232 



POSTAL SERVICE. 



ment that we find the gentleman intrusted with 

 ministration in 1 790 -Samuel Osgood iu a letter to 

 Alexander Hamilton, gravely di.M-usj.iint the ; 

 whether the postmaster-general shou >p.iin-d 



,111 :it the i-eat of government wlii-H' 



the mails were i .1 dispatched, in order tliat 



he illicit per-"t>ally superintend (he work. The fol- 



lowiag ladle show.- the condition of tlie de|>artiiieut in 



7 '.HI. and 17'.' I : 



Kxpen- 



Yean. Office*. Mile*. Revenue, ditures. 



1789 (3 months i.ulvj -To #7,510 $7,560 



1790 "... 1>7:> 37,935 JVJ.lln 



17IM 89 1905 46,284 



Immediately niter the adoption of the Constitution 

 a law was enacted which eontinued for one year the 

 old poet-office establishment of the Confederation ; ami 

 this law was twice renewed, until in 17V-' a general act 

 was passed vatabli.-hiiig the post-office department upon 

 Mlbstantially the hasis which itOOBUpiedaoWD,to 

 hat this uet being limited in itsupenitinn to two years, 

 it was found necessary in 17'.4 to re-enact it, and with- 

 out limit. The rales uf poMane fixed by (hc-c two laws, 

 continuing until IT'J'.l, were as follows, being a consider- 

 able i -cr the rates previously prevail 1 



For every single letter, .-.-nt over 30 mill- ami m>t 



miles, s cents; over tio and not over 1 ' cents ; 



;! uml not over 160 miles, r.'i cei. aid nut 



over 200 miles, 15 cento ; over '.'00 and not over 2">0 miles, 



17 cento; over 250 and not over 350 miles, Ji> .cuts ; over 



350 and uot over 4.10 uiiK-s, J'J cento; over 450 miles, 25 



cento. 

 For every double Irtu-r, double these rates; triple letters, 



triple rate* ; every packet weighing oue ounce avoirdupois 



to par (our rates. 

 Letters and packets pacing by sea to and I'roni the I nil, I 



Suites, or iH'in one port to another tliirciii, 8, It!, nud 24 



iy, lor single, double, and triple letters. 

 Newij i sent not over 100 miles,! cent each; 



over: Free exchanges i>ermitted between 



publishers. 



Hy this act, too. authority was given the 1'ostniaMer- 



(ieticr.d I" provide for the transmi-Mon of letters to 



i countries by any means which in his judgment 



uiicht \n- proper. The following table r-liows the pro 



greanof the service under this schedule of po.-: 



Ex pen- 



Years. Offices. Miles. Revenue, ditm.'-. 



195 5,642 $67,443 $54,530 



1793 209 5,642 104,74ti 7L'.n:i 



1794 4,50 11,984 128,947 89,972 



17W 4.13 13,207 160,627 117,903 



1796 468 13,207 195,066 



1797- 554 16,180 213,998 l.lo.lH 



1798 n3H 16,180 232,977 169,084 



1799 677 16,180 264,846 188,037 



My act of March -. 17'.9. the rates of postage were 

 changed to the following a still further advance over 

 i he rate* of IT 



For evrry single letter, sent uot over 40 miles, - 

 ..-. i-r lo'mid not over UO miles, 10 cento; over 90 and nnt 

 1 1 to ; over 150 and not over 300 miles, 

 17 (!. laad not over 600 mile.-,-.i cents, lion Me. 



triplf, .in. I ounce rates, upon the same principle as in for- 

 mer act. 



Letter* or p. ,ut iuto tin- I mi.-. I States, or car- 



ried : i another, 6 cento, if for delivery 



tit the port ; it" lor interior delivery, 2 cents more. 



Newspaper*, same rales as before, except that if for deliv- 

 ery within the Slate where published 1 cent only 

 was chargeable. Free exchange* between publisher*. 



Magazine* and pamphlets, 1 cent a -licet for not over 50 

 miles; 1J cent for over .1o i :un I nut over 100 miles; and 2 

 .-aterdistnii' i was reck'.i 



.illumed with. .ut material alteration 

 until I 1 J14, "Inn .in addition of .00 percent, 



to all of thuui wa> authorized a war-measure which 

 addition remained in force until HI*. In islO, how- 



ever, the drop or local rate of postage on letters wu 



i. and for the Hrst time, at one cent each. The 

 i 1816 is shown in the follow- 

 .l.le : 



Kipen- 

 Yean. Offices. Miles. Revenue, ditures. 



