The National tribune., 1882-06-17


reduced to one penny. 1t is well-estab-
ished. fact that on the mere carriage of
letters the Government now makes con-
siderable profit, but the rates for second and
third class matter are so ill-proportioned to
the cost of the service that up to the present
time the general result has been an actual
loss. How this comes about will be readily
understood when we mention the fact that
merchandise, up to the limit of weight pre-
scrbed by law, can be shipped by mail to
San Francisco from New York for less than
1t can be forwarded by express from New
York to Chicago, so that the Government
gets as its share of business only such mat
ter as cannot be transported at a profit by
the express companies. Considered By itself
this fact would seem to afford sufficient
reason for excluding merchandise from the
mails altogether, or raising the rate so as to
cover the actual cost of the service, but it
must be remembered that to adopt either
course would be to place thousands of per-
sons at the mercy of mOnopolies and deprive
many others living in localities remote from
railroads of all transportation facilities
whatever. It is doubtless the fear of such a
result that has deferred Congress from
making any change in existing regulations.
But the object Of the postal service is not
IN do &c IL
ernment, but to secure to the public a cheap
and reliable means of communication be-
tween all parts of the country, and the
smaller the charge that is exacted for that
service the more available it must become,
of course, to all classes of citizens, so that on
the score of public policy the rates of postage
ought to be reduced as often as the revenues
Of the Department reach the point where
the service becomes self-sustaining. As late
as 1925 the charge for letter postage was six
cents and the effect of every reduction since
then has been to ultimately increase the
Governments receipts. 1t is reasonable,
therefore, to expect that any deficit which
may result from the proposed further reduc-
ton to two cents will soon be made good by
the larger use of the mails, which it will
naturally cause.
With regard to newspaper postage it is
worth considering whether the time has not
come to abolish it entirely in the case of all
hoDn- fIe en- nhcaribarc Ac - 10 crbsor;la-.,
living in the county where the paper is
published are not required to pay postage,
and we see no reason why, for instance, the
subscribers to THE NATIONAL TRIBUNE
should not enjoy the same privilege. The
press is undoubtedly the greatest educator
of modern times, as well as the chief bull
wark of the republic, and it would be an
act of wisdom, it seems to us, to make its
circulation free throughout the length and
breadth of the land. The same considera-
tons which have brought about the reduc-
tion Of newspaper postage to the present
low rates would warrant its abolishment
altogether, provided it would not entail too
serious deficit in the revenues of the
Post-Ofice Department. 1t is not likely
that Congress will take any positive action
in regard to this subject during the present
session, but there can be no question that
the public demand for a further modifca-
ton of postal charges must be met in the
near future, and it becomes our Senators
and Representatives to prepare the way for
it by careful and thorough consideration
of all the interests involved in the question.
AS HARVEST TIME approaches, the prom