The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1856-05-24
The Mail Difioulty-P. M. Gen. Campbell.

On the outside will be found a letter from
the President of the 7. HI. R. Railroad to the
editors of the st. Louis Intelligencer, on the
subject of the difficulty between that Road and
the P. O.. Department relative to carrying the
mails. A short time ago VIM. j. Brown pub
lished an article defending the Department
and a very lame defence it was. We laid it
aside for publication and comment but had for
gotten it till the letter we publish to-day
brought it to mind. This letter touches upon
the principal points of Browns defence, so that
it is unnecessary now to republish this defence.
We regard the Railroad, as we have before
said, entirely justifable in its course in this
matter. P M. General Campbell is perfect
monomaniac in the subject of curtailing the
expenses of the P. O. Department. He has the
its oa0n expenses. and he attaches as much i'm
portance to this as if the country would be at
once bankrupted in case of failure in the De-
partment to do or very nearly to do this He
has been guilty Of thousand niggardly acts,
and acts of gross injustice. in seeking to carry
out this idea. Haunted by the phantom he
has made so many and so perplexing decisions
on minor details Of charges on various kinds of
mail matter, what shall be charged, and how
much, and under what circumstances, &c.
that we question whether there is Postmas-
ter in the West who can give a correct answer
as to every part of his duties under Gen. Camp
bell, or as to all charges he is compelled to
make. The Postmasters have been bullied,
and worried and sickened by new perplexities,
while the people are disguised. Campbell, tor
tured by his mania, has even gone SO far, as to
recommend return to the old letter postage
rates. In fact, give him the power and we
should be placed back precisely where we
were ten years ago.
1t is this mania of making the Department
pay its own expenses, which is now at the
bottom of our mail troubles here. Campbell
is fighting war of picayunes with Railroad
Company, who have control of less than eighty
miles of railroad. The company is right and
he is VIGOROUSLY ,0rong yet it is not impossible
that the business interests of vast region of
country. will be made to suffer months to
come, as it has weeks in the past, because
Gen. Campbell is determined the Department
shall pay its own expenses! There is nearly
$4,000 involved in this question, or rather
nearly $4,000 as the Department is willing
to pay half the price asked, and the fight is on
the other half It is true, the defenders of
tina Department, or rather its only defender,
Brown, says that if this road is paid the price
asked, then other roads will have to be paid
the same. If the price asked is right and just,
the Department has no right to refuse paying
it because of other expenses which this render
ing of justice may involve. If it is not right
nor just, then the Department should it prove
it an imposition, which the Departments agent
has most signally failed to do.
in the meantime, hundreds of business COM
munites are suffering. Thank Heaven or
thank the formation of our own institutions,
Campbell cannot remain in Office during life.
His day of departure from the position he has
so signally failed to fill with honor to himself
or with justice to the great interests reposed
in his hands, is not far distant. The arrival of
that day, dismissing him from the P. M. De-
partment and his master from the head of
government, will be day of joy and rejoicing
to the American people.
lie