11800 : $280,804 $213,994 



lsti,1 -1,373 377,367 



IMo '.'.WO 3,406 552,366 495,969 



1M2 2610 39,378 649,208 540,165 



ISM .'f.70 41,736 730,370 727,126 



3000 ci.r-l.s 1,043,065 748,121 



3260 48,673 961,782 80; 



In ISIl'i, under the act of April '.. the following new 

 sclu'dule of rates wa> authori/.ed, which remained 

 practically unchanged for twenty-ni'i 



For a single lein-r, wnt m-t over :(o miles, 6 cents ; over 30 

 and in>t uvrr so n.iles, lo ci : ' n>l not over 160 



n.ili-.-. r.'i cents; over 1.10 an. I not over 400 miles, 18} cento ; 

 100 miles, - : '..iilile, triple, and ounce rates 



according to principle "(' loriner laws. .Suiue provisions, 

 also, an to newspapers, magazines, and pamphlets, and as 

 to ilrop letters. 



The period during which these rates were in force is 

 memorable for five things : 1st, the efforts of postal 



reformers to have Ixjok.s admitted to the mails, which, 

 strange as it may appear to us now. were strenuously 

 and successfully resisted by the department ; L'd, the 

 transportation of the mails on railroads, which was 



in in 1834, and which was, it appears, to the post- 

 olhce authorities, a decidedly unpleasant innovation : 

 3d, the radical chaiiL'c, made during the incumbency 



\mo.-> Kendall as Postmaster-General, in 1S36, and 

 upon his recommendation, in the manner of keeping 

 postal accounts', which before that time had been 

 practically under the control of the post-office depart- 

 ment, but which afterwards were placed in charge of 

 an Auditor of the Treasury, and by him audited and 



.-tiled independently of the Postnmter-GeiMn] ; 4th. 



the tendency to extravagance in the administration of 

 the postal service, and a manifest indifference to the self- 

 Mipporting policy that h;ul previously prevailed, as 

 shown by the fact that in nineteen rears out of twenty- 

 nine the postal expenditu : . dtbe receipts ; and 

 ."ah, the establishment of the electric telegraph, in 1845, 

 which, thouirli brought into being by the aid of the 

 troverinnent, was suffered to pas.-, in spite of the ener- 

 iii protests of the I'oMiiiaster-tJeneral, into private 

 hands. The progress of the service during this period, 

 however, was very great, as is shown by the following 

 table: 



Expendi- 



Miles. Revenue. tures. 



52,089 $1,002,973 $ 916,515 

 59,473 1,130,235 1035,832 



h7,586 1,204.7:.7 1,117,861 



72,492 1,111,927 1,160,926 



1,30., 1,2-: 



1.85H 1,9.T. 



11 -.7 74 



4..'i43.522 4,7 



144,887 4,296,51.'! 



' 4,289,841 4.320.T32 



Years. Office*. 



1817 3,459 



1818 3,618 



1819 4,000 



1820 



6,677 



1830 



1835 10,770 



1844 1 4,lo:i 



it.]-.; 



By act of Man h 3, I s II. a very marked reduction 

 and sinijilitication was made in the rates of postage, as 

 i from the following statement : 



I .11 u single lett.-r not over * ounce), sent less than 300 

 miles, 5 cents; over 3oo miles, 10 cents; every additional 

 half ounce an additional rule. I>r..|> i. -tiers, '-''cents each. 



Newspapers of not more than li'OO square inches, sent 



within 30 miles of the ..Dice ..I pnblteation, free ; of lera 



site, sent over 3" > office, 1 cent each for not over 



100 miles, ami 1 1 cent for over that distance. Newspapers 



greater size, same rates us magazines. 



Printed or lithographed circulars, handbills, etc., on sheets 

 not larger than .-ingle cap paper, 2cenU a sheet without 

 .ul ;.. .li.-ianoe. 



I'.IM Is, and ma. fmls an ounce 



,l |-e^;ir.l ll 



eluded frum the mail- 



