The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1897-04-20
THE PEOPLE PARALYzKD BY THE
POWER OF The PURSE.

POWER OF THE PURSE.
By WALTER CLARK. LII. D.. Raleigh, N. c.
"Go, my son." said the great Chan
cellor Oxenstiern to his son, who was
setting out on the grand tour OF Europe.
Go, and see with what little wisdom
the kingdoms of the world are gov
erned." 1t is true today, as then, and
of republics no less than monarchies.
We need not take time to refer to Car
negie and the iron,armor matter, as
to which the government was shown
to have paid $500 per ton for steel
armor which the same establishment
was furnishing at the sam9 time to the
Russian government, laid down in Rus
sia, at $247 per ton. There are many
similar incidents, though smaller per
haps In the amount of the frauds, to
be found in other departments of the
government. The object of this arti-
Gle, however, is not to expose frauds.
It seems an endless and a bootless I'M
dertaking-but to point out some Of
the maladministration of that great
department of the government which
comes nearest the citizen and visits
him more frequently than any other,
the tax collector not excepted, and
whose agents constantly go in and out
among US and whose tolls are a daily
tax upon cur pockets-the postofice
department.
The growth of this department is
more phenomenal than that of the re
public itself. Starting with rs post
masters an annual expenditure Of $37,-
900 under Washington, it had grown in
1886 so as to report $1,000 postmasters
81, 600, 900 of expenditures, and this q
constantly decreasing rate Of changes,
which, by that date, had come down
to 8 cents for the carriage of / CT. let
ters anywhere in the republic. The
ten years since 1886 have seen postage
reduced to 2 cents for LOUNGE letters
and the p~ostofice department increased
to near 5000 postmasters and $92. 900,
900 expenditures. What it will be
even ten years hence if the proposed
reduction of letter postage to 1 cent
shall be made, and especially if tele-
graph or telephone offices shall be es-
tablished by the government, with low
rates, at every postCmce In the land,
in town and country, nc man a esti-
mate.
In the main, the subordinates of the
postofice do their work efficiently and
honestly. There is no department or
organization working a large force of
ment, scattered widely apart, which
can show a smaller percentage of de-
falcations or fewer derelictions in duty.
There is no complaint Of the working
staff, of the vast mass of men who do
the drudgery and the labor of the
great machine which is SO material to
the comfort and convenience of the
public. If there had been shortcom
form long since. When the depart
ment Immediately touches the people
it is usually regular and irreproach-
able. Yet there are vast defects, Grim
inal shortcomings, which, stupendous
In amount Of losses, prevent better.
ment and ameiiorations in the service
rendered the public. 1t is of those
thRt this article wishes to treat.
The two gravest defects in the ad-
ministratio1 of the p~ostofice depart
ment are the enormous overchRrges
paid to the railway service, amounting
to fully SIS, O0O, 600 annual loss to the
government, and the prevention by
corporate influences of the adoption of |
the telegraph and telephone as a post !
office betterment and facility, although !
they have been adopted by the post
office department in IS per cent. of all
the post6fices in the other civilized
governments Of the world.
And firstly, the o~vercharges paid the
railways for mail service are such as
D. stagger belief. According to the
postmaster generals report the gov
eminent pays 8 cents per pound for
the transportation Of mail matter in
addition to paying rental for the pos.
tai cars, while the express companies,
which make large profits, are charged
1 cent per pound and less for the same
service. And not only this, but while
the average life OF a postal car ia 20
years, the government pays on an av-
erage 200 per cent on the cost Of G pos
tai car as yearly rental in addition to
paying 8 times the charge per pound
paid by express companies for hauling
the car.
To get down to details: Postmaster
General Bisselrs report for 1894, p. So, |
- ncnE o. .I.--H-L L