The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1854-12-08
CSty Postal Reforms-what We Need I'm New
lu York.

Csty Postal Referms-Whaf We Need I'm New
~ tf1.@ York.
10 TIE EDITOR OF THE HERALD.
AS the present session Of Congress will
be requested to decide upon the subject
of better Post Office facilities in this CITY.
we feel called upon to contribute our share OF
Intelligence to the enl ghteament of the oues-
ton, and to induce state Of things in harmony
with the progress which has been made in other
great cities in regard to this important branch
OF administration.
The city Of New York extends from the
Battery to Kings Bridge distance of more
'ahan fifteen miles, At present, we have but
one Post Office for the accommodation
OF the inhabitants spread over the en-
tire surface Of this large extent of terri
sorry, and that is situated at one extremity of
the Island We will proceed to indicate the
several points where post offices should be esta-
blished, in order to afford reasonable, and as
n'arly as possible, equal accommodations to
the Inhabitants of all parts of the island.
First-There should be post office near the
junction of Wall street and Broadway.
Secend.-A post Office near the corner of
Chambers street and Broadway.
ThiId.-A post Office near the junction of the
Bowery and Division street.
FOurth.-A post Office at the junction of
Greenwich and Eighth avenues.
Fifth A post office between Broome and Ca.
Da streets on Broadway.
Sixth.-A post office at the junction of Broad
way and Sixth avenue.
Eighth "A post Office at Yorkville.
Ni0th.-A post Office at Manhattanville.
TeGth-A post Office at Carmansville.
Each Of these points is the centre of a very
large and active population. The least popu
lous Of them all are CarmaDsville and York.
vile, and these have more than three thousand
Inhabitants each. Letters coming from abroad,
or remote parts of the country, addressed to
the Inhabitants Of each of these sections, should
be distributed rom the great receiving Post
Office within the earliest possible time
after the arrival Of every mail, and from
thence be carried some four or five times
q day to the places Of business or the residen-
ces of the persons whose names they bear, by
carriers attached to each of these local post Of
fees. Returning should collect let
tiers deposited in boxes left at every convenient
point. This should be done an equal number
of times every day. The last collections OF
letters from these boxes should be made at
stated times, at the latest possible moment be-
fore the departure of the various daily mails
from the city. Letters collected in this way
should be assorted in the several local post Of
fees mentioned SO that the place of each
parcel should be clearly seen on its ar
rival at the great central post Office. In
that way not an unnecessary moment Of
time would be lost between the last mo-
ment at which letters reach the several local
post Offices, and their being sent off to the GEN.
trail Office. By this method every portion Of
our vast city would enjoy the benefits of post
Office, and its inhabitants be enabled to trans
act business by letter with the inhabitants Of
every other division of the city, by an inter-
change Of letters twice, If not three times every
day. The great central, receiving and expe-
dictionary post Office should be located at some
point in the city convenient for the numerous
class of floating inhabitants who have no known
address, and who are consequently obliged
to resort to the central Office to Inquire
for their letters. The entire system of
box delivery should be done away with.
Every letter should be carried to its ad-
dress Immediately after the arrival Of the
mails, or three or more times each day. Mer
chants letters and others should be taken from
each local post Office, to be sent to the central
Office at the very latest moment and with the
most reliable certainty. Besides, letter bags
might be hung up at all the outer railroad
depots, to RI ceive tardy letters up to the very
moment of the departure of each mail train.
The main functions Of the central Office should
be to receive and expedite mail matters to the
several local Offices. There should be, how
ever. q bureau where letters without addresses,
or whose addresses cannot be found by the
carriers, can be deposited and kept till called
for, after or before advertisement The num-
Der Of this class of letters must necessarily be
very great and constantly increasing in great
commercial metropolis like this, and the inter-
ests of the parties to whom they are addressed
should not be overlooked In the selection Of
the site for the proposed central post Office,
any more than the facility for receiving and
despatching the various mails which are to
pass through it.
city from the interior Of the republic, and
foreign countries, is brought by railroad to
Thirty first street. The other two-thirds is
brought to the city by Canal street and various
other points along the North river. Few
steamboats, at present land their mails from the
East river.
Postage on all city letters should be prepaid,
30 as to prevent the loss of time in their de-
livery, and no extra demand should be made
by the carriers over and above the uniform
government charge of three cents for each
single letter. These local carriers should, as
has been often suggested. have all the legal
protection afforded to the United States mail.
All letters should be carried IN covered boxes,
well adjusted to the body, and suspended
from the shoulder, with cover open
ing ouswards, and be provided with
pen and ink to mark changes of address. The
system of letter distribution sketched above
has been in most successfnl nnpration in Lon