am inclined 10
think that the increase of letters from this very low rate
will be much greater in proportion than it was under the
former The present law extends the reduction to
everything which passes through the mail Before, all
letters sent within the 80 miles not charged mater
ally less than under the old rates. and the act
OF ls45 had little operation upon that class OF letters
sent within these limits The act of AS could, then, act
upon these letters neither by preventing their being carried
by private expresses and private conveyance nor by IN
creasng the number OF letters sent am inclined to
think, therefore, that this reduction will be ehca
cious increasing the number OF letters sent through the
mail than that OF 1915.
have made estimate based upon another principle
that of the increase of leers and this strikes me as
quite safe standard that upon which the Assistant
Postmaster General has made his calculation have
taken the increase of letters under the act OF 1915 the
basis of my calculation
The number of letters in ls43, previous to the act Of
1s45, only al 1857 ,552; which, when compared with
the population OF country was very small This
was sufficient evidence that there was something wrong
in system that in the year 1913. with population
of nearly twenty millions, the whole number OF taxable
letters sent tn ough the mail only about twenty four
millions Now, let what 1t, has become under
the reduction of the rates by the act of ls45. The
Der for the first year not asceaned but in the second
year, 1St7 the number of taxable letters found to
amount 52 l73,40O; and in the last year, 1875 they
al
first three years nearly $50 per cent and for the first
two years 100 per cent and was probably more
than one half of this for the first year.
will then assume, that Tor the first year the increase
under this bill will be rs per cent, 1t will probably be
something than wa under the act OF s45 for the
first year, from the | have already mentioned
An increase of IS per would give for the year
at cents each would amount to 3,049,059. For double
and unpaid letters. add "a per cent, or 22S,6S ina
king total of 3277,770 or less than 100000 short of
last year This predcated upon the idea that the frank
ing privilege to be abolished To this add the appro
priaon for the letters OF the government OF $500, 900
postage of newspapers, Sc, 900; and the Surplus
on the ls of July, 1919, of $i2S ,336makng total OF
$4636, 1906 and that without drawing upon the appro
priation of $7500O0 in this bill
But this looks too high, and 30 will make another es
innate taking go per cent as the rate OF increase, which
is less than would probably be- judging from the in
for 1879 Taking then, go per cent as the IN
of letters the first year, that will produce for the
year 1850, the number OF Q2,906S0, which, at three
cents each, will amount to B2,7s7,320. To this add,
$209olo and the same amount before for newspapers
and for the letters of the government and the surplus in
the treasury, making the whole for the year
1885, 705 Probably about all of that will be required