The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1875-03-26
pain. Many membranes are destroyed
from discharges that take place during
"teethinp."
A Very Neat Little Job.


In the dying hours OF the late con
gress, while the sundry preparation
bill was being railroaded through thu
house, a very diminutive and innocent
looking amendment was tackled npor
that bill, which has made q very great
and important change in the postal
laws. The amendment merely struck
out 'two ounces" in a section of the
old postal law. and inserted, in their
stead, "ounce." This small change
revolutionizes the rate on what is
known as "third class mail matter, &"
doubling the postage on pamphlets, oc-
casional publications, transcient news
papers, magazines, handbills, posters,
unsealed circulars, prospectuses, books,
book manuscript, proof sheets, correct.
ed proof sheets, maps, prints, engrav-
ings, blanks, flexible patterns, samples
of merchandise, sample cards, phono-
graphic paper, letter envelopes, postal
envelopes and wrappers, cards, plain
and ornamental paper, Photographic
representations of different types,
seeds, cuttings, bulbs, roots, coins and
other matter allowed TO be carried in
the mails by law. In brief, it requires
the payment of one cent per ounce on
all matter except letters, and regular
publications posted to bona .fde sub
scribers. The practice of remailing
papers and magazines, after reading
them, to distant friends, is a very
common one among the American peo-
pie, but these new rates will pretty
effectually stop it.
While thus enhancing the cost of
mail transportation to the masses of the
people, and deranging the business of
many publishers, we look in vain for
any good or plausible purpose to be
subserved by this sudden change
sprung upon the country in the last
hours of dying congress, unexpected
and undIscussed. Was the object in.
creased revenue? No, for its effect
will be to decrease this class of mail
matter. Was 1t retrenchment? No,
for there will be no reduction on mail
contracts, and not single distributing
clerk will be dispensed with in conse.
quehce, In fact the simultaneous re-
of the frankiing privilege
shows that nothing was further from
the minds of congressman than the
idea of either revenue or retrenchment
in connection with the postal depart
ment.
The inherent absurdity of this double
postage is shown in the fact that while
a person in San Francisco may mail a
or pamphlet from that city
to London and have it carried across
the continent and over the Atlantic for
two cents, another person who lives in
New York must pay four cents in order |
to secure the carriage of an eight-page
paper to Brooklyn, and six cents when |
it happens to be quadruple sheet. On |
July l, when the new postal treaty ne
yotiated at Berne goes into effect, post |
age to ell foreign countries will be |
greatly reduced, and the discrimina-
ion against the domestic postage of |
our people will become more palpably |
Unjust.
We find no explanation for this alb
,urd change in postal rates except that |
given by the Washington correspond
the express company lobbied |
t through congress, aided by Gardner
). Hubbard, a Boston lawyer, and his
banquets, the explanation
being that the law of last year, allowing
packages as high as four pounds to be
Ient by mail at one cent per two ounces,
ook from the express companies some
portion of their small package business.
With quite as much reason, they might
abor for the total annihilatiou of the
postal department, so that the whole
business should be given up TO them,
md they be left to charge twenty-five
,ents per letter, as they actually did
Turing early war times. We much mis-
axe the congress elect if this neat little
xpress job is not spoiled before the
ear goes out. The time of big rings
nd little rings have passed, and hence
orth the people rule Union and
fn3ericdn.