Arizona citizen., 1876-01-08
Mail Matter.

IetleI 10 the postmaster General on tb, profits and losses of carrying the Unit ed States mails. DIr. Bangs says:
 By reference to the tabular stateInen 1 It will be seen that the only mauel which pays profit to the governmen
 IS that of the first-cluss-Writtcn cor respondence. There is here an anuua
 profit of more than four millions, (S4. 2l2,3S0709 But on regular newspaper. and periodicals the loss is nearly sever millions, ($6,99j,C23913 and on mis cellaneoGs matter more than four nil lions, A112,9lj53J Now, I presum, 1t will be agreed that the " privileged
 matter" of the mails, ought to be tha which pays tLe best. This is but com
 mon business sense. Next m point 0.
 favor is that which does most for tho dissemination of intelligence. This OF account of the public good. It is worth
 "hlIe-lt is often sound political wis dom-to pay a tax for the promotion oi Ia great public good. We have, then.
 properly and logically, as privileged
 matter" of the mails, all private cor
 respondence and all publications (newS-
 papers and periOdicalsl which treat ui
 the events, opinions and ideas of iLe
 times. No one will dispute that the
 mails ought tO carry these as cheaply
 as possible. l believe it is but com
 mon sense that right there the line
 should be drawn, and that articles out side of these embraced in written cor respOndence and publications pertain
 ing tO current events Should, as near as practicable, pay their own way m the mails of Ihe United States.
 He thinks matter other than tirst- class should be carried but not at a loss to the government as at present. excepting in the case of newspapers. He says:
 The general tax therefor is legiti- mate, and will be cheerfuliy paid by the public at large; but it is unjust, un- philosophical and unfair Co make the general public pay a tax in support oi the private business of individuals and companies, and in thIs category must be placed all the other mailable aIti- cles embraced in class third
 Ofthe abuse of the privilege of send ing ,hird-class matter we have had am pie Illustration in Arizona, but We can no: resist quoting what Mir. Bangs has to say on the subjects, viz:
 While th!s branch of the postal ser vice is, in the main, of great couye- nienc tue public, it is frequently used cry singular purposes Thus, for eXamplg, ] looked into the coilcc- ;ion of articles which have passed through the mails and never been call ed for, preserved m the dead-lettcr of fee. 9 few dag s-J. and hastily made. a schedule ot some of the more strik- ing cuTIosities. Among them were. RatlIe~n4ke>, 6. These had passed through the mails alive in perforated lin boxes. CentipCde, I ; snakeskin T.; wooden shoes, pair; ladies back hair, , sets; OK horns, 1; gold watches, B.. Colorado potato bugs. ] bottle; mecca. sins, several pairs; telescopes, l; bil-. lard balls, |; dolls, several; stuffed birds 1 toys, very many; silver gob-. lets, 1; gambling implements, a good many; jeWclry, large quantity; sets off false teeth, several; American flags, 2;. masks, ?; bowie-kEives, ?; raZors, .. minerals and shells, many.
 Bouquets of flowers are frequently. .ent through the mails. On one occa-' ion a boQuet and a young alligator were in similar boxes in the same bag. The lids of the boxes accidentally .ame of, and the flowers and alligator were at large in the bag One box was Co a lady at Albany, \. T., md the other to lady at Bridgeport 1onE. The r0ute agent was troubled !. o know in which box Co place The aiii-' ,ator and in which to put tae flowers. 'iually he settled the difficulty by put ing the alligator in the Connecticut ia-' .y's box, and writing thereon: If. -Ou were expecting flowers. instead of. n alligator, forward Co Mrs. ---, AL any, Y. Y" On the Albany lady's ,ox he wrote: If you were expect ur an alligator instead of these beau. itul flowers, forward to Mrs. ----. Bridgeport. Conn" By good luck the rent got the different articles into the fight boxes.
 Nr. Bangs refers only to the enormi y of transporting such miscellaneous rticles in the railway mails at loss 10. he government The injustice of load ng down mail stages with them on the 0ng and often heavy roads of the iron fer he does not refer to, but 1t must be pparent t0 all that what falls so far bort of paying by rail must prove a rcat loss by stage. '
 AIr. Bangs thus concludes his able etter:
 These things may be set down as mong the humors of the postal ser ice. but. if we consider them as only lmples of things occurring nearly ev- " day (which they really are) and then onsider, in addition, the vast quanti- les of miscellaneous matter which are onstantly passing through the mails, .ggregating about 240,00O00O pounds nnuallv.) and then reflect, besides, nat all this has nothing whatever to do ,ith the dissemination of intelligence, he primary purpose of q postal sys m, we must conclude that when the 1 overnment carries these things trough it's mails at the bare cost of he handling and transportation il has. one it's whole duty in the premises. he table conclusively shows that these 1 rticles are carried for less than such Ost.
 WE hear 8 great deal said about le decline of political and public s irtue, and frequent allusions to the , atter days of the Republic what yer that phrase may mean. It is.