New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1860-01-07
Ne@ Orleals lailp Grtstent,
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SATURDAY MORNING, JANUARY Z, 1860.
REFORMS NECESSARY nm THE POSTAL
DEPAETMEMT OE TIaE LNION.

SATURDAY MORNING, JANUARY Z, 1860.
REFORMS NECESSARY IN THE POSTAL
DEPARTMENT on THE UNION.
During the past year, as appears from the Report
! OF the Postmaster General, the Federal Govern
ment has expended in the mail service the enor-
nous sum Of SIS 754,092, and received back in
postages only s7,95s, ts4 - leaving a deficit Of
s77s5,6oS. With this liberal outlay Of money, It
might be supposed that the people Of the United
States were in the enjoyment Of extraordinary
mail facilities, and that the Department was kept
| up in high state of efficiency But we are sorry
to say that this is far from the case. In country
| in the world where the same means Of commun
cation exist are mail failures frequent and it is
notorious that private enterprise manages invari
ably to outstrip the government postals whenever
| the two are brought in competition The require
ments Of business have called into existence all
the principal routes in our country, express COM
paIlies, which always anticipate the mails. And
80 confirmed has become our reliance upon these
| expresses, that in very few instances do news
paper editors Others desirous Of quickly getting
the latest intelligence. pay any attention to the
| mails. Adams q Co.'S Express delivers US New
York papers, for instance, ten or twelve hours
ahead Of the Post-ofice, even when the mail does
not " fail'-a contingency which happens about
| three days out of five, on the average. All the
| mercantile and business letters of Importance be
| tween New York and San Francisco are entrusted
to Wells, Fargo q Co.'S Express, instead Of being
put in the post; and they are delivered at their
place Of destination from three to five days in ad
vance Of the arrival Of sthe maitland yet the De-
| partment pays annually $738 ,250 for Pacific mail
| that is totally inefficient and unsatisfactory.
It is clear, then, that our postal arrangements
| are behind the age and need thorough over
hauling and reformation. One of two things should
| be done: the Government should either transport
the mails as safely, speedily, and economically
| as individuals and companies can; or, it should
retire from the business, and leave the field open
! to private enterprise. As there are some grave
reasons in opposition to the latter course, strong
effort should be made to bring the Department up
TO the required standard Of efficiency, and continue
to leave it under the superintendence OF the Gov
ernment. But we think it very plain that for the
last ten years there has been growing tendency
to favor separation of the Post Office from Fed
eral management, and TO leave the carriage of let
ters and papers like all ether branches Of business,
| to regulate itself. Under such q system remote
| places ana sparsely settled regions would be
neglected But under present arrangements our
farbc anu iHost pUpuious are uhiii-
aged. The question Is, which is it most important
| to accommodate.
The vices at the bottom of our postal system are,
first, the dishonesty that prevails in the giving out
! Of contracts and, second, the appointment ol
unqualified persons for Postmasters, as q reward
for political services These two reasons combined
introduce untold confusions in the service, and go
| great way towards breaking down its efficiency
i
system as either England or France, until the
custom Of changing Postmasters on politica
grounds be done away with. A Postmaster should
be appointed because of his fitness to perform the
duties. He and his clerks and his assistants should
be retained as long they act with efficiency. II
this way the public benefits by their experience
1t is not astonishing that our letters and papers &c
astray now and then, when we consider that the
Postmasters and clerks all over the country arr
removed every year OF two, and new and nexpe
rienced men put in their places.
In order to cut down somewhat the enormou,
expense of the mail service, Postmaster Genera
Holt recommends that the "a franking privilege >
be abolished Confined within proper limits, per
haps it is wise to grant, members of Congress thu
privilege of freely communicating with their con
stituents But at present this privilege is shame
/
sounds, it appears TINT transporting the ttfranked'
matter, dispatched by members of Congress dur
ing the year just closed cost the Government near
" three millions of dollars! The members mus
have sent through the mails not only carloads o
speeches and documents, but all their family sup
plies Of groceries, dry-goods, and, perhaps, Goa
and cord-wood. Let this immense leak be closed
up-and to prevent hardships, the English system
| F,lln md bo
the commencement Of the session, certain nun
ber ofpostage stamps, to be regulated by law Il
this way the g free NATTER could be kept within
bounds.
i The Postmaster General also recommends tia
the free transmission of newspaper exchanges
be cut off; and also the reedeliyery of weekiies il
If both these recommendations be followed, We Dc
not think any injury would be done to properl,
conducted papers, Il newspaper should be ab,
to stand alone, and to pay for all the news facii
ties it receives II il is not so able, il can be D
little value, either to its owners or the public
What the press asks of the Department is, tn
regular and rapid transmission of their papers t
subscribers. If excluding all dead matter vii
assist us in getting that the press, we know, vii
willingly surrender ail its clanls to gratnities
every description. Z
| 5 %s---
TALK ON CHANGE.
At an early hour yesterday the arrival of tn
from Liverpool to the 2Ist ult. The commeycia