Charles City Republican intelligencer. [volume] (Charles City, Iowa) 1861-1864, 1863-02-26
The Proposed New Postal Law.

For the hret time since the era OF
cheap postage was inaugurated in
this country, the Post Office Depart
ment is now paying its way. No de.
ficiency bill is called for by Mr.. Blair
at the hands of the Congress now
about to close it's labors. 1t might
seem, therefore, that sensible men
would let well enough alone. 1t GER
tainly might seem to be preposter-
Gus to the extent of folly, now to at
tempt q wholesale, radical change in
our postal laws, which are, in the
main, good enough. And yet Con-
gress is being bored to death, and its
precious time wasted, with new pos
tai code as big as all out doors and as
absurd as Mr.. Turveydrop.
Nobody has called for any sweep
ing change in the postal laws. The
people have been, and are, satisfied
with them. No party, no Legislature,
no convention has demanded change.
No petitions have flooded Congress
asking for any thing of the Sort. The
proposed change is entirely gratui-
tous--as much SO as was the Kansas.
Nebraska bill. We have no patience
with it, and the people will not have.
1t is reported that the postal bill
now before Congress was prepared by
a gentleman of Iowa, who is stipen-
diary Of the General Government. at
the rate of $4,000 per annum and rail
road passes, and having prepared his
bill he can afford to spend time in lob
bying it through Congress.
We do not propose to discuss this
proposed postal code at length. We
have not seen it, and know only SO
much about it. as we have been able
to gather from careful examination
of what the papers have published
about it.
1t proposes to pay all postmasters
salaries. instead of commissions on the
business Of each Office, as at present.
There will have to be an interminable
list of salaries on this plan, or it will
be the most homogeneous system ever
patched up. The present plan (com-
missions. except where the commits.
sions would amount to very large
sums, and in such cases, salaries
is founded in reason, and ought not to
be disturbed. 3a.a3 E fse. b
Where the commissions of an Office
amount to $1,000 year. they might
be made into salaried Offices, instead
of letting them go up to $1,000. as
now, without detriment, perhaps. That
would be only change in one Of the
details of system, however, and will
meet with the deadly opposition, no
doubt. of those who are bent on i'm.
mortalizing themselves by sending
the present system into chaos
The bill proposes also to make the
rate Of postage on transient ncwspa-
pers two cents, instead Of one, as now.
A useless tax upon the people. 81
But the most preposterous provis-
ion is that whereby it is proposed to
carry letters in the large cities. free of
cost, by the messengers of the Post
Offices, instead Of through the penny
post as at present To make up for the
expense of these messengers, the rate
Of postage on drop letters is to be
raised from one to two cents I The
people of the country taxed to support
the foot-boys Of city nabobs Here
is poor woman who has just come
to the Post Office in our own village,
looking for tidings of health from, her
only boy in the army. She learns in
stead that be was killed at the last
battle. IN mournful but honest pride
she drops a note to the newspaper,
that her friends may know how honor
ably her son was lost to her. That
the millionaires of the cities may
have their letters placed upon their
tables at no additional expense. this
woman has to pay tax Of one cent,
under this provision. Il is provis-
ion which is simply horrible, and
could have been devised only by man
devoted to an aristocratic caste. and