New-York tribune., 1878-12-19

ulHuc DS tbC OPPoo4''"'
it is easy and natural too, when TINS
niggarilness has made deficiency DiilS
necessary, to point to that Iact us ah-
other evidence of extTavagance ana ihcolh-
petcnce on the part Of the other slde' AS 10
this special deficiency of $450,0OO for postal
service. which was only passed III grudglhG
and ungraclOus way, ii appears tilat IL was
cut off from the original Appropriation Dill
because Congress was not aware that there
,rns any DostaI-ca service. Ii is one OF the leaks
and cxtravagances that have resulted from
Republican administration. 1t must DE great
comfort TO some of the gentlemen OF the ma
iority in the House, who have been so GER
tain tLot there was reckless extravaganza
somewhere. and who have been so eager to
find il ont. to have IT settled that Rcpubh-
can administration OF the Post ofhee Depart
ment is responsible for the postal-car service
and that il costs S4oOoOo' Which, h''S"' W
saved by cutting 1t OIL.
In reporting the bill Mr.. Blount, or Georgia
was good enough to say that he favored lts
passage, although he said Congress hau
"been ignorant that there had been growing
cup in silence this system OF postal-car ser
"vicc.n and he thought 'COngrcss had not been
"reated with common courtesy by the fOSt
"Ofice Department" Mr.. Blount, as one OF
the Leaders of the party that mas con-
troll of tie expenditures OF the Govern
rnant is entitled TO the thanks OF the
buS,ncss communities of the North, to
whom tbe nostal-car service has become
necessity. He has consented to the payment
of this deficiency, at the same time that nc
4 l., ,l,rrln = DnD1It-
ment for organizing the service III a secret
and undetermined manner. II we rightly un-
drrstand the provisions OF the bill' the New
England mail service. which, within the past
yeor has been increased by the addition
at sIiobt expcnse of an early mail out OF New
York, which has proved great accommoda-
finn to thouSapds of citizens, will he reduced
nv tbe discontimance Of this early mail.
This may cause some complaint among people
who take narrow and sectional view oil such
questions, and who say that because NeW-Lng-
land pays a profit t. the Post Office De-
partmcnt for her mail service, she ought not
70 he abridged in her accommodations by the
votes of States like Georgia, in which the
whole service is conducted at loss. But then
if should be remembered that the gentlemen
who retired from the Union IN 1851,
and who have been good enough to
come back to make our laws and
regulate our affairs, are extremely anX-
ious to save money for the Government and
have all the departments administered with
economy. Mr.. BlouAt's view Is large and
broad not sectional or partisan. 1t was very
kind in him to consent 10 the payment
of the deficiency. II hc sees no ncccs-
sity for an early Ncw-EngHnd mail,
and considers the pOstal-car service
wholly unnecessary extravaganza, as he
apparently docs-and probably faithfully
represents his constituents IN it-then, Of
course, he cannot consent to spending money
in that way. Mr.. Blount and hi, friends
found upon coming back INTO the Union and to
Congress that Government expenses had been
largely increa ,cd. They don't understand IT,
but they are trying hard to find ont about it,
and TO exhaust the resources of craftsmanship
in schemes OF retrenchnent and reform.
Were it in order 10 suggest that the little
whirl they gave us from 1861 to 1865 was
somewhat costly, and has cntailcd debJS
with annual interest burdens, 1t might
account for some OF il. But there must
be 10 references to that, for they re-
yiyc the animOsitics OF the war; and
in the matter of increased expenditures
in the Post Office Department, some oi
them may be due perhaps to legitimate
increase in business and population, and
natural demand for increased postal accommo-
datlons. Mr.. Blouut may not understand how
this can be. Still less, perhaps, will he under
stand that something Is due to the
natural order of human progress, and
that prosperous communities are not cOutcntcd
10 stand still. In Georgia the stagc-coach and
the weekly mail may answer, while further
north the lightning express and four or five
mails per day hardly suffice for the
increasing demands of business. 1t is
a good thing for party desiring to
make a reputation for economy to commit
the postal service appropriation 10 the
charge of a representative who, from his
location aud associations, VIII not be
led INTO extravaganza or waste III this
branch of the public service. There are
several States in the Union in which the
postal Service is more than sclf-sustaning,
and several in which it is less. The entire
service is carried on at a loss, which the
whole country shares. Under the rule
of the Democracy the States that do
not pay, direct the expenditures and
regulate the accommodations of those that do.
This is i'll the interest of economy, of course.
They can cut down appropriations with i'm
punity, having no fear of complaints from
their own constituents on the subject. The
Northern and NewEngland States have
great cause for gratitude to Mr. Blount,
of Georgia, not only for permitting the def
cheney to be met, but for not requiring the
immediate dIscontinuancc Of the pOStal-car
service. 1t would hardly be missed by the
Democratic masses, and the saving effected