Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1875-03-17
VERY - LTTTLE IOR.

Dill was beng rallroaded through the
House, a very diminutive and innocent
looking amendment was tackled upon
that bill, which has made a 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, transient news
papers, magazines, handbills, posters,
unsealed circulars, prospectuses, books,
bOokmanuscript, proof sheets, corrected
proof sheets, maps, prints, engravings,
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
soribers. The practice Of remailing
papers and magazines, after reading
them, to distant friends, is a very
common one among the American
people, but these new rates VIII pretty
effectually stop it, as the postage
on single copies Of the ordinary New
York daily is now raised to
four cents, which is exactly the retail
price Of The paper, and IN the run Of
year amounts to several dollars more
than the subscription price. Here
after, the New Yorkea who wishes to
keep his country cousin posted on such
religious developments as those Of the
Brooklyn trial viii find it cheaper to
fork out SO for an additional subsc-ip-
ton to the Tribune than to pay S12.52
for e-mailing his own copy each day
after reading. 1t Is thus seen that the
increase does not affect newspaper pub
fishers, but bears heavily On the poorer
classes Of readers. But the publishers
ofsbooks and Of sheet music are direct
ly affected by it in the reduction Of
their mail order, or the double rates
they must pay if they send their pub
locations postpaid, as is the custom
with all the popular houses.
While thus enhancing the cost of
mail transportation to themasses of the
people, and derauging 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 a 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 it retrenehment ? No,
for there viii be no reduction on mail
contracts, and not a single distributing
clerk viii be dispensed with in cOnse-
auence. In TACT the simultaneous re-
establishment Of the fTanking privilege
shows that nothing was further from
the minds Of Congressman than the
idea Of either revenue or retrenohment
in connection with the Postal Depart
meut.
The inherent absurdity Of this
double postage Is shown in the fact
that while a person in San Francisco
may mail a newspaper 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 N order to secure the
carriage Of an eight-page paper to
BROOKLYN, and six cents when 1t hap
pens to be a quadruple sheet. On July
l, when the new postal treaty negO-
tiated at Berne goes into effect, post
age to all foreign countries viii be
greatly reduced, and the discrimina-
ton against the domestic postage Of
our people viii become more palpably |
unjust.
We find no explanation Tor this alb
surd change in postal rates except that !
given by the Washington correspond |
ents-that the Express Company lob |
bied it through Congress, aided by |
Gardner S.,Hubbard, a Boston lawyer, !
and his magnificent banquets, the ez-
PLANTATION being that the law Of last |
year, allowing packages as high as four |
pounds to be sent by mail at one cent |
per two ounces, took fro the express
companies some portion Of ;heir small |
package business. With more appar-
ent reason an express company might |
demand that the Government ex-
clude from the mails or quad
ripple the price on tie pom
derous packages Of newspapers sent |
out daily by the UNION AND AMERICAN
and other journals in the land. With |
quite as much reason, they might labor
for the total humiliation Of the Postal |
Department, so that the whole BUSH
ness should be given up to them, and |
they be left to charge twenty-five cents
per letter, as they actually did during
early war times. We much mistake
the Congress elect, if this neat little
express Job is not spoiled before the
year goes out. The time Of big rings
and little rings have passed, and hence
forth the people rule.
ssHIT HIM AGAINF'
1t was d scene for HOgarth. Two |
thousand Of the nations wards, labor
ers who had given their muscle to
beautify the nations capital, marching |