The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1879-02-08
POSTAL ABSURDITIES.


How Innocent Pa phcs gro Gouged-- Tho
Penalty Of Sending Compl.ments--
Price Lists Under tho Ban--Comno on
Sense Needed.
[Fi0m the Nc,c Yorh: TimcS.]
An author, residing in Western
city, sent by mail to his friend in
New York copy of his book, on
the tiy-lcaf of which was written
something like this: "Wolfgang
Winkelricd Brown, with the COM
phmcnts of Washington Potts"
The New York post Office clerks
deserted this ncfarious inscription,
and "chargcd up" the book at letter
postage rates. Deducting the 2S
cents paid by the sender, there re-
miined 1926 which was due from
Wolfg"ng WinEciricd Brown. az
person in Osiris, Ohio, desiring that
his fayorite weekly paper, pub
lished in Now York, should print
certain familiar verses, wrote on a
postal card request to that effect,
and, to make all sure, pasted the
poem on the back Of the card. The
recipient of this valuable communi,
cation, for reason which will appear
further on, VAS compelled to pay
five cents postage thereupon. A
New York citizen, having noticed in
the Times an editorial article which
he thought would interest his friend
in Boston, went to q window in the
New Yoill post~ofiice and asked for
"a newspaper wrapper" for which
he paid ono cent. Putting this
about the copy of the Times. he
dropped it into tho box. The
weight of that copy of the paper
happened to be two ounces and
on sixteenth. Bong weighed; it
WAS thrown into tho waste basket
as insnilic;cntly paid, and before the
sender left the building it was on
the way to the furnace. Subsc-
qucntly, the expectant Boston man
wrote to his New York friend:
"l'hero is u thief in your post
Office
In each ono of these instances
the postal authorities proceeded ac-
cording to law rs cxpounded by the
rulings of the Post Office Depart
meut. The statutes of tho United
States provide that the sender of n
book mdy writo on the fy-leaf
"Volfgang Winkclried Brown, from
Washington Potts" More than
this tends to mischief. Therefore,
MIR. Brown paid $2.25 for "the
compliments Of Mr.. Potts. The
gentleman in Osiris might have put
his printed poem in an unsealod
envelope, which, being sent to the
New York publisher, would have
been charged as II printed circular
- one cent. The law says that
nothing shall be "attachcd" to
postal card. The poor little verses
were pasted on with thick COM
position, and the whole thing then
weighed moro than half ounce. IT
was unclassiiicd, the "attached"
newspaper clipping being unlawful
Therefore, as nnclassified matter, it
was chargcabie with letter postage.
1t weighed more than half ounce.
and it required six cents postage.
But one cent having been paid for
the postal card, only five cents were
due. And this was collected. In
the case of the newspaper which
was confiscated, with its ono cent
stamp, the sender only knew that
newspaper wrapper Costing one
cent? WAS newspaper wrapper. He
never dreamed that post Office
clerk was required to weigh his
paper, and, if it was not prepaid
at the rate of ono cent for every two
ounces and fraction thereof, to
throw it into the waste basket.
Congress, by it's burdcnsome stat
utes, seems to be anxious to worry
the people who have transactions
with the post Offices. In this on
deavor Congress is ably seconded
by the Post Office Department with
it's capricious rulings.
OF these rulings let us give few
examples: There was no cllssifica-
tion Of mail matter until 1926. On
tho statutes of years preceding that
date oil present classifications arc
made. The typewriter is q modern
invention, and matter from that
machine ia unknown TO p0st> office