The Republican journal., 1919-10-23
Address of Hon. Carter B. Keene

Address of Hon. Carter B. Keene
Director of the United States Postal Saw.
inss System, Before the Maine Press
Association at Portland on October 10,
1919
The postal service is the one Govern
ment enterprise that knocks at every
door and touches every phase of human
interest and activity. England Instituted
her service for the accommodation OF
royalty and for military advantage. Inc
American postal service was established
for the people and the pursuits of peace.
"Ship letters,' or letters from over
seas, are the first communications men
toned in our colonial history. In 1859,
the General Court of Massachusetts, or
dered that all ''letters from beyond the
seas" be deposited with Richard FAIR
banks of Boston, who was to receive one
penny each for their delivery Thus
Richard became first postmaster OF record
in America. And since Massachusetts,
and Maine were then one, may we not
claim that the American postal service
had its birth in "Our StateY' But should
it be urged that Richards narrow func-
tiops did not entitle him 20 the dignity
and glory of first postmaster, our prestige
is not impaired, for the frst pupllc
post in Amer ca was established IN boston
in 1877, when the General Court OF Mas
sachusetts commissioned John hayward
postmaster Ito take in and convey letters
according to their direction"
The first newspaper Ill the colonies ap-
peared in Boston in l7O4. John Campoell,
a Scotch bookseller, was the puDlsner'
also postmaster of his city. The following
notice appeared in the first number:
CAN persons in town and county
NAV have said News Letter weekly,
upon reasonable terms, agreeing with
John Campbell, postmaster, Tor the
same"
So even in the early days we find the
press and the post closely allied. lndefl-
mite as were the subscription rates. ea-
sonable terms''-may we not assume that
the literary Scotchman pitched upon rates
fair to the publisher, Just to the Govern
ment. and reasonable to the pubic-a de-
liehtful trinity, which some barge has
been Jared in the shifting events OF later
years?
Poorly paid as were postmasters IN the
colonial days, there came to their relef
some compromising advantages then that
would be alluring even in our day. one
of the early Philadelphia postmasters was
Andrew Bradford, publisher of the ''Mer-
cury.'' By strange coincidence the
Mercury was delivered by mail, VIII Its
competitor, FIR nklin's Philadelphia Ga
zette, was not. A little later Franklin
succeeded to the postmastershlp, ana IN
commenting on his new assignment SAID:
81 accepted it readily and found 1t
of great advantage; for, though lhe
salary was small, it facilitated the
correspondence that improved my
newspaper, increased the number de-
manded, as we'll as the ADVERTISE
ments to be inserted, so that 1t came
to afford me considerable income
BENJAMIN Frank in, Massac born,
was the great NOV ng genius III our postal
growth Successful administration OF the
Philadelphia post office and his wide repu-
tation for business sagacity led to his ap-
pointm mt in 1853 as Deputy Postmaster
General of America. Out of meagre and
scattered postal facilities, he began the
construction of an orderly and CO ordi-
mated service and, while the results OF his
labor appear almost ridiculous when COM
pared with the under akings of later years,
the fact remains that Franklin was the
man Of vision and force who blazed the
way for the superb postal privileges we
enjoy today.
Franklin held his commission under
British rule until 1774, when he was
DISPLACED by freak of ministers" as he
described it. The Continental Congress
soon undertook the anagement of postal
affairs and he was the unanimous choice
eor Postmaster General under American
authority. The Revolutionary struggle
forced Franklin mo important helds
abroad, and out of his memorable service
in France we see Lafayette beside Wash
ington at Yorktown and Pershlng BESIDE
Focb at the Marine. The postal service
almost disappeared during our eight-year
CONQUEST for independence. The army
was its chief patron and the Deputy Post
maste- General followed the troops from
place TO place on foot IN heroic effort to
keen hem in touch with home;
On the adoption OF the constitution,
the Government took over What was !ele
of the Colonial system-28 post o1ilces, IA
of which were in M massachusetts,, and a
few broken down mali routes. oamuei
Osgood of Massachusetts,, appointed IN
iJSg, was the llESt oSliHdStCl NSHSAo4
under our constitutional form of Govern
menv New York and Boston were the
leading postal centers But their business
was amazingly limited. Sebastian Bau-
man, the first postmaster OF New 7 ork
under Osgood, kept his office In grocery
store and his clerks boarded with him IL
part payment of their salaries. In 1917
the force of the office was reduced to two
clerks because of lack of business, New
York today has postal roll of over TO-
900. The postal force Of Boston consisted
of a postmaster and two clerks as late as
1917 1t is now 5000.
Congress early contra cted the habit o.
investigating the executive departments
"a habit which has never entirely dlsap'
peared-and as the result of one OF thf
first investigations the postal activities
in our own state are disclosed. Amons
the mail routes in operation in the Unitet
States from October 5, 1889, to Januar,
5, 1890, was one from Portsmouth tt
Portland and one from Portland to WIS
casset These routes and terminal pos
offices came from colonial days. JOSEPH
Barnard was the post-rider from Ports
mouth to Portland and 5000 per annun
was paid him for three trips week II
the summer and two in the winter. WIS
casset's mail supply was meagre indeed
Richard Kimball was the post-rlder ant
p,ada a trim everv two weeks for 81 so De