The Sunday herald. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1866-1887, 1880-11-28
wAsurNeroN.im:.,..:. IS, 1852
POSTAL BANKS AND TELEGRAP rms

-
Postmaster General Maynard signalzcs
his advent to the Cabinet by some recon-
mendations which will add greatly to his
reputation. The most important of them
are the establishment of q postal savings
system and of postal telcgraphs.
The objection which is most commonly
urged against both these measures Ia that
governments ought to interfere as little as
possible with business. This Is one Of
those dogmas of the doctrinaires much
preached by college political economists,
and which, by frequent reiteration, gain
extensive credcncc among the unthinking.
To confutc this pernicious dogma, which
has done and is still doing SO much harm To
the hard working masses who produce ard
sustain modern society and benefit least by
its chief characteristics, it is only necessary
to point out that individual freedom Is
greatest in the state of most absolute bar
barism, while il happens that the most
complex and enlightened society imposes
the most restrictions upon individual con-
duct No wcllinformed person can reflect
upon this without seeing that the good words
~ ITctuOul IlbtliN hi' '''pS 1N'
verted to serve the interests of the few as
against the interests of the many when they
are wrought into such jargon of pretended
sociologists as is urged TO prevent amy gov
crnmental action which tends toward til,
equitable diffusion of wealth. Gcneralites
against "paternal government" are too
often the weapons of the benefciaries o
l,,,l Il,
and telegraghs, all of them the offspring il
some form of legislative interference will
business, and each of them using its fran
chises to impoversh the producing masse
and to enrich the money-dealing few.
true definition of the best government
ia that it is that government which come
nearest to securing to oach individual til
the enjoyment of the wealth created by hi
own industry. This is totally diileren
idea from either I" oaternaiism " on the on
hand or n-intervention " on the othoi
1t opposes itself to that Interference whic
robs the people on the one hand, and it d,
mands interference to protect them again'
the pressure of bad laws or the might
corporate combinations whenever such pr'
lection is needed.
Indeed, modern society is moving so fas
whether for better or for worse matters NJ
to this argument that each fresh decad
places new burdens upon statesmanship an
requires from government action in field
where it was never before required.
Coming back to the concrete, fraudulei
savings banks have been the means of iilcl
ing in ten years some hundreds of mi
lions of their earnings from the poor
men and women of America. ro
tai savings banks will take from IL
banking class the opportunity to do thi
but they will also take from them the pro-
on the deposits of this class, which prof
having been long enjoyed, is now elaine
as if it were vested right.
Telegraphs have become as much publ
necessity as the post was an hundred or tH
years ago. The same argument that JUS
fes government in carrying the mails JUS
fies it in conveying kilograms. The log
that would prevent the state from periorl
ing the telegraphic service of its citize
would relegate the mails to the Adai
Express monopoly.
Postal savings banks and postal tel
graphs are the advance guard Of set
measures which will test the questi
whether the democratic system in Ameri
can contend against the enormous forces
capital combined in corporations which pl
tend to be competing but are really c6op'
ating to levy upon agriculture and eve
other industry which can be reached
them all those profits which would otherw
accrue to labor, or else to the capital inve
ed in such agriculture or other industri
This is a stupendous problem; il is
great question of the future and it Is no
worthy that in dealing with it the Monar'
lists OF the old have hitherto been bet
friends of the people than the Republics
Of the New World. Where Englishmen
ready have their postal savings banks
postal telegraphs, Americans are payi
tribute to Gould and Vanderbilt.