Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1858-12-22

part OF government 70 pay an extra sum TOT
mail service 10 order to Pomots the convent
ence Of travellers.
The rapid extension Of railroads has con
tTibuted most largely to swell the expenditures
Of the department. wherever a new road is
opened, it becomes necessary to carry mails on
il, and almost invariably at a rate Of pay far |:
above that on coach routes, while, ~ many iB-4
stances, the latter must be continued, or other
service provided for the Offices which are not
reached BY the railroad, thus doubling the ex-
pense.
As an example, it may be stated that the
railroad service between Cumberland, Mary
land, and Wheeling, Virgins, including route
sgenis and mail messengers now cost $44 .9e5
per annum. Service is also necessary on the
stage route at $500 per aRnum. Total, 500,
se5 per snnum Before the completion OF the
railroad, the highest pay for conveying The
through mail on this route was S27 600 per an
nun. Increase, s2S2s5 per snnum, or nearly
10 per cent
But if d be desired to relieve the treasury
from the acquisitions upon il for the service Of
this department, It will be necessary not only
to reduce expenses by disconnecting the nails
from the transportation OF passengers and
freight, but 10 increase the revenue by The i'm
position OF rates Of pestsge approaching more
nearly the value or cost cf transportation and
delivery Of letters and printed matter. A
move in this direction was made At the last
session Of Congress by the Introduction OF a
bill In the Senate, having for its chief objects
the raising OF the three-eeBt rate upon letters
to five cents, and the abolition Of the discount
now allowed by law for the payment OF news
paper and pamphlet postage quarterly or year
ly in advance.
1t is believed that the effect Of thisb bill would
be to raise the revenue from pOstages about
s.. 100000, without taking into view the provi-
zion 1t contains IN relation to the transmission
OF public documents. The immense masses OF
heavy books and documents sent through the
mails to all parts Of the country devolve avery
considerable expense upon the department for
larger means OF transportation than would be
required for the ordinary malls. This expense,
d Is true, is compensated, in part, by the an
nual appropriation OF 500 900 from the Treas
ury bY the acts Of March 3, 1s47, and March
3, 1851; but this allowance is rot believed to
be one-halt OF what such matter would amount /
70 n charged with postage
The discOntinuance nr modification Of the
ranking privilege having been suggested BY
several OF my predecessors 90 a means OF in
creasing the revenue, I shall not now notice the
subject further than 10 present for eonsidera-
tiOn such q modification Of it as Il apBesrs to
ne can be readily adopted without subiectfng
members OF Congress to the charge OF postage
on their personal or oficial correspondence.
II Is proposed that in lieu Of the frankfng priv- |
iiege now allowed BY law to members Of Goa
gress, the Secretary Of the Senate, and the
Clerk Of the House, or such other officer as
may be designated for the purpose, furnish the
membess with postage stamps to be used on all
letters, public documents, and packets trans
mitted BY them in the mails, and keen an ac-
count Of the stamps furnished to each member.
TO be paid for out Of the contingent fund OF
each House. It is further proposed that al
letters snd packets, except newspapers ad-
dressed to members Of Congress, shall be pre-
paid atlhe mailing cfhce- In this way the de
paItment Wouid Dc compensated for the service
49, - a. ~
OF keeping daily minute accounts Of the post
age cbafgeabis on such mail matter.
u - evident, on the slightest reflection, that
the whole theory on which tie Post Office De-
psTtneut vas originally founded mas been a. a
great measure depaT;edfr0m lie greet fubc |
uors- for many years, was The Transmission nr
mail matter PROPER. such ss letters, . eRspaper /
sns: i BIT psmPblsisf from one part Of ths country
to onotber Ihe idea OF the g0Yelnmeut be-
coming 2 common carrier Il persons and mer-
chsndiss was never entertained. But what 10
the transmission Of The Inner 60 macs cf book
matter, amounting annually to hundreds Of tons. |
but Merchandise. WHISTLER sent from private
book establishments CT from The two houses Of
Congress- ln a single instance The transmits
sion OF The books, &c. OF one member, (from
Utah, } has cost The department. between six
aud seven thOusauddoilsrs Why csnnOt these
be forwarded under the direction Of the SscTe-
tary OF the Senate and Clerk Of The House,
! EAAlrl uN AAt 0AlAudIE MliE6 OF CONVEYANCE
or by the application Of postage stamps, as on
other mail matter? Another consideration
foTcibly presses itself on the mind in relation
to this department. Many ocean steam lines
have been established, not really 10 meet the
postal wants Of the country, but TO give aid aud
assistance 10 our growing and expanding con-
merce. The department could have no rsturns
in hostages that would at all compensate for
their exPehsivsness; still, as It was Of the frst
importance to and agriculture 70
have such lines, the duty Of establishing then
il was thought, had as well to be developed
upon the Post Office Department as on ans
her.
