The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1850-11-26
Washington, Wednesday, November -. 1880
"E. THE .. ...
UNITED STATES POSTAL GUIDE

"#" THE
n UNITED STATES POSTAL GUIDE
AND OFFICIAL ADVERTISER.
~ To shoe ,Oha is done, and phat should be don.
IN 46ice.=sT
PETER u. WAsHrNGToN, D pu,
CHARLES M. WILLARD, Ea'fo'S ana fropr'etorS
Terms" The United States Postal Guide an
Official .4dpertiser," containing about 30 sper-ropo
octapO pages, is published monthly for ONE DOL
LAR ONLY, per afnan, payable in adpance-or flo
dollars for str copies ordered at amy one time.
PREPARATORY NOTICE.
The enterprise in which we now embark, ant
or which this paper is at once the commencement
and sample of the papers that are to follow, hal
Tor It's aim no less purpose, than to impart in
struction, in the general aud DETAIL to the Officers
and Agents Of the American public, in respect boil
TO their duties and their rights, and to make them
and the people at large, acquainted with the organ
ization, decisions and action of the Executive de
partments of their Government. There has hith
erto teen no vehicle for the regular and proper
communication Of information of this kind TIL,
publication of the Laws and the issue of instruc
tons, more or less comprehensive, and at intervals
more or less extended, have proved wholly made
guate, in the absence of the construction of thos,
Laws, as applied to particular cases, and of detail
and illustrations TO make the regulations and in
structons Ineligible. The valuable document
annually reported to Congress, are too voluminous
circulation; whilst the debates in Congress and
the commentaries of the press upon their proceed
lngs, and the proceedings of the Executive branch
of the Government, besides turning mostly upon
general principles, address themselves only to
party ends, and to matters of national policy.
| These publications in their various forms are
highly useful In themselves as far as they 60 and
some of them Indispensable; but there is much
that do not reach the hands OF all, nor if they did
do they furnish those rules, methods, and exam
Piles, for the despatch Of the public business which
can render the discharge of public duty either safe
or easy, whether in respect to the incumbent him.
| self, or the department or bureau under which he
acts We shall make an honest effort to supply
this vacuum, and to provide for these necessities
| If we succeed IN rendering the functions of the
| primary offices more uniform, methodcal, and ex-
act, we shall make the administrative duties of the
departments more easy and effective, and thereby
promote the real and substantial interests of the
country. And this we expect to do, to some eX-
tent at east-apart from, and independently of
any party or personal interest or question what
| ever.
1t is known to most Of those to whom this pa
per will be sent, that the Senior Editor was Audi
tor of the PostOffice Department until the month
of November last; with by far the larger portion
of both postmasters and contractors, he has had
direct intercourse, in person or by letter. He EN-
tered the department fourteen years since and for
many years previously, had been, first in the War
Department, and subsequently in the Treasury
He has therefore had the best opportunities for
understanding the arrangements Of business in all
the departments, and being acquainted with those
who carry it on. Since his official connection witt
| the Government ceased, he flatters himself he has
| preserved the respect and regard Of most OF the
present incumbents of the departments, and is OF,
becoming terms of intercourse and civility with
them all. The Junior Editor has been asssiduously
engaged for several years, i'm studying, by per-
| q van af Inn tha tInal and
daily routine and details of the Post-Office and
! other branches Of the public business. 1t is with
this stock OF experience, and these advantages for
reaching the various sources of administrative &C.
ton, and for lmpartng minute and illustrative in
structon, and valuable periodical and Statistical
information, that challenge your confidence
and solicit your support and patronage.
We have fixed upon the 18th Of each month Al
the day for the publication of our paper 80 as t,
afford time for obtaining from the departments
all the orders, notices and changes issued, made
by them during the preceding month. Tables Of
Post Offices, and compilations of the Laws and
Regulations, are issued by the Post Office Depart
| ment only once IN two or three years 1t is Il
matter Of inconvenience and complaint for which
| hitherto there has been no remedy, that in one
month from the time of these issues, there are Of
fees in the tables which are no longer in operation
and Offices in operation which are not in the tables
At this time there are perhaps three Thousand
Offices of the two descriptions. In like manner
laws have been passed and regulations established
since the issue of the last volume Of regulations
of which many postmasers and others are wholly
ignorant. We propose to prevent, for the present
any increase of the evil OF either kind, and from
the time another issue shall be made, our paper
will furnish the additions, corrections, and modf
cations, made in each month, and by being filed
and preserved will afford to postmasters full and
exact information upon both subjects, up to and
for time being: How much of the present misdi,
rection, remailing, doubt, confusion, error, and
imposition, will be saved by the progressive state
OF full and exact knowledge, for which we have
provided, and for which we engage, every inelli
gent postmaster can estimate for himself.
These advantages alone and independently of all
others, worth many times the price we charge
for the paper, and will, it is hoped, induce every
postmaster who feels a ust pride in his Office, or
patriotic regard for the credit, prosperity, and
efficiency of the whole Post Office sysem---at once
to subscribe. The same considerations apply to
the orders and notices, decisions, and instructions
Of the War, Navy, Treasury, State, and interior
departments and the same course is intended II
respect to them, Notices of the decisions of tn,
Supreme Court, in cases turning upon questions
of official duty or national interest, will find plac
in this paper.
| A department of our paper addressing itself no
merely to postmasters and other officers Of thu
Government but to all other citizens who give at
tenton to the affairs Of the nation and the progress
and development of the country, will embrace IN q
condensed form the matters submitted to, or arts
ing in Congress. At each session vast deal Of
valuable information is communicated to Con
gress, by the several departments and their subor
dinate bureaus, and profound and comprehensive
reports are made by committees of both Houses
| But the great mass Of the community know moth
! ing of the contents of these documents and re
ports, except the brief notices of them, which
from time to time appear in the public papers
The standing number printed of each docume n
and report, is only twelve hundred in the Senate
and fourteen hundred in the House of Representa-
tives, which at once shows the impractcablllty o
their dissemination. The ADVERTISER will con
tain short abrdgments or analysis of all thes'
documents and reports, and the compend vii
therefore not only prove exceedingly useful ant
instructive in itself, but will furnish easy index
to those interested, whenever it Is found desirable
to obtain and examine the document at large
There is large field before us, the materials ar
ample 1t will be our Jealous care to collect ant
arrange them in the proper form. We have ever,
confidence that the subscriptions will be ample t
enable us to accomplish it ALL The information
we propose to give, compromising and confne
to the action Of the Government, is solid, useful
.:xL. al, tn tha