Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-11-23
POSTAL PROJECTS.

and also the establishment of ''postal
savings repositories" Both these pro-
jects are but incidents of the progress
of centralizing ideas. Our fathers, not
to say grandfathers, would have made
laughing stock of the official or poll
tician who limited such a possibility,
and would have badgered him into ig-
noble fame. In favor of turning the
postoffices of cities into savings banks
for the laboring classes, it is argued
that the government ought, if possible,
to protect those classes in partic-
ular against fraud. This savors
of ''paternal" government, logical
enough in ages that believed in the d.
vine rights of rulers, but utterly out of
place among a people whose fundamen-
tai principle is their own capacity to
regulate their own affairs. The only
means under our system for the pro-
lection of poor and rich alike against
fraud, is the enactment and enforce
ment of the requisite laws. This postal
savings scheme sounds like confess
sion that the banking institutions we
already have, are not amenable to law.
Has it really come to thatP After all,
what additional guarantee would a pos
tai bank give the poor mane The de-
falcations Of Postmasters and clerks
are already frightfully numerous, and
the punishment of such sinners is
frightfully rare, without putting fresh
temptations in the way of these partic-
ularly weak mortals Again it is
argued that the savings of the
country, thus deposited with govern
ment, might be converted into bonds,
helping to carry the national debt,
bringing home many millions Of bonds
now held in Europe, and making each
laboring man and his family directly
interested in the stability ofthe govern
ment and its credit, thus making a
''strong government" We are free to
say that the hundred millions of inter-
est sent out of the country annually to
foreign bondholders, weakens the ma
tional credit; but our people heretofore,
in some cases unwisely, have preferred
to pay this six per cent interest and
invest their own means in home i'm
provements, which before the panic
generally yielded a higher per cent.
We look for some change for the better
with regard to this matter in the future,
brought about by natural causes, not
legislation. The plea for a strong
government is emminently un-Ameri-
can. Our government Is already
only too strong and yields
too much patronage, without adding an
army of bank clerks to the Postofice
Department. The strength of the
government for all desirable purposes
and for many undesirable, has been
amply demonstrated in the last decade.
1t cannot acquire any more strength
except at the expense of the peoples
strength. The correlation of forces is
as true in politics as in mathematics.
Last, but not least, we emphatically
demur to the earnings and savings Of
honest labor being placed at the mercy
of the United States Treasury, the pol
icy of which is always liable to be af-
fected by political considerations, and
which has thus far in its connection
with finances been only stupid stumb-
ling-block to every commercial and in
dustrial interest of the country.
We expressed our views on the twin
project of a postal telegraph, when it
was first preached last year. One
argument of the Postmaster General
ought to make the whole world laugh.
He says: Wherever the telegraph is
under Government management 1t is
operated at its minimum cost, and the
people receive the benefit in low rates
of transmission and greatly extended
facilities" This is true of monarchial
countries. There seems to be some
fundamental difference in the genius of
monarchy and of American republican
ism in the cost of Government works.
At least, it is notorious that in this
country, anything undertaken by Gov
eminent will be grossly mismanaged
and Will cost three or four times the
amount it would in private hands.
None of our readers need go far for
ample illustrations of this fact. Since
the Inauguration of Radical rule, each
day furnishes fresh proofs. But, let
us suppose, for moment, that the tele-
graph could or would be conducted
as economically by the Government
as it is to-day by private parties anx-
ious only to make money. Let US 60
further, and agree for the nonce with
the Postmaster General that the cost
would be much less-what then! We
can but warn the people that they can
not enjoy their wontediberties without
paying a price for them in some shape
The present privacy of the telegraph
is worth much to the merchant and the
man of honor. If we prefer cheap tel
egraph and strong government and all
the centralizing bureaucracies of mon
archy-if we prefer these to our repub-
lican liberties, we can of course have
them. But we believe our people are
not in the temper just now to double
the bread and butter brigade of nom
producing and all-consuming govern
ment officials. Neither are they pre-
pared to lay open to government IN
spection the private business and
emergencies of every merchant, the Sc
crets of every family and the move