The National tribune., 1906-06-07

the battle-fires kindled at Bunker Hill
in 1775, and rekindled on the other sid,
of the Atlantic in 1856, the spirit O
liberty rose. Illuminating the political
social and commercial world.
For centuries the rich and powerful
had ruled church and state alike; tn,
many were kept in serfdom that the
Few might enjoy wealth and power. :,
few years of struggle changed this. The
Declaration of Independence in Ameri.
ca, the eloquence of Chatham and Burke
In England, and the teachings of Frank.
lin impressed new ideas on Europe and
America. Freedom came, greater re.
sponsibility for the individual and great
er liberty.
One method of expressing this sense
of greater liberty and responsibility was
found in the organization of better mail
facilities. They in the business world
reach down to the people as the ballot
box does in the political world. The
ballot-box enables man to assert him
self in the politics of the Nation, and
post Offices furnish him the opportunity
OF sharing in its prosperity. 1t was
therefore natural that when equality
came into political life the rapid postal
service should quickly follow it, each in
its own way tending to uplift the people
and strengthen the Nation.
Queer Mail Routes.
One of our mail routes in Alaska uses
ships and canoes and dog teams and
sleds. II is q route more than 1000
miles long, and carries the mails into
the lar interior. where the Yukon River
reers in the solitudes. Four round trips
are made over this route each year, and
each trip costs S1,495. The letter car
riers who do this work do not wear the
neat uniforms that we see on the car
riers at home. They are gaunt athletes.
ready to swim a river full of drift ice
II need be, and thinking nothing of
Sleeping in a blanket and a rough tent
by the side of the trail with the ther-
mometer far below zero. The post Office
at Point Barrow, in Alaska, is the most
northern Office in the world. Never be-
fore was mail delivered so near the
North Pole, and. of course, the two-cent
stamp only pays a fraction of the cost
of carrying each letter.
Mails on whasers.
Even whaling ships are used in car
rying the United States mails. They go
far north into Bering Sea. One mail
route is attended to entirely by steam
whalers that sail from Seattle. These
ships take letters and packages from
home to men hidden away in the frozen
country north of the Bering Straits. The
whalers and sealers in the Arctic Circle
are hunted for by the Postal Service,
and it tries to deliver their mail to
them. though they may have been CT lis
ing for a year or more. Sometimes II
viii send their mail from ship to ship,
until at last one will find the vessel and
send the letters aboard. They may be
many months old by that time, but they
are none the less welcome, and they are
-ead over and over in the dim light Fl ON
oil lamps in the laboring, tempest-beat-
en- ships.
: Extra Labor of Improbable Features.
AS evidence of tl.e additional work
thrown on a Postal Service by the saw
s ings bank and telegraph features 1t may
I be stated that while Great Britain mas
less thar one-third as many post offices
as the United States she has more tiian
:fwc-thirds as many employees. both
these ventures are, moreover. notorious
ffy Improbable.
An Official With a Grievance.
A Postmaster who Is not afraid to
assert his claim for larger measure
of consideration writes: II have been
handling our stamps and mail matter
for over five years, and haven't very
much to complain OF personally In my
relations with the Department at Wash
ington. But / am impressed with the
fact that IN the newspapers. the COM
munications of the Department 10 Con-
gress nor anywhere else under the star
spangled canopy does 1t occur to ary-
one that improvement is needed in the
condition of things as far as fourth
class Postmasters are concerned. Over
10000 Of us. and We have less influence
than little bunch of letter carriers er
railway mail clerks OF course, the Sc
cret is organization and the ability 10
impress Congressman. But 1 don't
grudge them what they get: IT is none
II In .Nzf4 ers.f
enough. The idea of having to fur
nish facing slips. note-heads for our
correspondence and a hundred other ne
cessities of the business does make
man warm under the collar when he
stops to think about it,
Day of Small Things.
An ancient letter recently discovered
in Massachusetts, shows the small be-
ginning OF the Postal Service that now
handles hundreds of millions OF dollars
in its administration and operation. 1t
was written by Timothy Pickering, the
second Postmaster-Ge General. and is ad-
dressed to Alexander Hamilton. Secre-
tary of the Treasury. 1t is dated in
Philadelphia 10 years ago, and timidly
seeks to ascertain whether an annual
expenditure OF $500 for the administra-
tion of the Postal Service at that time
would be regarded by the guardians of
lut Dtoplt y Hiouty ds a
travagance. The Mr.. Osgood mentioned
was the first of the long line of Post
masters-General. The letter strangely
contrasts the cost of the service in those
days and the present as follows:
General Post Office, March 9. 1892.
"To Hon. Alexander Hamilton, Secre-
tary OF the Treasury.
Sir: After much inquiry / have found
a house which would accommodate my
numerous family and at the same time
give me office room. The grestly-ey-
teaded business of the Department. /
think, may be accomplished with the
fame help which has been used since
the time of Mr.. Osgood's appointment,
30 wit. an assistant and clerk. For
these, with the necessary writing desk,
table. boxes, cases and shelves for a
considerable bulk of books and papers.
would sufficiently occupy one room and
another would be convenient for my
self A servant, also. will be wanted to
keep the rooms in order. make fire and
perform other services These services.
employ a domestic servant, but one Sc
1ectef with reference to such public
service.
IF for the two rooms for the general
post office. q cellar for wood, and the
necessary attendance of my domestic
servant, might make a charge of about
$500. would then engage the house
referred to. but previous TO such en-
gagement i wish to obtain your opinion
Of the propriety Of the charge.