The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1913-08-15
Address by Judge Smith Mcpherson at the
Laying Of the Corner Stone Of the United
States Post Office Building at Red Oak,
Iowa, July "a, 1913.

Importance to this city and vicinity:
important as an utility, and important
as a reminder. Postal systems are
| but little over two hundred years old,
and yet aside from the legends OF
China the art Of printing has been
In use Eve hundred years. and that OF
writing In use from before the days
i of Moses.
1t was near the time OF the English
revolution that postal system began
development In that country. 1t
was much later that progress was
made In this country. Our country had
to await the birth and growth OF q
boyone who quarreled and fought
with his brothers. who ran from home.
who then grew to manhood. who then
snatched the lightning from the
clouds, and who became great
philosopher, a great diplomat, great
statesman, and a great patriot. This
boy and man. as you well know, was
Benjamin Franklin.
am not literally correct but reas-
onably accurate, In saying that to
Benjamin Franklin belongs the honor
Of concetvtng and developing our
postal system. He devoted much time,
and travelled immense distances for
those days, in putting 1t in operation.
For all practical purposes, he was our
first postmaster general. He sat as
delegate at the feet of his Gamaliel,
General Washington. in that great
convention Of 1887 that formulated our
national constitution. One of the
very wisest OF the provisions of our
constitution is that which provides
that congress shall have the power to
establish postofhces and post roads.
This means that no person and NO
corporation can operate postal sys-
TENS. This means that no state can
| by legislation adopt postal system
OF its own. It does mean that our
general government, and it alone, can
create and keep going one, and only
one, national postal system for the
use of all the people, with like ser
vice for all. And the growth of this
system is the marvel of time. The
first statute enacted by congress with
reference to this system was before
| the days of railroads, with postage
rate OF 25-cents per letter. At thai
time there were no steamboats,. ant
but few ferries. Stage coaches ant
1.-THE horseback4riders with saddie-bags
carried the mails. Letters to and
from foreign countries in those days
| took months of time before the an
swer was received With many coun
tries We could hold no communication
By letter. Think OF the marvellous
change,
! During Mr.. Lincoln'g administration
an Iowa man had grown into promin
Eence as IN orator, scarcely eciipsee
lby Gladstone or Ingersoll or Beecher
lor by Roscoe Conklin. That man was
John A kasson, at one time con
gresham from this district. Mr.
Lincoln gave him the position OF as
sistant postmaster general. Iowa ha:
had many men OF whose names VIZ
lare proud, and We are proud of tha
gifted statesman, John A. Kasson. HI.
lit was who first negotiated posta
treaties with many foreign nations
The system has SO grown that toda.
we can send to, and receive letter.
from, all foreign countries of ciytliza
ton with certainty and dispatch
And our citizens OF Swedish, English
Welsh, Irish and German birth, AM
native Americans as well, ought Il
revere the memory of John A. Kasson
Every postoffice in this country ough
to have tablet to keep his name be
fore all the people interested In send
ing mail to, or receiving It from. for
eign countries. We send letters 70
nominal postage to practically a.
parts Of the world. We send them t
the peasantry as well as to the nc
bility Of Russia, to Japan, to Korea
to China, as well as to Sweden, Gel
many and Great Britain We send lei
ters to the Fuphrates, where som
say once was the Garden Of Eden W
. send them to Africa, including III
place where Stanley found Liyins
ston but a few years ago.
. At home we have done splendidIj
: Letters are carried across the contIr
:, ent in four days Or less. Letters z
to New England IN two days; and til
second morning we have replies 1
:, our letters mailed during an afternoo
: to Denver, st. Paul. St Louis or On
:. cago. And we need not go to III
~ postofflce. Carriers through the hea
:. or storm Of the day place our mail q
=, the door, or on the Office table. Thee
- faithful carriers perform an irnpor
-, ant service in our everyday goci.
" and business life.
And nearly as well are the peopl
IN the country served. In 1899 ther
,on was not rural delivery carrier ,
No ms part of the state. In the yea
- - : 1900, but thirteen years ago, the FIR,
service Of that kind in this congre
s,onal district was established out ,
Hlisdale in Mills county. The sacor