The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-02-09
UNCLE SAM A MONOPOLIST.
The Governments Absolute Control Of
ImpOStS, Coinage and Stamps.
Some Interesting Facts About the
Postal Business-Printing Stamps.
"a, IA


first order. You wouldn't think so,
either, to listen to some of the gentlemen
who undertake the biennial job of saving
the country and posing as the next friend
and keeper of the old gentleman's con-
science, but such is the fact, nevertheless.
The three great industries which he has
taken over to his own exclusive control
and behoof are: The levy and collection
of imposts, otherwise known as the tariff /;
the coinage and the issue of money, and
the issue and sale of postage stamps.
In each of these three lines of business
he is absolutely without competition. 10
state of the union may establish custom
| houses or impose any restrictions what
ever upon the flow of commerce across its
borders, although they may all levy taxes
upon any kind of property or business
within their several bounds. No state or
individual may coin or issue money, but
it is a remarkable and little known fact
that the inhibition against individual
coinage is of comparatively recent en-
actment.
The constitution of the United States
provides that no state shall coin money !;
but it seems that individuals might do So
up till about the time of the late civil
war. OF course, it has always been
against the law to counterfeit or initiate
| the coinage of the United States, and so,
necessarily, a coin issued by a private
mint would have to be so distinctive in
shape or markings as to show that it was
not intended to pass as federal money
For this reason the $50 gold coins or
! tokens issued by several private minis in
California during the flush times of the
SOS were octagonal in shape.
PRIVATE MINIS.
Gold coins were also issued by the Nor
mons of Utah at about the same time and
the same thing has been done by parties
in Georgia and North Carolina.
Probably the latest of these private
minis was the one established in Denver
| in the early COS. 1t is said that the coin
age of this establishment being brought
to the attention of Secretary Chase, that
eminent tnancier was much astonished TO
find respectable firm of bankers engaged
in making and uttering money, and was
still further surprised when the Attorney
! General of the UnitedStates declared they
had the right to do so.
This incident caused the passage of a
| law absolutely prohibiting individuals
from issuing or circulating anything IN
| tended in any manner to serve as money.
THE POSTAL MONOPOLY.
But it is in his little stamp business
! that our thrifty relative has his greatest
monopoly. Postage stamps cost him only
/ d low GGLbo iICL JIlUuoduu W DIllb, anu nt
sells hundreds and hundreds of millions
of them every year at prices ranging from
| $40 up to 81 900 or more per thousand.
| That, however is only one way of look
| ing at it. The printing and sale OF the
stamps is only one-half of the transaction,
and by the time Uncle Sam redeems them
| by performing the service which they
call for, he seldom has any profit left, and
| 1t frequently happens that he must draw
upon his bank account to make up a de-
felt.
There is considerable profit in trans
| porting letters by the ton and the carload
between large cities at cents apiece, but
it is the carrying of the light mails over
| the thousands of "star routes" all over
the country that absorbs the profits.
1t costs more to carry "a handful of let
tiers by mule back to Bitter Root, or Dog
! Tooth, or Goose Creek, than it does to
carry a whole bag full from New York to
| Chicago
1t is seldom that Uncle Sam INDUCES in
anything like sentiment, but the old gen
| tleman did so in the recent matter of the
! Columbian stamps, and now he finds it
didn't pay. He contracted to have 3 200
millions of these made at a cost of II
! cents per thousand, or a little over a half
million of cool cash dollars for the mere
item o printing alone
There was quite rush for the new Sc
ries when they were first put on sale
about year ago, but the novelty soon
1 wore off. and it became only TOO apparent
that the public preferred the old styles.
Here was quandary Seventy-four
| dollars and thirty cents per million for
printing the old style which the public
wanted, as against $40 per 100000 for
printing the new which they evidently
did not want. However, the contractors
! generously released the government from
one-third of the contract, and now ad-
| dressed himself to the task of working off
the remainder of the 1000 millions that
were printed and delivered.
And Just here shows up one of the beau
ties of doing business which is an abso-
| Lutte monopoly.
When, at the closing up of the year Just
ended, Uncle Sam found himself with
165, 900, 900 of the undesirable and unsala-
! BILE "Colum bias still on hand, he simply
prorated the entire stock among the 5000
and odd postoffices in the country, and
sent them out, with instructions to the
postmasters to give the public nothing
else until this stock shall be worked OF.
TO PRINT HIS OWN STOCK.
Uncle Sam is thinking of printing his
stamps himself instead of letting out the
! job by contract, and there would seem to
! be no good reason why he should not do
so. He can probably have it done as
cheaply and as well in his own bureau of
! engraving ana pruning as III is now done
! by contract, and there are many reasons
why it would be beneficial to the public
service.
Under the contract system the stamps
are made by one firm in New York, the
envelopes are furnished by another firm
| in Connecticut, while still a third firm
supplies the postal cards.
| The government is under the necessity
of maintaining an agent with assistants
at each of these places, and these agents
must exercise the strictest oversight of
! the whole business from the taking in of
the blank paper to the sending out of the
finished supplies upon the acquisitions of
! the pustmasters
! Al these acquisitions must reach the
! agencies from the postmasters through
the departments at Washington, and all
complaints from the postmasters on &C
count Of shortage or miscount must travel
through the same channel, thus involving
much delay and red tape.
| Then again, all stamps damaged in the
making must be transmitted by the agent
! to the department for destruction If
but a single stamp is imperfect on a sheet
| the whole sheet is sent ia Washington
! and destroyed. Four or five million of
stamps are thus RENTED to the depart
ment every week, where they are care
| f,,11. oonnfn1 and 49, Il.