Evening journal., 1911-05-04
NEW NEWS OF YESTERDAY
A Sidelight on LlnCOln'S
First Postmaster
General

By sHonaDd."


OF the members Of President Lin
coins cabinet three gained fame and
Will always be prominently associated
in history with the Lincoln adminis-
tration and the conduct of the Civil
War--William II Seward, Secretary Of
State; Salmon p. Chase. Secretary Of
the Treasury, who left the cabinet TO
become Chief Justice Of the United
States, and Edwin NJ. Stanton, Secre-
tary of War. And yet perhaps the SER
vice of Montgomery Blair as Postmas-
r-General from 1851 to September,
1864, was in its way quite as important
as was the service of Seward, or
Chase, or Stanton, since It developed
upon Blair TO maintain and improve
the postal service in the Critical years
of Lincoln's administration-in the
years when the postal service was the
only means Of communication between
the armies Of the North and the loved
ones back home"
One Of the men who knew Mr. Blair
we'll was James Henry Marr, who at
the time of his death In the middle
eighties was the oldest man in point
of continuous service in the Govern
ment Departments. he having entered
the Postoffice Department in Jack
sons administration and continued
therein through all succeeding admin
istrations into ClevelandB.
II knew Mr.. Blair before he became
Postmaster-General," said Mr.. Marr 10
me one day in the early eighties. II
first met him during Buchanan's ad-
ministration and about the time he
was the counsel for the defendant in
ba 20
that time he got into the habit Of drop
ping into the Postoffce Department
whenever he was in Washington-his
home was nearby in Maryland-and
many a half-hour he spent chatting
with me at my desk He was an ex-
ceedingly gentle hammered man, and
yet it was easy TO see that he was a
man of firm determination. II he were
gentle, he certainly was not weak.
When / picked up my paper one
morning in 1861 and read that Mr..
Blair had been appointed Postmaster
General by Lincoln, I was overjoyed;
by that time he and / had become firm
friends, and l was chief clerk in the
office of the First Assistant Postmas-
ter-General. At the first opportunity |
called upon him TO pay my respects
and give hin. my congratulations. He
received me like an old friend. He told
me to draw my chair up TO his desk.
He looked at me with a little twinkle
in his eye. recalling, ] am sure, the
many chats we had had. At last he
spoke.
Mr. Marr, said he, don't you
think the Government can get along
without you?
For a moment wondered whether
politics were not going to make It
necessary for some one to be appoint
ed I'm my place But | replied bravely:
Yes. the Government can get
along without me, but how could I,
after my long service in this depart
ment get along without the Govern
ment? .-...
Mr. Blair bestowed upon me his
most cordial smile. Well, Mr. MARI
he said. firmly. the Government is not
going to get along without you while
am here, Then he looked at me in
tently. '
Mr. Marr, he said, did It ever oc-
cur TO you that the Postoffice is the
onN department of the Government
with which all of the people all Of the
time are brought. into personal touch
with their country and their govern
ment at Washington? For. you see,
the Postofiice is everywhere, the post
master is the only visible represent
ative of the government at Washing
ton that literally millions of people are
brought in contact with. They don't
see the tax collector because most Of
our taxes are indirect; they don't see
the soldier, although / am apprehen-
sive that they may speedily see too
many Of them. But the flag of the
United States floats ofiicially over
every Postoffice in the country.
Nov, don't you think, Mr.. Mari,
that y ou and ought TO do everything
We an while we are in this depart
ment to bring the people into even
closer touch with their government?
It's great opportunity for both of us
VIII you help me? / shall need all the
help can get
That" continued Mr.. Marr. was
the way in which one Of the greatest
/ ostmasters-General l have person
! ally known--and | have known them
| all since 135S--counseied with one OF
his subordinates few days after he
became Postmaster-General And be-
cause he ran the department in that
spirit, free delivery of mail was intro
| duced in the cities, aud sorting Of the
mails on postal cars was begun, and
other improvements looking to bring
ing the people into closer touch with
their government at Washington were
made"
Copyright 1911. by e. J. Edwards
All rights reserved.)
Tomorrow Mr.. Edwards will tell
n