Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1861-06-20
Another Mail DeranGe-Aent.

The mail contractor or carrier on the
route leading from Lancaster to Patch
Grove. having made up bis mind that his
particular convenience or gain was to run
on Saturday instead of Thursday, 1.-THE lat
ter named day being the legal day for the
mail TO be carried,) he at once commenced
carrying has mail on Satarday-not wait
ing fer any order from the government.
And as the time Of running upon any route
cannot be changed without the petitioning
of Postmasters upon route, or at least at
the ends Of route, he has made the change
without authority; no Postmaster has any
right to deliver to him the mails, except on
regular, lawful mail days. 1t may lie that
the Postmasters at Prairie du Chen and
Plattevile, at the ends of said route, have
already signed petitions for the change Of
day at the request of contractor, and for his
sole convenience and to the public damage.
Postmasters are in the habit Of signing Pc
titicns asking for almost any change that
contractors may ask for--cozditioned only
that ssnothing shall be said about it, ana
then join in public out cry against the
change. thus pleasing all parties. This we
| learn OF contractors who tell curious stores
about the ways they do things, Again,
Postmasters often sign petitions for changes
without investigating or thinking what they
are about, or upon some false representa-
tion or persuation of contractor, whose de-
signs are concealed but always Interested
thus, greatly damaging the public and in
juring that department of government
whose interests they have sworn to promote
especially. Soitis that contractors, though
designing by these changes 10 help them
selves, have made their routes almost
worthless for carrying passengers and pack
ages-such changes having already des-
troyed almost every connection in the coun-
try 50 that scarcely anybody thinks of trav-
cling by mail stage when there are cross
routes to be followed between places; con-
sequently, the livery stables have taken
nearly all the stage travel. and thus the
contractors have lost more than they have
gained by these time changes. The fol-
lowing letter from the Postmaster at Taf-
ton shows the difficulties in the way of
reaching that place by stage-the delays
being the same for passengers as for mail
matter;
TAFToN, June TO-
Mr.. CovER-Sir As the Heyalds do
not reach this place until Monday, if sent
by way of Beetown and if sent by wav of
Patch Grove, not till Tuesday, there are
great many that are dissatisfied and say
that they will have their names taken off
from your list; hoping that you viii try
and arrange this matter SO that we can
have the Heroids sooner,
Yours truly, L. G. Parsons.
Deputy 2. NJ.
Though we lose trife by such time
changes, the public are the greater sufferers.
We can afford they are annoyed, dis
appointed and insulted. We will say that
the Herald package was forwarded by Bee
town but had failed TO arrive SO late as a
week after publication. We explain how
things are managed it is for the contrac-
tors and Postmasters to remedy-the peo-
pie having no dire,t power in the matter,
except as they may operate by appeal to
the former.