Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1862-09-24
THE POST OFFICE SYSTEM.
IT'S RISE AND PROGRESS


ITS RISE AND PROGRESS.
| The Post Office has formed an important de
partment in every civilized country since the
days of Cyrus, the Persian, who is accredited
with the origin of regular postal arrangements
between different parts of his empire His
| couriers, however, only carried government
! dispatches, still this II e initiation of the
| system. The Germans claim that a regular
postal system Tor carrying the letters of citi-
zens was first adopted in the Republic of the
Hanse Towns in the thirteenth century, and
from thence il extended to other parts OF Eu-
rope. n 10 we'll defined system existed In Eng
land up to the reign of Charles l., who, by
royal proclamation, established post offices in
various cities and towns in Eng land and Scot
land, and transmitted the mails regularly be-
tween them. In those days the mail bags
were carried on horseback and on foot as tray
cling by carr iageS was unknown, and macade-
mized roads had not been invented. No pro-
vision, however, was made for the transmits
sion of letters inside of cities until about 1868
when an upholsterer in London, named Rob
ert Murray, set up penny post and express.
and delivered letters and parcels several times
every day in various parts of that city. This
enterprise was very beneficial to the mer-
chants and people, and it prom ised to be lu
crative to its anthor; but the Duke of York
(afterward James Id claimed that it was an
infringement of post office monopoly granted
to him by his brother the king, and so the
profits of the first London penny post went to
swell the revenues of the selfish duke.
In 1892, a postal system was projected for
the American colonies, but it was not organ
lied until l710. In 1853, Benjamin Franklin
was appointed Postmaster General for the col
onies, and his practical mind soon devised SUI
perior modes of managing the details and i'm
proving the revenues. In 1889, the adoption
of the Constitution conferred the power upon
Congress OF managing the post office. In 1890,
there were only IS post offices in the United
States, and the total revenue was S37 ,935.
The rates of postage from the new organiza-
tion of the department until 1916, were for
letter written on single sheet of paper
cents, carried distance under 40 miles; over
this and under 80 miles 10 cents; over this
and under $50 miles 12a cents; over this and
under 500 miles % cents. These rates were
modified, but not reduced in 1916, and SO con
tinued for many years afterward although they
were felt to be very high. In 1886, the Hon.
Edward Everett brought up the subject of re-
ducing the postal rates in Congress but no
well digested plan was offered for adoption.
About this period nearly the same rates of pos
tage prevailed in Great Britain, but new |
Parliament elected under the Reform Bill had |
come INTO power, and one member of it-Mr |
Wallace, of Kelly-had resolved to devote his |
energies to reforming the post office, and he |
was ultimately successful. No proper occa-
sion was neglected by him in introducing the |
subject, and he succeeded il obtaining the APP |
pointment of a committee to investigate the |
whole system and report to Pariment. An |
original and practical man in the person of |
Mr.. Rowland Hill, secretary in of the |
Government offices, had his mind directed to
he subject, and by thorough examination
Of the income and expenditures and the modes
If conducting the post offices and carrying |
he mails he came to the conclusion that a
penny post system for the United
Kingdom would be successful. He, therefore,
made his plans and proposed the new system
or adoption. At this -l93I-there
we're but 76 millions of letters carried annu-
lily by the British Post Office, and to pay all
* penses by the new system it required $780,
100 900 letters to be carried. Mr.. Hill calcu-
lated that the reduced rates of postage would
,astly increase the number of letters, and his
method combined improved modes for redu-
ling the expenses of managing the offices. In
he strong faith that such increase would
De obtained in few years at furthest, the Re-
orm Post Bill passed Parliament in 1889, and
vent into operation in 1910. There was a de-
icit in the first year after it went into force,
,ut the revenues have been steadily increas-
ng ever since, and last year-l86l--the stu
,endous number of sos ,000,3o0 of letters were
arried In 1889, the number of letters car
led for each person in England was A in
Scotland 8; in ireland L. Last year it was
A for each person in England, l9 in Scotland
nd in ireland. In 1888, the revenue of the
British Post Office was Sl1: :734 800 in 1861,