Evening star., 1951-06-08
A Red Letter Day in Postal History
By Nothon Boone WiIIioms


l. useful and cherished institutions
of the people of the United States. Even
the tax collector is not quite so ubiqui-
tous in his contacts and relations with
the citizen as the postmaster and his
messengers.
The pervasive extent of work Of the
postof1ce was aptly described by Presi-
dent John Quincy Adams in his first
message to Congress. He wrote:
''The comfort Of friendly correspond
ence, the exchanges Of internal traffic,
and the lights of the periodical press
should be distributed to the remotest
corners of the Union, at a charge
scarcely perceptible to any individual
and without the cost Of a dollar to the
Public Treasury"
Alexis de Tocqueville, writing more
than lis years ago. observed:
Nothing but newspaper can drop
the same thought into thousand
minds at the same moment"
This student of American institutions
further said:
''The press is the chiefest democratic
instrument of freedom"
American free enterprise, science and
industry have further developed our
means Of communication by means of
the radio. and this, along with the
postal service. now carries thought to
every home. to every camp and to every
place where the pursuit Of pleasure,
happiness or material veal causes man
kind to undertake the activities which
go to make our present civilization.
Ger rugged hills and vallies wide,
He never yet has failed to trudge it;
AS steady as the flowing tide,
He hands about the NORTHERN
BUDGET.
BY this couplet did primitive post
rider advertise that he carried the mail
through the northern towns of New York
and stood ready to serve all who would
patronize him. This rider who passed
through the lonely woods of Colonial
days. rarely as often as once a week,
was the forerunner Of that matchless
system which performs the vast work
Of handling the mails of today.
The British postal service existed in
the American Colonies from 1892 to TITS.
It consisted Of really one main lane
paralleling the coast with branches few
and far between. This service was first
administered by private parties under
grant from William and Mary, and,
later. directly by the British government.
These crown postmasters had, or at
least they exercised, the fright" of
Spying upon the mails intrusted to
their care. This made 1t difficult and
dangerous for the liberty loving Colo
nists to communicate with each other.
The jealous representatives of England
also profeSsed to exercise a supervisory
care over the newspapers which were
printed In the Colonies and made arbi-
trary rules and regulations against those
publications which were outspoken in
their expressions Of condemnation of
things as they were then and which
dared to urge the liberty and independ-
ence Of the Colonies. Some papers were
shut out Of the mails and some were
forced to tone down their utterances.
A pound sterling was demanded to carry
$50 papers $50 miles.
The postoface led in the unifcation of
the Colonists. Paul Revere was the
confidential post rider Of Massachusetts.
but neighborhood affair had 1t not
been for the agency Of the postofice and
the patriotic publishers who sped the
news up and down the Atlantic coast.
The postal service, established approx
imately 100 years before the treaty Of
Client. which closed the War of Revolu-
ton, doubtless did more than any one
other agency to unity the colonies. 1t
brought their interests and endeavors to
a common meeting point. It brought the
leading men and women to know and
exchange ideas one with another Print
ing presses were established about the
same time that the postal service was
begun in America. Postmasters enjoyed
the privilege Of sending their mail free
Of postage. hence many postmasters
became publishers.
In this way the news of the doings of
the jealous colonistS was disseminated
and the opinions of these early post
master publishers given wide circulation.
It added an incentive to trade and in
tercourse. BY making the colonists
acquainted, If dissipated jealousies. The
growth Of the postofice from the
humble beginning Of a sturdy carrier
from Boston to New York loaded with
divers letters and small portable
packes" tthey had parcel post even in
those days. solidif1ed the colonists and
made their independence possible.
There was one intrepid editor who
refused to be bribed. bulldozed or put
out Of business for urging freedom for
the colonies. He insisted that Magma
Charta gave him the right to use the
facilities afforded by the postal service
upon equal terms with all others. When
his papers were refused the use of the
mails, he set about establishing what he
called "A Constitutional American Post
Office" He issued circular July 2, 1774
announcing his plan and went about the
colonies soliciting support. Committees
were appointed and subscriptions of
money secured, postmasters designated,
riders employed and a service was estab-
nshed which was instantly patronized.
Crown post riders found the roads un-
safe and resigned. Such was the work
Of William Goddard. printer Of the
Maryland Journal. BY the early part
Of ITS he had 20 Offices and nine post
riders covering the territory from
Massachusetts, to Virginia, including
Georgetown-on-th Potomac.
So runs the story till we arrive at