The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1858-05-21
We published yesterday, s letter Of

FRIDAY MORNlNG......- ...>-., MAI Il
We published yesterday, 8 letter Of
instructions from the Postofies Depart
ment, enforcing rule with, unnecessary
stringency. 1t appears to- Us, that the
great purpose Of the establishment of tie
Postoffice system.-which. is the greatest
possible accommodation of the public
is lost sight Of in the Administration
The revenue and the accommodation of
the officials, is apparently the primary
consideration in its management. The
amount Of revenue ought to be deemed
Of little moment. With the great mass
Of the people, the Postofice accommoda-
tons are the only immediate and direct
benefit they receive from the General
Government. A great portion of the
expenditure ofthe Government are for
local and special interests, and are partial
in their benefits, the Possoffice Depart
ment, which confers its benefits upon
almost every individual citizen in the
Union, is treated with the utmost parsi-
mony. A comparison between the Eng
lish postalisystem and our own presents
very upfavorable contrast for u.s. There
the chief study of It's managers is to en-
large its benefits, and increase its means
of accommodation to the public. Our
Post Master General says the distribu-
ton Of mail matter by the Route Agents
is mere incidental duty. The princi-
pal object Of their employment is to ride
daily over the roads in company with
the mail bags, which, if railroads were
made responsible for their safe and
prompt delivery. would be more secure
and regular in their arrivals without
them than with Them II they are to
be entrusted with few letters, they have
time and are capable Of distributing q
large NUMBER and so far as the revenue
IS affected, it makes no difference
whether letter be sent to- the cars or
the Postofice. The regulation appears
to be an arbitrary rule without good
public reasons for its support.
In the English department almost the
whole distribution is made on the trains
by the Route Agents, and the mail car
becomes the principal receptacle of the
undistributed mail matter. The mails
from the Metropolitan post Offices for
each particular route are sent to the
mail cars in r,ass. and they are assert
ed and distributed-with all the accu-
mutations from the local offices-as the
mails traverse the country. The Route
Agents are the chief distributors, and the
locomotive Office is the chief agent in the
machinery for the distribution as well as
transportation of mail matter. Then, .
place Of deposit for letters is placed near
every mans door in town, as well as
upon the moving cars, and at the estab-
lished post Office; and citizen uses all
or any of them, as his convenience die
tates. without regard to the pleasure or
whims Of the public servants, who, in
England, appear 10 be more amsnable to
the public than in this free republic;
here, q man who gets into little brief
authority, feels himself to be . minister
OF the law; and he enforces all its ar
bitrary rules, without discretion, and as
rigidly as petty tyrant.
The enforcement Of the rigid rule o I the
law becomes in his eyes, Of more conse.
quence than the accomplishment of the
chief purpose, for which the law is made.
If we could introduce something of the
spirit which administrators, the English
Postal department into our own. it would
be great Improvement. The system
Of Route Agents, as now managed, is o
very little public service. Its benefits
are wholly inadequate to its cost, while
it might be made Of most essential pub
lie advantage.