POST-OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES. 



629 



dressed to fictitious persons or firms must be 

 forwarded each month to the dead-letter 

 office. 



Postage must be prepaid on all mail matter, 

 except, 1, matter lawfully franked ; 2, foreign 

 letters; 3, printed matter, sent to regular sub- 

 scribers ; and 4, letters sent by soldiers, sailors, 

 and marines. The single rate of postage is 

 three cents per half ounce, with an additional 

 rate of three cents for each ' additional half 

 ounce or fraction of a half ounce. Prepaid and 

 free letters are forwarded, at the request of 

 the party addressed, from one post-office to 

 another without additional charge. Letters 

 indorsed with a request for return to the wri- 

 ters are sent back, when uncalled for, without 

 charge. All drop letters must be prepaid at 

 two cents, per half ounce, where the carrier 

 delivery is established; at other offices, one 

 cent. . 



The postage on newspapers published every 

 day of the week, prepaid quarterly in advance, 

 is thirty-five cents per quarter ; when published 

 six times a week, thirty cents; tri-weekly, 

 fifteen cents; weekly, five cents. Weekly 

 papers to subscribers living within the county 

 of publication are free, even when the subscri- 

 ber takes the mail matter from an office in 

 an adjoining county. The exchange of news- 

 papers and periodicals is free. Eeligious, educa- 

 tional, and agricultural papers of small size, is- 

 sued less frequently than once a week, may be 

 sent in packages to one address for one cent for 

 each four ounces. And newsdealers may send 

 to actual subscribers papers and periodicals 

 prepaid at quarterly rates, and may receive 

 them from publishers at subscriber's rates. 

 Books cost four cents per four ounces. Un- 

 sealed circulars, not exceeding three to one 

 address, are two cents ; miscellaneous matter, 

 two cents per four ounces. All transient mat- 

 ter must be prepaid by stamps; if unpaid, 

 double postage must be collected on delivery. 

 To send writing on printed matter subjects the 

 entire package to letter postage. 



The rates of postage have constantly varied 

 in this country, always tending downward. 

 Franklin was the first Postmaster-General who 

 allowed newspapers of his own city, other 

 than his own, to travel post ; and he intro- 

 duced the system of free exchange between 

 newspapers. He materially lowered the exist- 

 ing rates of postage, fixing the Oceanic rate at 

 four pence, whatever the distance; on land, 

 60 miles, four pence; 100 miles, six pence; 

 200 miles, eight pence; and every additional 

 hundred miles, two pence. In 1818, Congress 

 fixed the rates at 6J, 10, 12, 18| and 25 cents 

 per single letter, according to distance. In 

 1845, the half-ounce scale was adopted for 

 single letters, and the rates were established 

 at five and ten cents, against the earnest op- 

 position of Hon. 0. A, Wickliffe, then Post- 

 master-General. Six years later, a farther 

 reduction was made, and one cent was charged 

 for drop letters, prepaid ; three cents for sin- 



gle letters, not travelling over 3,000 miles; 

 when not prepaid, five cents ; when sent over 

 3,000 miles, double these rates. In 1855, a 

 law was passed making drop letters one cent ; 

 single letters under 3,000 miles, three cents ; 

 over that distance, ten cents, and prepayment 

 compulsory. In July, 1856, all postage was 

 made payable in stamps. The history of this and 

 of all countries proves that there is no instance 

 on record where a reduction of rates has been 

 followed by a permanent reduction of revenue ; 

 and that all improvement and facilities bring a 

 corresponding increase of postage. In Eng- 

 land, the penny postage enlarged the annual 

 number of letters from eighty-seven and a half 

 millions to seven hundred and seventy-five 

 millions ; and the net income of the depart- 

 ment, after the payment of all expenses and a 

 number of heavy subsidies to steam lines, has 

 risen from $1,735,000 in 1857 to $7,106,000 in 

 1867 ; a gain of over four hundred per cent, 

 within ten years. 



Transportation of the Mails. All transpor- 

 tation is by contract, and no Member of Con- 

 gress, postmaster, clerk in a post-office, or in 

 the Post-office Department, can be a contractor 

 or concerned in a contract for carrying the 

 mail. The lettings must be advertised in not 

 more than five newspapers in the State where 

 the service is to be performed, for at least 

 twelve weeks before the contract is made. 

 And, by the terms of the contract, the Post-' 

 master-General may discontinue or curtail the 

 service in whole or in part, allowing to the 

 contractor one month's extra pay on the 

 amount of service discontinued, and &pro rata 

 compensation for the amount of service re- 

 tained. 



All the States and Territories are divided into 

 four mail contract sections. A letting of one 

 of these occurs each spring, the service to 

 commence the first of July following. The 

 sections and their current contract terms are 

 as follows : 



1. Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massa- 

 chusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New 

 York ; these contracts expire June 30, 1869. 



2. New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, 

 Maryland, District of Columbia, and Ohio; 

 current term to end June 30, 1872. 



3. West Virginia, Virginia, North and South 

 Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Missis- 

 sippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, and Indian 

 Territory ; June 30, 1871. 



4. Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Iowa, 

 Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minne- 

 sota, Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, 

 New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Montana, Idaho, 

 Washington, Oregon, California, and Nevada ; 

 June 30, 1870. 



There are 8,226 mail routes in these States, 

 of an aggregate length of 216,928 miles, let to 

 6,891 contractors. Of these, railroads carry 

 the mails 36,018 miles at a cost of about twelve 

 cents per mile; steamboats, 19,647 miles at a 

 little over seventeen cents per mile ; and stage- 



