New-York daily tribune., 1866-02-12
FREE ENVELOPES.

If anybody proposes to send a letter to
friend or business correspondent, it may, we
suppose, he taken for granted that he will freely
make the necessary outlay for postage-Stamp,
without which bis letter cannot reach It's dcsti-
nation. !, is for the interest OF the Government
to sell as many of these stamps As possible, and
il the Postal Department can afford to sell them
at less than the current rates, tlcn II Isl
the duty OF Congress to take the whole
subject into consideration and give us cheaper
postage accordingly. That il seerS to Us,
would be the wiser and more legitimate way Of
inducing the people to use the facilities offered
by the Department; more freely. But if, on the
other hand. postage is As cheap now as We can
afford to make it, then the Department Is bound
to get all the revenue il can from the present
rates, and it would be unwise to resort to an
expedient which will diminish that revenue to-
the Government, though il may lessen the cost OF
postage to the lndiyidua letter-writer. To just
such an expedient, however. the Department
proposes to resort in a bill now before Congress,
whereby the PoStmaster-G General j. authorized
to sell stamp and envelopes at The value OF the
stamps impressed thereon. That s, The De
partmcnt sells a stamp at The rate OF three
cents aud gives away the envelope. II 1t can
afford to do this why not put postage down to !
two cents at orcel Envelopes Of course, cost
money. It is estimated that the supply Of
stamps to meet the annual demand Of the whole
country will lie nearly five hundred and
sixteen millions. At the present pr,ce
paid by Government; for stamped envelopes, the
cost for that number would be ehout two and a
half millions Of dollars year. Ii the present
rate OF postage is demanded for the support OF
the Department, then why saddle IT with this
additional burden 70 pay for envelopes to give
away? If the Department can afford TO do
this and still pay expenses, then Why not lower
the rate of postage, and relieve the people from
tax! But if It is desired to make as
much as possible out of the postal revenue.
then 1t would be maniiostly wise TO sell
stamped envelopes, As well Is stamps, and not
give them away. Under the proposed plan il
is clear that the Department las to lose or has
to pay $1,000, 900, and as our National outgo At
this moment happens 70 be rather more than
our income, that loss, in ,he end, must come
upon the people IA increased taxation some
where else. Ii ;he system should hc carried
out, revenue stamps Of all denominations might
be sold upon blank sheets of paper, on which
instruments can be written, as well as postage
stamps upon blank envelopes.
That the proposed plan interieres with private
enterprise is matter, so far as the public il
concerned, of secondary consequence. But II
certainly concerns the Department il this: !
tha; if the manufacturer, with whom the present
contract is made, is paid 80 high for The manu-
ficture Of stamps that he can afford To throw in !
the envelopes, then that contract is more profit
able than it ought % be, and Others could be
found who would take it at lower rate. The
Department had better get It's work done
at d fair price, and save the money rather
than accept envelopes, 10 the injury of
an established branch OF manufactures, a. part
Of the return it receives for the work 1t pays for.
Either the Department can afford To carry let
tiers at a smaller price than it now does, or 1t
cannot. If il can, then let us have cheaper
hostage that shall bear alike upon all-upon the
man who sends hundred letters day, and the
man who sends ten; il it cannot, then let it save
the two millions and a half it proposes TO give
away in envelopes by making cheaper con-
tract for the manufacture of stamps or by sell
ing envelopes at far remuneratIyc price II 1t
deals in them at all.
As good many will soon be hiring help for