Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-03-07
TWO CENT POSTAGE,

October LIST, 1883, the country enters up
on the two cent postage era. The reduction
from the three-cent letter postage to the
two cent rate will be popular with the pub
lie. Notwithstanding they understand
that the estimated loss of revenue
for the first year will be some
four or five millions of dollars. Should it
turn out that the reduction of postal rove
nues amounts to the estimate stated, it will
be the first time in the history of this, or
any other country, that cheap postage has
curtalled the revenue of the service to any
extent, and it may be doubted
if the first year under the two
cent postage regime shows any loss of
revenue of consequence. In order to pass
the two cent bill, the House of Represent
atives was obliged to yield two points,
about which it had set out to be tenacious.
One of these was, to enforce some reduc-
tioR of the mail-pay to the Pacific rail-
roads, and the other, the intention to re-
fuse the grant of $185,
600 for special fast mail facili-
ties, an expenditure created solely
for the New York city morning papers. The
late Postmaster General James seemed to
have no other official ambition or scope,
| than to add to the revenues of the Van
derbilt roads running out of New York, by
securing to them enormous subsidies in the
name of mail transportation. 1t becom-
ing apparent that two-cent postage must
fail, or these reforms be given up,
| the House receded, two-cent postage car
ried the day, the Pacific roads will get
their usual pay, and the New York dalie5
continue to be sent across the country on
| double quick time, regardless of expense.
The government has now to set to work
TO get rid of its stock of three-cent envel-
opes, and three-cent stamps, on or
before October LIST, when they will
no longer be in demand The
prospects are that letter writing will not
soon become lost art among the Ameri-
can people.
With the adoption OF the new rate of
postage comes the necessity of a revision
or readjustment of the pay of postmasters
and under the bill as passed, the compen-
sation of some $4,000 of these
officers is affected. So far as possible, il
appears to have been the effort to increase
the pay of the postmasters. The salaries
of postmasters of the first class are grad
uatsd from $4,000 to $6,O0O,as the receipts
of their offices vary from $4,000 to $7O,-
600. Under the new bill the salary of post.
masters at Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago
and st. Louis jump from $4,000 to $4,000
and Uncle Sans postal servants at Wash
ington, San Francisco, Baltimore and Gin
cinnati get $4,000 instead of $4,000. The
second-class salaries will range from
$4,000 to $4,000, as the receipts of this
grade of offices, vary from $4,000 to $4O,-
| 600. The third-class salaries will
grade from $1,000 to $4,000
as the receipts of the offices
may range from $1,000 to $4,000. The
compensation of fourth-class Offices is
fixed upon commission on stamps can
celed, and basis of box rents, and this
class are more likely to receive increased
compensation, than the contrary.
Summing up the whole matter,
while congress has given the
country the demanded cheapened
postage, it has provided that those who
perform the service shall be gamers under
the new system. 1t is quite evident, there
fore, that the real expectation is that the
postal revenues will be increased under
the cheap postage system, and in this an
ticipation,t there is not likely to be ma
terial disappointment.