Evening star., 1912-07-07

two postal services. Needless to say, the
man in those unfortunate northern Vlr-
ginia parts was mighty lucky If he ever
got letter that was mailed to him.
Yet the entries covering this subject In
the old records evnce a philosophic ac-
ceptance of the inevitable. There is no
sign Of peevish railing at fate, but post
offices abandoned, re-established and re-
abandoned are cheerfully re-established
again, as though it was all in the day S
work. Doubtless when the pendulum OF
the southern fate was swinging back
and forth in such a wide arc, the mere
matter of having a seasons postal work
wiped out by the result OF single battle
did not affect men whose eyes were fixed
rather upon the question Of their national
life.
AS may be readily supposed. such
state Of affairs bred careleSSnesS, not
only in the service of carrying and de-
livering mails, but also in the very keep
ing of these. the principal records. There
are copious instances Of an order appoint
ing a special agent or affirming con-
tract for the carrying Of the mail, where
in the records are made up with Woeful
carelessness thus: with compensation at
the rate of $ per -. commencing with
the day of -, 1862" These, 1t
must be remembered, were the original
ings, and in case of dispute, the parties
would have had to rely upon them alone
"a matter of SO much waste paper, as
far as it's value as legal proof goes. since
the blank spaces had been careleSSly lelt
untitled.
In February. 1862, the president of the
Confederacy called for a roster of the
members of the force employed in the
postal service. in the department at Rich
mond, with their compensation. The en-
try Of this shows that there were fifty
seven persons, from postmaster general
to Watchman, employed there. The sum
total Of all salaries paid them was
little less than $4,000 a year, being a
little over hundred dollars a month
average.
In this matter of salaries, one observes
that, as the months have gone by, the
unselfiShneSS exhibited oy the pioneer en-
ployes in the infant department, having
doubtless been sorely tried by the hard
ships of war, especially from the blockade.
has begun to wear thin in spots. There
is an entry on this subject, made in the
latter part of 1863, that illumines dark
and dismal situation in the financial
affairs of the Confederacy. Owing to the
inability of the authorities to get stamps
printed. the various pOstmasters had been
postage. merely marking the letter as
prepaid.
Now. since there were no stamps to be
purchased, people sending letters merely
paid for each single letter as they sent
it, The result was that the receipts OF
the post offices were made up almost en-
tirely of small coins Of the United States.
which continued all through the war to
circulate at par. These coins were turn
ed into the post Office department at
Richmond by the various postmasterS
throughout the country, which. in turn,
paid the coin, in kind, into the Confed-
crate treasury.
Now, these coins, we have seen, were
worth par But, along in the days of
1863 and subsequently, the value of the
paper money of the Confederate govern
ment rapidly deprecated. Consequently,
when the postal authorities made q requi
Etion on the treasury for funds Tor