Evening star., 1925-07-23

There is nothing new under the
sun"-not even new ideas about cheap
postage and its effect upon the rev.
enues Of the Post Office Department
and the welfare of the people.
Congress Is ever seeking the opin-
ions Of experts-as 1t is doing today
concerning how to make the postage
rate the most advantageous, and
there are always divergent theories.
One party stands for high rates. fear
ing that if the postage is less than
the cost Of carriage the advantage will
accrue to big business" at the ex-
pense of the general taxpayera the
other, ever declaring that cheap post.
age makes for more abundant mails
and actual net profits, besides adding
to the prosperity Of the masses, the
intimate correspondence Of individuals
and the "solidarite" of the Nation. In
the midst of the congressional hear
ings on the subject at the Capitol, let
us listen in" to what was said 80
years ago by our forefathers on the
same problem.
X X X x
Until 1885 no statesman or econ
omist seriously advocated cheap post
age, but the whole effort was to
charge high enough rates to make
each letter pay the cost of handling.
This was the theory both in England
and the United States.
A movement for cheap postage was
inau gurated in England by a member
of Parliament, Rowland Hill, which
resulted in the passage of the first
law on that basis in 1889. Some time
after the lowered rates had been in
effect London committee, which had
in charge a national testimonial to
Mr.. Hill, wrote of his measure that it
was 1.-The greatest boon conferred in
modern times on all the social inter-
ests of the civilized world"
Parliament did not expect that the
increase in volume would be sufficient
to Offset the lower rate, but voted for
the reduction on the ground that the
government ought to make sacri-
fee for the purpose of facilitating
communication" Also, as expressed
by the postmaster general, the Earl
Of Lichfleld. 1.-THE demand for it was
universal. So obnoxious was the tax
on letters that he was entitled to say
that the people had declared their
readiness to submit to any inpost that
might be substituted in its stead"
n u X X
In spite of the fact that cheap post
age demonstrated it's success and pop
ularity in England, Americans hesi-
tated to follow the English lead for
eight years, arguing that, on account
of the long distances and sparse pop
ulation here, conditions were very diff
ferent from those in England, and re-
quired higher postage.
But in those days there was much
"bootlegging' of mail by private COM
petitors Of the Post Office Department.
The private and unlawful carrying of
mail was greater than the volume car
ried by the postal service. This form
of smuggling was prevalent also in
England, but the English never had
the courage to make it a. criminal Of
fense; they tried to meet 1t only by
reducing rates and giving better serv-
ice, thereby driving out the private
competitors.
In the United States a report of a
Events are in progress of fatal tend
ency to the Post Office Department,
and its decay has commenced.
This Illicit business has
been some time struggling through
its incipient stages; for it was not un-
til the year commencing the 1St OF
July, 1840, that it appears to have
made a serious impression upon the
revenues of the department. 1t has
now assumed a bold and determined
front, and dropped it's DISCUSSES;
opened Offices for the reception of let
ters and advertised the terms on
which they viii be dispatched out of
the mail The number OF
chargeabJe letters in circulation, ex-
elusive of dead letters, during the year
ending June 80, 1840, may be assumed
at 27,535,554. The annual number
now reported to be in circulation is
24,287,55 Thus, 3,26s,000 letters a
year and $543.340 Of annual revenue