Year: 1875

tive by which the Post Office Department


was empowered TO carry in the mails, a


mailable matter of the third class, in addi,


ton to pamphlets. cards, engravings


seeds, cuttings, bulbs, roots. cions, and &


long list of articles of a similar nature
enumerated, all other articles not above


four pounds in weight, which are not


from their form or nature liable TO destroy


deface or Otherwise injure the mailbag OF


the person of any one engaged in the post


al service. All liquids, poisons, glass,


explosive material and obscene books were
excluded. This opened the mails to the


reception of vast quantity of small pack


ages which were to be conveyed from one


part of the country to another, and lnsur-
ed for such parcels prompt dispatch to the
remotest part of the United States, at a
charge of but one cent for each two ounces
or fractien thereof.


The regulations governing the class OF


matter referred to are few and simple. All
packages must be so wrapped, with open
sides or ends, that their contents may be
readily and thoroughly examined by the
postal clerks without despoiling their
wrappers. No writing is permitted ex-
cept the address of destination, and to en-
| close or conceal a letter, or write or print
any thing upon newspaper or other
matter enclosed as a merchandise pack
age, subjects the sender to prosecution
and fine. If it is necessary to break or
tear a wrapper, letter rates are to be col
lected on packages so wrapped, when they
are delivered.


Some idea of the extent of the business
done under this law may be gathered
| from the returns made for fifty of the
the leading cities in the United States for
the month of December, 1874 In four
weeks 225,733 packages of merchandise,
weighing ll0,473 pounds, were sent
| through the mails. In the same time at
! the New York Office alone, the number of
pie, es was S5,G54, weighing 36, ,905 pounds.
This may be taken as a good average
months work. so that in the course of the
year nearly 500, 1000 pounds of this class of
matter will be sent from the office in this
| city.


The advantages OF the new law have
been very great to retail dealers, who
have hitherto been compelled, in order to
! accommodate out-of-town customers, to
send packages of samples and small Or
ders of goods by express companies at
great expense. They are now enabled to
send such parcels at comparatively light
cost. A few of the large houses send the
bulk of the matter dispatched. but great
deal of it is also mailed by persons out of
business. The variety of matter thus sent
is astonishing.


At the General Post-effice in this city
the examination of these parcels is carried
on under the eye of Mr.. John w. Brady,
who has under him a force employed dur.
ing part of each day in this business
alone. They sit at long counter upon
which the contents of the pouches are
poured, and each is carefully inspected be-
fore it is allowed to pass. Although time
enough has elapsed since the law became
effective to permit every body to become
acquainted with the regulations under
which its privileges may be enjoyed, a
few minutes observation will suffice to
show that there is much ignorance yet
upon the subject, and not little defiance
of the law. Here you see pile of stuff
two or three feet deep. The first package
taken from it contains a simple pipe, care
fully enclosed, which is so securely pack
ed that the postal clerk would be entitled
to assess letter rates, because he cannot
readily examine it. The Postmaster Gen
eral has recently issued instructions that
third-class mail matter must be wrapped
so as to admit of examination without de-
s.roying the wrapper. When pestmasters
cannot make an examination of the con-
tents of a package of third-class matter,
without DESTROYING the wrapper, such
package must be rated letter postage, to be
collected on delivery, and under no cir
cumstances can Postmaster tear, cut or
destroy the wrapper of any package what
ever which may be in transit through his
Office"


Next a thin package is drawn out. its
wrapper is slipped Off, and in two or three
folds of paper a photograph is inclOsed.
On the back of the photograph is tender
line with the signature of the sender. The
wrappings are returned. and for this in
fringement of the law the recipient of the
package will have to paw double letter.
rates. Another package is box, tied up.
and open at the end and through the open
ing are seen folds OF white paper. The
cords are quickly cut, two long strips Of
paper are unrolled, and cracker is finally
discovered as the kernel of this nut. which
is to be cracked by somebody who will
understand the joke better than do the pos
tai clerks.


Again, a small box is opened, which
contains besides set of gold and rubber
earrings. a letter from the young ladv
sending them, to her friend, neither of
whom will learn, perhaps, that they have





toriety by breaking the laws, and to the
loss of five dollars for doing so into the
bargain. Mr.. Brady says that majority
of the cases of Infringement of the regula-
tons are made by women. who do not
seem to understand what law means.
and many of those from whom additional
rates have been collected for their neg
ligence have complained bitterly of the
hardship they have been obliged to under
go.


Ifa package is so stamped that the clerk
finds it necessary TO destroy the stamp in
order to examine the contents, letter rates
are charged.


As an instance Of the cheapness of the
rate at which goods can be sent by mail, it
is related that an officer Of the United
States army at Fort Scott had an entire
outfit, including a suit of clothes and
many small articles, done up in packages
of four pounds each. the whole filling
mail pouch. sent to his post at an expense
of about five dollars. whereas the cost by
express would have been twenty dollars
A bonnet. upon which the express compa-
nies would charge dollar and half for
transportation to Chicago, was sent
through the mail for eight cents. The
Government is not responsible for damage
done to goods carried. The result of this
patronage of the mails has been cores
ponding loss to the express companies,
who are now said to be endeavoring to
secure the repeal of the law. Such a
movement is likely to be met with warm
opposition, as the success of it would Sc
cure to the express companies the mo-
nopoly of the business. As the articles
conveyed are usually of such nature as
to withstand ordinary usage, it is argued
by the dealers that they can be as satisflc-
torily carried by that method as by the ex-
press con panies. The mails go to out-of-
the way places to which it would be ex-
ceedingly expensive to express packages,
and with no more delay than attends the
transmission of letter.