The Washington union. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1859, 1859-03-11


demands Of the deposit, being greater OF rs great, as the
receipts, quickly and constantly absorb most Of the re-
ceipts.' This decision determines the meaning of the
law, and declares the practice under it TO be the same as
that pursued under the act Of 1925. The money Is used
and applied without, in fact, going into the treasury, and
therefore no appropriation is required 10 take it from
thence for use, as is clearly necessary with money which
has actually gone into the treasury.
The sub-treasury act Of 1916 contains a provision re-
qniring the Postmaster General 10 direct the payment Of
moneys in the hands of postlnasters, at six different points
named, to pay money into the treasury or sui. treasures
at stated times. This, of course, applies only to the bal
ance in their hands, and with present prospects no such
balance will be found to exist, because it will be required
from day TO day to meet the expenses Of the department.
Under existing circumstances, the Postmaster General
would doubtless esteem it a duty todaw upon these six
postmasters SO frequently as TO prevent the necessity of
placing any Of the revenues Of the department in the
treasury beyond his reach and control.
Under the act of 1913 there is ample and specific au-
thority Coz the Postmaster General TO apply the money
derived from ocean-steamer service to the payment of
that service.
The construction above given to the laws of 1886 and
1876 is considerably strengthened by the provisions Of THE
act of March 8, ls49, which requires the sross amount of
all moneys received for duties from customs, the sales of
the public lands, and from all miscellaneous sources, TO be
paid directly into the treasury as early as practicable,
without deduction or abatement on account of salary,
fees, costs, or charges. To this provision there is the
following proviso s'That nothing herein contained shall
be construed to alter the existing laws regulating the
collection of the revenues of the Post Office Department. =
This shows that Congress recognised the fact that the
Post Office revenues were collected and applied in a man
ner differing from that of the Treasury Department, and
by a system of its own. That system permits the appli-
cation, even when they are not expressly appropriated, of
| {l.n acornino ravpnueg To meet the current liabilities of the
department. When they are not expressly appropriated
they are clearly applicable, under the law of 1924, to the
payment of the debts Of the department. There is no
law repeating that act, or prohibiting the application
which it authorizes, and it is not, in fact, %repugnant to
the act of 1886. The act of 1886, as Judge Wood
bury held, does not require the actual payment OF the
money into the treasury, which would be impracticablc,
but that quarterly or yearly covering warrants
should be issued TO show what has been received from
~postages, and the payments to contractors and others will
show what has been paid out. Under the law and this
decision. the department can go on precisely as it has
done since 1925, as well without an appropriation MS with,
so far as its revenues go, and in the same manner that
was practised in the Treasury DepaI tment prior to the
act of ls49, which requires all moneys, when collected,
to be paid directly into the treasury.
If the act of 1886 is to be SO construed as to require
all the revenues of the department to be paid directly
into the treasury then the commissions of the postmas-
tiers must go there, and can only be drawn out by virtue
of an appropriation. This is apparent, from the fact that
the act requires appropriations to be made for their com
nensation precisely as it does for the I" transportation of
the mails 'mail bags : blanks, sc. and appro-
priotions have been thus made for the compensation of
postmasters for twenty-five years. Under the act OF
1896, postmastem and contractors stand upon precisely the
same footing, and, if the contractors cannot be paid be
cause it requires ''all the revenues to be paid into the
treasury, to remain there until appropriated, then the
postmaster cannot be paid, because all they receive is
.sreyenues,' and must also be paid in and remain until
appropriated out to pay them, The last appropriation to
pay postmasters was 50, 1875, 600.
The department should avoid the payment Of moneys
into the treasury at the six places named in the sub
treasury act, because IL can draw no money from the
treasury except on appropriation. The department. can
use chose appropriations which it now has; if any, and
must, for the future, rely upon its own income from post.
ages. Sc, to meet its engagements, and these it has the
legal power so to reduce that it can discharge them. In
every contract not otherwise expressly provided by act OF
Congress, the Postmaster General has reserved the right
to diminish the service, and thus lessen the expense.
The department can legally go on, though it may not
haze the means of comforting all those advantages to
which the public haye been accustomed. The idea Of
keeping up the present extent of service and paying in
drafts drawn on or by the department when there
are no funds to pay with, is wholly unauthorized by
law, and WQulu pc " gross FloAliou vi uuty, De'
cause no executive officer Of this government has the
power 10 contract a debt when no means of payment are
provided. This Post Office draft and acceptance system,
practised some tweniy-odd years since, has entailed diff.
culties upon the department not yet near ended. II once
came near causing the impeachment of a most worthy
and excellent man, who in an evil hour and under bad
advice, to prevent clamor against the department, adopt.
ed it. He took this step to meet the wishes of those who
demanded mail facilities greater than the means Of the
department yop}d Earrant. The Postmaster General can
legally give us such mail facilities as the lAeans provided
by law will enable him to pay for, and he cannot give
more without violating the law and his sworn duty.
No responsibility rests on him, or the executive gov.
eminent, il the means provided by law will not afford all
the mail facilities Which the public good demands,
Neither is responsible for the want Of appropriations nor
the state of tho law, but viii be responsible for the faith.
full and legal execution of It as ii exists. When the means
provided are legally and faithfully applied for the com
mon benefit, no good citizen win complain of the depart
ment Of tic President, and no honest man will reproach
either because he does sof violate the lawb by contracting
debts which cannot be paid. The responsibility for the
sto9e af tho law rests not with Them, bit With those who
enact the laws which s tRhciPF duty 70 execute.
NABoH Q, 1853, K. H, Y.