Marietta daily leader. (Marietta, Ohio) 1895-1906, 1899-02-05
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= A Preacher
- Among the People. ).

A TWO CENT sTAMP.

him, he paid for 1t, stuck IL on the
envelope containing letter, deposited
the missive in the box, then went his
way The transaction is one that can
be witnessed scores of times every day
by those who frequent modern post
office; but it may not suggest to every
one who witnesses it the tremendous
revolution that has recently taken
place in the postal department Of mod
ern civilization. A few days ago
lady friend showed me, among other
relies, by which she sets great store,
copy Of the Farmers Amanick, cal
culated on a new and improved plan,
for the year of our Lord, 1900" AS l
turned its leaves examining the con-
tents, l came upon a table which gave
rates of postage of every single letter
by land" From that table ! learned
that in the United States, In the year
of our Lord, 1900. it cost six cents to
end letter thirty miles by land.
The cost which was based upon the
lumber of miles a letter was sent, in
sased as follows: sixty miles, eight
cents; 100 miles, 10 cents; $50 miles,
.21s cents; 200 miles. Is cents; $50
miles, II cents; $50 miles, 20 cents;
l5O miles, 25 cents. The following note
was appended to the table, mo allow
| ance is to be made for intermediate
| miles Every double letter is to pay
double the rates; every triple letter,
triple every package Weighing one
ounce at the rate of four single let
ters for each ounce.
In addition to the fact that the rates
of postage were very high in the year
1900, the mails were very irregular.
| Under such circumstances 1t was eX-
ceedingly difficult for one part OF the
country to maintain social or CONNER
clal relations with another and local
prejudices were so very intense that in
many cases they seemed to blind the
people completely to the principle of
mutual interest But before the first
half of the century was passed reforms
we're set on foot, the far reaching and
| beneficial effects of which are not yet
| fully realized. The question of rapid
and regular transportation of the
mails was practically setteled by Geo.
| stephenson in $780, A few years later
Sir Rowand Hill, after collecting post
al statistics and making a careful
study of them, announced the fact that
the chief expense, incident to carry
ing letters was incurred in receiving
md distributing, "and that the cost of
conveyance differed so little with the
distance, that a uniform rate of post
age was in reality the fairest to all
parties that could be adopted" When
we recall the fact that at that time
the average charge on inland general
post letters in England was 1S cents,
and that the method of basing postal
charges on the distance the letter was
% be carried, must necessarily have
resulted in much inconvenience and
many serious complications, it is a
natter of no little surprise to us that
the reform proposed by Sir Rowland
Hill received such widespread con-
lemnation and was finally adopted
against the strenuous opposition of a
arge party in both Houses of Parlia-
nent.
The people of this world, so keen
md alert in many things, and yet so
stupid and blind in others, have long
oeen in the habit of ridiculing, abus-
ng and condemning their greatest
)enefactors before accepting the bless
vas no exception to the rule. The ex-
)erience of Hill with the British Par
lament is almost identical with that
If Prof. Morse, who a few years later
undertook to interest the United
states Congress in the electric tele-
3raph. In his history of the world,
!tidpath says: THE scene in either
stance of these pioneers before the
20 great representative law-making
bodies of the English speaking nations
nay well remind one of the attitude
If Columbus, surrounded by a group OF
bigoted monks and ignorant school
men, and trying to reveal to their bat
winged imagination the glories of
new world" But just as Columbus
succeeded in spite of the prejuice |
Of his time so did Hill, and
md prejudice of his time so did Hill,
the world, now realizing in some
measure at least, the mighty impulse
he gave advancing civilization by the |
noble service he rendered, has written |
Ills name high up among its honored |
lead. Stupid and contemplate local |
ipathies are inherited by civilized men |
from that far of time when the clan |
system prevailed over the face of the
earth, and the hand of every clan was !
'aised against its neighbors. They |
are pale and evanescent surviVals from |
he universal primitive warfare. and |
The sooner they die ont from the hui
nan society the better for every one.
But the only thing which can finally
destroy them, is the widespread and
intercourse of different
groups of people in peaceful social and
relations" When one
realizes the full force OF the above
statement, made by John Fisher in his
Critical Period of American His
he can appreciate more fully the
graaf anrNinn nf u Rnurln M nm ...LA- |