The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1851-01-02
For the Union.


While the postage reform is receiving the earnest at
tention Of Congress, viii You allow me 10 make your
postage and small considered together
because they recipruUelly inar.nns each qibar Ra
ducing the rate of postage below smallest silver
coin, without substituting small coin for the filthy and
poisonous copper, which will otherwise be necessary,
would make curses and coppes insepaabe from one end
OF the country TO the other
Postage-ro make this reform acceptable, it must be
introduced in the most economical formthat which will
be soonest productive The weight OF the mails is 10 be
considered Now, this increased at least twenty per
cent by the unnecessary paper carried Paper half The
and weight would be much better. The people should
be tempted to put several letters in the same envelope
is constantly done now. Oneegh Of ounce rs The
most productive eight Ii will not restrain correspond
ence for full sheet OF usual letter paper will not weigh
the eighth Of ounce The postage for the eighth oil
should be not three cents but the quarter Of
dime, if we had such coin Any one familiar with the
elements Of The calculation canno, fail TO see that quar-
Ter % Il S ss %. d n@d ana nse
Very soon the weight might be increased to quarter
ounce, and in five years to half an ounce, and the de-
pattment support itself, and deliver the letters without
further charge There is danger that two cents for
quarter will bankrupt the department at first and
by reaction really hinder reform.
Small Co,ns--With reduced postage, small coins will
be necessary of life But they have other relations,
which give them national importance There should
be perfect throughout the country the matter
Of coins currency and accounts yet with the best sys
ten of coins in the world, after seventy years labor
under four great inconvenlences:
/ Small foreign coins, that do not harmonic with our
1s
out our own coins.
p Accounts are kept variously--in pounds, sbngs,
and pence he pound having four yalues and in dollars
and shlllings-nsead Of our beaut iu and simple de.
| cmals
various nomenclature OF the same foreign coins in
dieen, Staies-sxpence, four pence hali-penny, mp,
shilling, nnepence levy-a constant source oil embar
| rassneni
4. The of the bulky copper cent--a really debased
CON- of great inconvenience that in many portions OF
the country the people prefer using the half dime as the
| lowest coin
To get nd Of these evils is great national want, II can
only be done by small silver coin. Shall 1t be three.
piece quarter dime The three piece being
practically quarter OF the tweyeand IA hall cent piece,
completes the sequence Of the Spanish small CONS. and
gives them great advantage over our own COINS II IS
no, equal part of any American coin add Il to any
American coin, and II makes odd sum--not an equal
part OF any American coin Take II from any American
CON- and II is equally odd and ineonvenieni sum II
out But not the quarter dime which is equal part,
OF every American coin, and completes the both
in declmals and in halves and quarters We have now
eagles, halves, quarters and ienihs-doars, halves,
quarters, and ienhs--dlmes, halves, and ,enhs-omng
the quarter, which omission has been the OF the
confusion in currency Give the quarter dime, and
prices would Immediately be arranged according TO the
scale OF our CONS, and change would be made almost
entirely without copper Articles always sold in yards,
&c. halves and quarters and priced according TO the
current CONS American CONS being equally convenient,
and favored by law would have the advantage, and
/ finally triumph
This triumph would be fastened il the government
would authorize the government, offices for short period
TO take the small Spanish coins by tale and never 10
nay them out except to exchange them the mint for
quarter dimes; the mint to recon them at the expense
OF the government The loss would not be 81 900, and
the reform IN the coin would be worth that hundred.
| fold
The size OF the quarter dime would be objection Il
would be larger than the English silver penny-a beauii-
| inl coin-anj BY being made oval, or with hole IN
/ the centre, might be as large as a hall dime. -
| New YoRx, Dec. 30