The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1883-06-09
DIR WASHINGTON LETTER.
sr.0D, onr Regular correspondent.l

people as that of our postal system,
which is entitled to be dignified as
the oldest branch of the public SER
vice. Our great, great grandfathers
were impressed with the need of
some system oftransmitting commu-
nications between different sections
of our country, and as early as 1892
these sagacious seerS introduced a
proposition in the Assembly of Vir-
ginia to establish the Office of "Post-
master General of Virginia and other
parts of America" This new propo-
sition became a law, but was never
put into execution, as it was deemed
that the system then existing was
sufficient for the absolute needs of
the people. The British Parliament,
under the reign of Queen Anne in
1710, had generously provided for the
needs of her poor colonists in gen
eral post Office for all her majesGoA
dominion, and under this was pee
mitted zone chief letter Office in New
York and other chief letter offices in
each of her majesty's provinces or
colonies in America" The throwing
off the British yoke gave new in
spiration to the scattered people that
eliminated and planted itself in the
constitution, which established the
right of Congress Ito establish post
offices and post roads," Congress in
1880 created the office of Postmaster
General, who acted merely as the
head of the bureau, and not a cabi-
net officer. In 1929 this department
had grown to such proportions that
President Jackson appointed w. T.
Barry, of Kentucky, as Postmaster
General and invited him to a seat in
his cabinet, and thereafter the head
of this department has been consider
ed an &c oficj0 cabinet minister. In
1892 Congress established a general
post Office, which, urder direction of
the Postmaster General, was to pro-
vide for carrying the mails of the
United States by "stage carriages or
horses"
The general post office at the CAPT.
tai originally occupied a building
known as Blodgett's Union hotel, sit
uated on the south half of the square
now occupied by the Post Office de-
partment. This building, 120 feet
long and so feet wide, was commeuc.
ed in 1893, out of the proceeds of
prize drawn in lottery by en- orphan
child. The building was long and
the fund short and the work stopped.
A portion of it was eXtemporized ia ,
to theatre, and the basement was
used as a temporary lodging place of
Irish, German and other emigrants.
In 1910 it was purchased by the gov
eminent, and used as a Post Office
department. After the British burn
ed the capitol, in 1914, Congress held
the next session in this old hotel. 1t
was finished up by the government,
and was then large enough to furnish
desk room and conyeniences for the
entire clerical force of the general and
city Post offices, the Patent Office,
and the Library of Congress. In 1912
Congress provided for purchasing the
north half Of the square on F street.
and thus has come the present mas
sive Corinthian, marble building, 800
feet long by 204 feet wide, with a
centre court 1914 feet long by 50 feet
wide. and costing .S1,700,000. From
these small beginnings the postal
system has grown until now at the
smallest cost and with the most rap.
id transit, the utmost safety and GER
tainty, the correspondence of the
country is carried on in a manner
that challenges the admiration of the
world, We now have $4,000 post
offices, a carrier delivery in all the
cities with over $4,000 inhabitants,
154 in number, requiring 5000 car
ries, at a cost of $4,000 900 per year.
The system is so perfect that letter
properly mailed can never fail of be-
ing delivered or returned to the wri-
ter in case the party addressed cannot
be found.
The writer directed letter recent
~ to party in London and had it
returned to him within 60 days with
% different stamps with hour and
date upon it, showing into how
many hands it had fallen and where
it had been in the effort made to find
the party to whom addressed, and
finally to return it with the reasons
to the writer. The mausoleum of
the Post Office department is the re-
ceptacle of millions of secrets. Into
it's open NAV comes strange stories
of unrequited love, heart aches, ten.
der messages of loves, strange histo-
ries ofjoys and sorrows, poverty and
Wn0Ith