The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1880-07-15
OUR POS1.t l. ISIEM.

Bcnjamm Franklin was postmaster at
Ihiladelphia, being appointed in 1888,
when he was tWcnty-Scvcn years old.
lie held tho Office until 1853, when hc
was made the colonial postmastcr-
general, and the British government
guaranteed him Il salary Of EGO0, 'tor
himself and his assistant" The svs-
TEN was not completely organized
until the general management of pos
tai affairs came into lis hands. lie
held tho Office Of postmustcr-@encrul
twcnty-onc years. Hc was removed
Ill rather summary manner in i7Ii
because nc was nn OutSpOkCn patriot
who couldn't be Il tory.
After Inc national constitution WAS
adopted in l1S9, Il postal system for
tho c'lltcu States wns established bv
congress. The first pos;mnstur-"cn-
rid' was Samuel Osgood, OrMasSlchu-
'ril*. In 1870, The first year OF his
administration, The Who'll" number Of
pu*i,"i!ir.S vas -'scvrnty-iivc the
mole amount Of postage received.
s,ji ,J,i3; and the whole net revenue to
the government, 5000. In 1900 the
Whole number OF post-oificcs was nine
hundred and three; the whole amount
OF postage, S2S0,Sl0; the whole net
revenue, S66,Sl0. The first rates Of
postage were as follows: For sin
gle letter, under forty m les, cioh;
cents; over forty miles ANA under
ninety miles, ten cents; over ninety
and under one hundred and fftv miles,
twelve and onc-half cents; over one
hundred and fifty and under three
hundred, seventeen cents; over three
hnnIrSI nnl ,,,,ln,.
mlics, twenty cents; over five hum
ured miles, Twenty-Five cents. In
iol6 these rates were changed, as fol-
lows: a single letter, Eot over thirty
miles, siN and onc-fourth cents; over
thirty and under eighty mics, ten
cents; over eighty and under one
huntrcd and fifty miles, twelve and
Omc-nall cents; over one hundred and
ifty and under four hundred miles.
eighteen and tlrcc-lourlhs cents; over
four hundred miles, twenty-five cents.
LII lol3 there was another change, and
rates were established as follows: for
letter weighing not more than half
an ounce, carried not over three hum
drcu miles, five cents; over three hum
tlrcd miles, ten cents. In 1881 Congress
enacted that II letter weighing not
more lhan halr an oiln:c niyht be
carried three thousand miles, if pre-
paid, for three cents, or five cents, if
not prepaid. For ovcrthrco thousand.
six cents, ifprcpaid, or twelve cents.
not prepaid; but in 1852 the twelve
was reduced to ten. In lS55 the rates
were made to be three cents for all
distances under three thousand miles:
ten cents for all over three thousand
miles; postage TO be prepaid in all
cases. Finally, by means Of several
acts and amendments, the rates were
established as we have them now.
Cheap postage cannot be as well
afforded in this country as in Great
Britain, because the expenses of the
postal system are necessarily much
greater here than there. Great Britain
is Il small country in extent, with a
great population. Ours is a country
OF "mngniticent distanccs," and large
portions ofit, where there are uoSt-
offices to DC served. are lhinly inhubit-
Ell. In majority Of the States the
amount OF postage paid is far below
the cost OF the postal service they re-
ceiyc. In some Of the States the
amounts paid for postage are much
greater than the cost of the service.
Nevertheless, the post-oilcc DEPART
mcnt aces not pay expenses. Every
year there is a deficit Of several mil
lion dollars. In England the postal
service yields the government II net
revenue; and so it is in France and in
most or the othe" countries Of Europc.
LIE "SQUoZE' Her UAND.-An
Ohio merchant tells the followiu"
story about himself. Where he lives
is a secret, except that ii is not Il mile
ana half from the court house:
"Whcn was q boy about scycntccn
years old | made a trip to Cleveland in
an oldiashioncd Stage coach. with IFS
spanking four horses. At Mo,mt
Vernon, about 1 o'clock in thc ol,rr-
noon, pretty girl came on board.
one sat on the back seat, next to the
cldcrly-looking man. was on thc
middle scat immediately in front of
hrt; soon struck upa pleasant chat
WIN nc'. she was a charming talkcr,
and almost as brilliant as She was
/ rFtl'l. i looked as if we were mn
! tH"@y pleased. When dark came
/ runI nI'uuH" there would be no harm in
! GNing' 'rr hand 4 squeeze by way of a
I tvyi;r. reached behind and %oi hold
! Of ti!G hand. was Il little startled nj
Che hardness, but it returned q vice.
like pressure. | squeezed again and il
squozc back. "A sense of aisappoint-
mcnt would steal over me when IN
my mind | would contrast tho sccminn
toughncss Of her hand with the tender,
ness and sweetness Of her voice. The
contrast did not seem TO artcrializc nv
blood quite up to the point of cxhila.
ration. at last sho reached her dcsii.
nation and left tho coach. After we
had started again that old rooster who
sat beside her addressed me thuslv:
Young man, do you feel all r:ioht t;
You had nice time tuggin" at nv
Old paw for the last five miles; homo
you cnjoycdit.' f~
The two young ladies on tho front
seat. gigglcd all the way to tho noxi
station, and the gentlemen passengers
didn't forget to smile when | looked
up. have been more successful since
! in that line"