eThe great necessity and propriety Of estab-
fishing connection with our distant possessions
on the Pacific, both By sea aud land, was uni |
veTsaliy acknowledged. The route by Panama |
has never repaid In hostages hsif its expense :
yet the nation has been, in her trade and com
meree, TemuHsFated a thousand fold. So II The
great overland route, the NAN Que OF which
has been established by The express enactment
OF Congress Nose Of the letter can ever make
postal returns At ali proPoTtioBste 10 their cost;
but through their agency nearly one half Of our
republic viii be developed IN tie agricultural
and mineral resources. OheT references might
be made clearly showing that the Post OHce
has Of late years been made the instrument Of
accomplishing many things o. great national
Importance not within IFS original scope and
purpose Of merely sending letters and newspa-
pers from enc place to another. II is not fair /
therefore, 10 measure its usefulness bV the
mere receipt Of hostages, nor 10 complain that
in accomplishing gCeat and lasting benefits to
the commerce. 10 the settlement aud security
Of the country, il has brought some charge on
the treasury beyond its Contributions. The
other departments subsist wholly on the trea-
sury, Bringing no returns whatever into it.
Why then should it b -thought strange that the
Post Ohce Department, when charged with
opening new sourees OF to the mer-
chants, new markets for our agricultural pro-
ducts, and placing our government and people
in direct aud independent communication with
the other nations Of the earth, should not bel
able 10 accomplish these great results upon a
three cent postage On l%etters, and on printed
matter almost no postage at all?
Tie exact prime pie OF justice on this whole
subject | conceive 20 be, that, 10 conducting its
ordinary business Of transmitting c0rrespon-
dence, II should be thrown entirely on its own
revenues. But whenever any service, on The
sea OF on the iaad, IS required o. il, mainly, If
not exclusively, for national OhJscts-such as
he extension Of our commerce, the spread Of
our population, AID the development Of the va
rious resources OF cur country-the cost there
Of, in all fairness, ought 10 be borne By the na-
I tional tresTUry. These national purposes. If
accomplished through tue action Of the Navy
and War Departments, As they mightbe would
necessarily fan Oh the national treasury.
] udE 0lMrlEl-Es NLEls tIuAl1 AnrlE DC IN ILLS I
respect, when the same duties are sUpeTadded
10 the Poet Office Department, whose rate Of
postsges, its only means o. Tals n sreyenue, has
been adjusted for very different purposes It
is In the light Of this distinction that the 0pe-
~Tations Of this department ought 10 be exam
med. Il is no longer a machine composed Of
horses, stages and mail bags, for the transmits
sion mainly of the private correspondence Of
individuals ; it has become the great pioneer
OF civilization and progress It is The agent OF
commerce. and intelligence ; It visits every
town aud city It comes home 70 almost every
domicil Of the country and its high mission
Of ind iyidual and national usefulness ought not
to be diminished By any misapprehenslon Of its
true character and functions Applying these
general remarks TO the precise question Of the
present rate Of postage, I feel bound to say
that the last reduction below hFe cents and
tie discount allowed 90 the already greatly re-
duced rates on printed matter, have greatly
c~urtailed the usefulness or The department in
extending our mail service with that celebrity,
frequency ard uniformity to al parts Of our
country which theBpirit Of improvement in ev-
ery department OF business and o. social life 30
earnestly demands There are many portions
Of The United States which have not yet re-
ceived satisfactory mail facilities, and are not
likely soon to DO 80 with the present inadequate
means Of the department.
IN = compact and dense population the pres
ent rate might bear some reasonable proportion |
10 the actual cost OF transportation but in a
widely extended country, like The United States,
nov reaching from Que ocean TO the other, aud
in many portions of it thiuly populated, three
cents would seem 70 be altogether insufficient
to meet The actual expense incurred BY the gov
eminent in sending forward the letters. Here
tofore our entire California correspondence has
been conducted at ten cents, Il being over 3 600
miles by the Panama route. since the estab-
lisbment Of cur various overland routes, how
ever, all our great cities Of the valley Of the
Mississippi are brought within the 5000 miles,
and therefore viii pay the Inadequate postage of