Vicksburg weekly herald., 1878-04-19
Letssr Irom NashIaEton.

AND ABUSE OF sUB'IDIEs-c )EGREsl
on THE RIGHT TRAoK-DASGBR Oh
SEW TROUBLEs-THE ONLY REMEDY.
WASHINGTON, D. c., April u, 1878.
Our greatest blessingS are the least
prized because they are common-al'
most universal. Pure air aud water
are essential to animal life, but who
thanks the good Lord for either
When we happen to think Of Il we are
conscious # having the best postal
system Considering the extent OF our
territory 10 be found in the world
Think for q moment Of the extent aud
cOmprehentiveness Of the immense
system which reaches not only every
hamlet and house in the Union, but ex
tends by mail steamers mostly fOreigm)
10 every clvillZ ID country on the globe.
The old time Postmaster al Hard-crab.
Bile, who walked TO a stage station five
miles away for his mail, and carried II
home In his hat, the old time post-rider
with his saddle bags, clambering weari-
ly over hills aud laundering through
swamps, aud even the pony express
TO the Pacific with q regiment OF little
heroes for riders, are nearly all extinct.
THE MAIL SERVICE or THE UNITED
STATES.
Whatever the Government may have
achieved or left undone in other De.
partments, the people have demanded
all the time increased facilities aud
cheaper postage. This demand has
been responded to from time to time,
until now the dies mination OF intelIi-
gence by mail is all-pervading aud al.
most as cheAp as the light OF heaven,
For the year ending June S0th, 1877,
there were In the United States 1924
public mail routes, aggregaling in
length, including the short routes Of
mail messengers, more than 100000
miles, with au annual transportation
of l50,0000OO miles, equaling Q daily
transportation of more than 100000
miles. OF these public routes 74,5i6
miles were on railroads, l7,6S5 miles
by steamboat aud 200,5S9 miles we're
0n roads where the maiis were carried
by stages, wagons, on horseback or
footback. This immense work Ia
mostly paid by postage stamps carry
ing half ounce letters at 3 cents each,
newspapers al 2 cents a pluud, aud
other printed matter or m archaudise at
a half q cent or one cent en- ounce
The expense Of running this vast aud
complicated machinery for the year in
question amounted 10 S33, 1856 ,322.44,
exceeding the receipts BY the sum Of
SO,954, 1918.
USE AND ABUSE OF SUBSIDIES
This last amount OF about six mil.
lions was q pure subsidy, rIghie0us!y
granted for tue benefit Of the more
sparsely settled States aud territories
Only six States In the Union pay pns.
tage 10 excess of the cost OF mai trans.
portaiiou within their limits. Yet the
feJcest anti.subsidest 10 Congress
makes no complaint because a letter
costs him only three cents instead oil
twenty-five cents, IS was the case forty
or fifty years ago. The postage stamp
with lie application to cheap postage
was an invention worth more TO us
than the discovery of q thousand new
planets or satellites aud the perman.
ent establishment of cheap postage by
subsidy, has returned the expenditure to
the Government q thousand fold In the
extension Of settlement and the general
diffusion Of intelligence. Il is the abuse
aud not the proper use Of q subsidy
that has made this word odious In the
minds of people. It is the business oi
Q true statesman to correct abuses, lu'
stead o trying to howl himself back L
Congress through storm Of blind pre-
judice.
CONGRESS ON THE RIGHT TRACK.
The worst abused subsidy evel
granted 10 America was that bestowed
upon the Union and Central Pacif
Railroad Companies. II amounted 4
nearly S200,0O0,000 in land and Gov
ernment bonds. A large portion o
the money subsidy was absorbet
amongst 9 few leading stockholders
Congress was induced to change IL
fTst, to E secSnd lien, as security for In
Ierest and principaf Of bonds; thel
other millions we're raised on 6rs
mortgaged bonds, and by means Of
technicality In the law the Companie
refused to pay accruiug interest on th
Government bonds loaned TO them
This interest, amounting TO about S.,
100000 q year, has been paid by tn
people; aud in the meantime thes
roads, having complete monopoly o
trans.conlinenta traffic, have taxed thr
people seven or eight millions q yea
In the shape Of exorbitaut charges fO
transportation between the Mississippi
and the Pacific. But the rarest sigh
OF all is the spectacle Of these roads
more especially the Central Pacific
turning piOus and patriotic, aud de
1ouhcing in the seVerest terms every
thing that has even the semblance o
subsidy. Il reminds one of the smar
thief who has just stolen a watch iron
q jeweler, and manages to iOin thu
crowd In the general hue aud cry o
"stop thieiwa as they rush through thu
streets, while the real culprit is th
lOudest.mouthed shouter Ia the wiki
chase.
DANGER OF NEW Trouble.
But Congress is not deceived by thi
shout Of simulated patriotism, and th
Senate, in the passage Of the fuudinl