The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1882-12-09
POSTAGE REDUCTION.

49,. 'eeioh ihusSWithhoid my concur
POSTAGE REDUCTION.
st the last session of Congress- sever., hu,,
Sefe introduced into the House OF Represen.
tsss1ves for the reduction of letter no a ACE n
80. rate OF two cents per half ounce have
1vcn much study and reflection TO this sub.
rSrt and am thoroughly persuadeti that sueh
s1teduction would be for the best interests of
ere pubic. lthas been the policy of the Gov
eStrnent from its foundation 20 defrav "a FAR
as ossible the expenses of carving the mails
~ a d,reet tax in the form of postage IL has
lIS7Ser been claimed, however that this service
S0Sbt 10 be productive of a net revenue AS
- Dcen stated already, the report of the
a'7ssinaster- General shows that there IS now
N NeIy considerable surplus In his depart
1aSn1, ana that henceforth the receipts are
@@tay 70 increase at much greater ratio
snsne change is made in the existing laws the
pronts OF the postal service will, in a very
-eM years swell the revenues OF the Govern
neent many millions of dollars. The time
essetns aHspicious, therefore, for some rcduc-
Lot IN the rates of postage, In what shall
Aation which has been had upon this subject
1uring the last thirty years discloses that do
naesuc letters constitute the only class of
nlaii matter which has never been favored by
a substantial reduction of rates l am con.
WINGED that the burden OF maintaining the
and a as e4 tban nne9uay upon that class
present relief. That such relief may be ex-
Gended without doubt to other public inter-
@sts viii be discovered upon reviewing the re-
suits of former reductions immediately
prior TO the act of ls45 the postage unon a let
Ser composed of single sheet was as follows:
M conveyed 30 miles or less six cents; be-
tween 30 and so miles, ten cents; between SO
aad 100 miles. twelve and one half cents; be.
s eeh 100 and 400 miles 80 eighteen and three
cents. By the act of 1915, the postage upon a
s 81, letter conveyed for any distance under
40 miles was fixed at five cents ana for any
greater distance at ten cents.
by the act OF 1851 1t was provided that sin
Eie letter If prepaid, should be carried any
no. vsaflno fo.rQ
and any greater distance for cents. 1t will
ne noticed that both these reductions were of
N ftdlcal character, and relatively quite as
fgiportant as that which is now proposed In
,sasch case there ensued temporary loss of
revenue, but sudden and large influx of
business substantially repaired tbatloss with
On three years. Unless the experience of past
Hesitation in this country and elsewhere goes
~, na9gnt, ie may be safely predicted that
-lor carriage would at once increase the num-
Der OF letters consigned to the mails. The adj
vantage OF secrecy would lead to a very gem
Erh substitution of sealed packets for postal
cards and open circulars, and in divers other
sasAys the volume of first class matter would
DE enormously augmented. Such increase
amounted in England in the first year after
ele adoption OF the penny posta ge to more
Chan l2j per cent. As result of car eful esti-
mates, the details of which can not be but
qslqHvtncing the deficiency for the first year
aiaer the proposed reduction would not ex-
Ssteed per cent of the expenditure, or So OOO,-
Ge0, while the deficiency after the reduction of
ASs5 was more than IA per cent, and after that
va 1901 WIS - per cent. Another interesting
comparison is afforded by the statistics fur,
Mls.led me by the Post-office Department.
TIE act OF lsi5 was passed in face of the fact
tt1at there existed deficiency of more than
$sa,900; that of 1851 was encouraged by the
1sl5gitt surplus of $4,000. The excess of rev
senIe IN the next fiscal year is likely to be
%I,5G0 COL
If Congress should approve these sugges-
EiOns it may be deemed advisable to supply
20 some extent the deficiency which must Tor
a. t1me result by increasing the charge for car
Eytug merchandise which is now only sixteen
cents per pound. But even without such an
increase am confident that the receipts I'M
Der the diminished rates would equal the ex-
Yonditures after the lapse of three or four
years.
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.
The report of the Department OF Justfce
brings anew to your notice the necessity of
1nlarg1ng the present system of Federal juris-
prudence, SO asefectually to answer the re-
with which fits called upon to deal. '''
Tire Attorney General renews the sugges-
aae Justice, better provision than the existing
law affords should be made in certain judicial
a1sfrlcts Tor fixing the fees of witnesses and
NArors- In my message of December last /
Eeterred TO the pending criminal proceedings
SIrowlng out OF alleged frauds, what is known
THE STAR ROUTE SERVICE
of the Post-office Department and advised
you had enioined upon the Attorney Gen
SsE'A1 and associate counsel, to whom the in.
ReseSts OF the Government we're entrusted, the
duty OF prosecuting with the utmost vigof of
GeRe law, all persons who might be found
ashargeable with these offenses. A trial Of
oste OF these cases has since occurred. II oc.
Gupied for many weeks the attention of the
Supreme Court of this district, and was con-
Sla1cted with great care and ability. 1t re-
suited in disagreement of the Jury, but the
cause has been again placed upon the
calendar and will shortly be re- tried If any
guilty persons shall fnally escape punish
a1isnc tor their ofenses 1t will not be for lack
OF diiigent and earnest efforts on the part Of
the prosecution. 81
y PoLrGAMY. n
The results which have thus far attended the
enforcement OF the recent statute for the sun
precision OF polygamy in the rerritorites are
neported by the Secretary of tho Interior, IL
hs not probable that any additional legislation
m this regard will be deemed desirable until
Ehe effect OF existing laws shall be more close
1y observed and studied. congratulate Won
that the commissioners under whose suner.
vision those laws have been put in operation
which they are aimed may be suppressed
without resort to such radical measures as
I'm some quarters have been Thought indispen.
sable for success. ~
The close relation of the General Govern.
nlent to the Terl1torities preparing to be great
IL Ia there that the Indian disturbances mainly
occur. and that polygamy has found room for
xrs growth. 1 can not doubt that a careful
survey of Territorial legislation would be of
mo highest utility. Life and property
would become more secure; the liability
on outbreaks between Indians and whites
be more securely guarded and better progress
IA made in the instruction OF the Young
xBB REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER or AGRr-
CULTURE 80 n Il
presents an account OF the labors of that tle-
partment during the past year, and includes
xRformation OF much interest - the general
public. The condition OF the forests OF the
country and the wasteful manner in which
eheir destruction is taking place give cause
for serious apprehension. Their action in
protecting the earth's surface. in modifying