Dallas herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1849-1873, 1873-04-12
The Postal Law.

There Is no subject OF more general in
terest than that Of postage. Almost e'ery
man and woman, young and old, in The
country, has more or less correspondence
through the mails, and therefore all nre
anxious TO know or should be- the
laws regulating postage and postal affairs
are. Ts be well in formed on this subject
saves time md irouble--ibe time spent in
making inquiries, and the trouble result
ing from misinformaiion. As some per-
plexity EXISTS in regard 10 postal changes
made at the last session of Congress, we
subjoin, for general information, the fol-
lowing from the Washington Chronicle;
We are not at all sorry to find, MS we
have done by inquiring at the Postof'ice
Department, that the proposition to reduce
letter postage, together with other changes
in postal matter proposed by The House
comm ittee, failed in the Senate. Believing
that the change proposed was not called
for, and that il would very materially di-
minish the resources Of the Postofficc De-
pariment at n time when it is incuring
large expenditures,t to facilitate tho prompt
distribution and transmission of mail
matter on postal cars, and to improve the
service generally, We took occasion to dis
sent from the recommends liens of the COM
mittee at the time they were made.
Our belief MS then expressed, was, and
is still, that in view of the much higher
prices paid for mail transportation in this
country, the wide diffusion of mail facil:-
ties over territory so much greater than
that OF England, which has been our mod
el, we have reduced the rates of postage to
the loYest point attainable without inSolv-
ing the necessity of large appropriations
by Congress-. Threescent postage here,
considering the service rendered, is quite
as cheap rs penny postage in England.
1t has been the aim and desire of Con-
gress aal the Department to bring tho lat
Ter to a self sustaining condition. This
will be ultimately done if We are not COM
PEELED to pay too heavily for railroad SER
vice. Tho postal car system has very
largely. increased the burdens Of the De-
parlmeni, but il has wonderfully facili'at-
ed distribution and celebrity OF transmits,
sion, especially at stations on the great
thorOughfares. The clerical force reauir-
ed for this service is large and expensive
and constantly increasing as postal cars
are multiplied. The roads exact increas-
ed pay at an alarming rate.
At such time, therefore, we cannot
wisely attempt a further reduction of lie t.
ter postage. Three cents for carrying a
letter from Boston TO San Francisco, Low
err California, or Oregon, is pretty small
figure. Yet, having once established n
uniform rate we cannot get the consent OF
the Pacific States to pay more for letter
than is charged for carrying it five miles.
The provisions requiring the payment
of newspaper postage also failed. This
failure included the proposed change in
rates on,daily papers which will, as here
iofore, continue to pay thirty cents quar-
terly, weekly papers five cents
There was attached to the postal nppro-
priation bill the following clause:
Provided, That all laws and parts oil
laws permitting the transmission by mail
of any free matter whatever, be aud the
same are hereby repealed from and after
June 80, 1878.
This sweeping clause cuts off free ex-
changes, and also the distribution Of week.
ly papers free in the counties where print
ed. Subscribers to such weeklies will
there fore, after June 80, have to pay post
age on their papers, and editors will be
charged with postage on all the exchanges
they receive.