The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-10-26
THE POSTMASTERS-GENERAL.
Sketch of the Chiefs of One of the Great De-
partments Of the National Government


Correspondence of the Indianapolis Journal
WASHINGTON, D. c., Oct. 22.-Thereis room
in the second floor in the south end of the Post
office Department building, no larger than the
ordinary room of the average dwelling Two
large mirrors ornament two walls of the room,
while on the third and fourth walls hang por-
traits, and pictures of vessels. The floor is car
peted with we'll worn Brussels. In the center is
an Office desk, and desk with revolving top
rests in one corner A sofa and two or more
chairs of Russia leather complete the furniture.
The room is the office of the Postmaster general.
1t is the least attractive of any apartment occu-
pied by a Cabinet official Frank Hatton, the
new Postmastergeneral, was sworn in by the
Oldest postofice employee in the government,
James Lawrenson. In 1919 Mr.. Lawrenson en-
tered the service as a clerk at Baltimore, and
fifteen years later was appointed to position in
the department proper
Mr.. Hatton is the thirty-second Postmastergen-
eral of the United States. He is the second news
paper man that has succeeded to that position
Samuel Osgood of Massachusetts,, was the first
man to fill the Office under the federal govern
ment He was appointed the same day that
Washington named his first Secretary of State,
and first Attorney general The department was
then in New York city with other government
departments. AT that time, 1889, there were
but seventy-fve postoffices in the United States,
and the total length of post-routes was less than
two thousand miles These post-routes con-
sisted of one long road extending from Wiscas
set, Maine, to Savannah Ca crossed here and
there by smaller routes The revenues of the
department amounted to about $38, 900; the ex-
penditures, about $32, O0O The population of
the country was less than 1000, 00O To-day
there are 1000 postoffces to accommodate the
50, 900, 900 of inhabitants. There are more than
20, 900 employees and the expenditures are more
than $40 900, 900 annually.
Osgood was man that looked somewhat like
Washington. He was Harvard graduate and
studied theology, but failing in health he became
a merchant He was a commissioner of the
United States Treasury when appointed to the
Postmaster generalship. In the latter office he
served two years, afterwards becoming Speaker
Of the New York Assembly He was supervisor
of New York, and from 1903 to his death, in 1873,
he was naval officer of the same port. Timothy
Pickering, leader of the Federal party and a
resident of Massachusetts, was Mr.. Osgood's
successor in the department He was with
Washington at the battles of Brandywine and
Germantown, and afterwards served rs a mem
Der Of the Continental Board of War. After
serving three years as Postmaster general, he
was made Secretary of War, and one year later,
Secretary of State Joseph Habersham, of
Georgia, succeeded him as Postmaster general.
Through his efforts hogging was substituted for
the death penalty, for robbing the mails This
new penalty was, however, repealed and rob
berry was made punishable by Imprisonment
for five years for the first, and by death for the
second offense. The penalty was afterwards
fixed at Imprisonment.
When Thomas jefferson became President he
gave the Postmaster generalship to Gideon
Granger of Connecticut. At this time forty
days were required to carry and return mails be-
tween Portland Maine, and Savannah, Ga,
and forty four days between Philadelphia and
Nashville, Tenn. 1t was with considerable pride
that the Postmaster general informed Congress
in 1911 that this time had been reduced to
twenty and thirty days respectively. At
the suggestion of Mr.. Granger, postal laws were
made to contain provision prohibiting negroes
from employment as mail carriers on the ground
of them to form schemes for the communication
of intelligence detrimental to the whites This
law was repealed in 1865.
The revised postal law of 1910 disturbed the
religious people throughout the United States.
There was a provision which compelled post
masters to open their Offices on Sunday an hour
after the arrival and sorting Of mail, and when
this interfered with the hours of public worship,
one hour later. Numerous petitions against the
delivery of mails, and al so the forwarding of
mails on Sunday, were sent by religious bodies
to Congress and the Postmaster general. They
argued that such practices were ''in violation of
the Divine command, and justifable on prin-
ciple except expediency and worldly advantage;
that the rights of conscience were infringed,
and that they indicated an opinion on the part of
the public authorities that it was right to pursue
secular callings on that day.
A congressional committee was appointed to
consider the remonstrances The committee
argued that society demanded the employment
of some of its agents on Sunday that if the
mails were suspended on that day spectators
would be enabled to forward intelligence by
private conveyance, whereby one portion of the
public would obtain great advantage over the
other; that the rights of conscience were not in
vaded by the new regulations, as all who en-
tered the service of the postofice did so at their
option; that the diffusion OF information i'm
portant to the promotion of the intellect and
virtue of the Nation was promoted by sending
the mails forward on Sunday; that the according
of the requests of the remonstrants would be an
interference by the government with the eccle-
siastical question, step shown by all history to
be detrimental to society; and that the States
alone were competent to control matters of this
nature the constitutional powers of Congress
not extending to questions of this class
A report made by r. NJ. Johnson, of Ken
lucky, member of the House of Representa-
greatly influenced Congress to make decision