The Congressional Globe, Volume 14: Twenty-Eighth Congress, Second Session Page: 16
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16
APPENDIX TO THE CONGRESSIONAL GLOBE
28th Cong.....2d Sess.
Report of the Postmaster General.
taxation and excise to the imposition of a revenue
tax upon imports.
If the department is to be continued under the
control of the general government, as it should, I
Cannot imagine any mode by which its expenses
Can be met, more equitable, more just, than by the
{Election'of as much postage, and no more, upon
the matter which passes through the mail, as will
be. equal to the demands of the service.
It is to the fact that the Post Office Department has been
compelled to rely upon Its own energies and resources,
that its great and rapid extension and usefulness are mainly
to be attributed.
' The head of this department, feeling his responsibility to
the public, would not permit the service to expand without
a correspondent increase in its receipts, which would, at
the same time, furnish evidence of extended usefulness.
His responsibility to the government, and a just regard for
his own reputation, would admonish him so to regulate the
service, that, while it gave the greatest possible benefits to
the country, it should produce an amount of revenue
equal to its wants.
If the department, in accordance with the views of some,
recently promulgated, should be made an annual charge
tipdn the general treasury, and its head required to disburse
the amount appropriated, from year to year, rel) ing upon
Congress to appropriate whatever sum the real or imagin-
ary wants of the community might demand, it may be well
questioned whether much of that vigilance so necessary to
superintend a department complicated and extended as this
is, would not be lost in the simple routine of duty in ex-
pending whatever Congress may have appropriated, co mat-
ter whether usefully or not, so that the expenditure be -
properly vouched.
The very nature of the operations of this department, if
its uncertain demands are to be met by annual appropria-
tions from the. treasury, would generate abuse and extrava-
fance both in the appropriating and disbursing power. The
mit of appropriation would be regulated alone by the im-
aginary wants in the various sections of the Union, each -
section vieing with the other to obtain the greatest possible
amount to be expended within its limits.
Upon the most mature and deliberate reflection, I am sat-
isfied it would be unwise to abandon the principle of re-
quiring the department to sustain its own.expenses. An
adherence to this principle is not at war with a prudent
and discreet reform in the rates of postage.
Public opinion seems to demand a reduction in the rates
of letter postage. But, so far as I have been enabled to un-
derstand that public opinion", it is based upon the necessity
and propriety of adhering to this vital principle, and sus-
tained by the argument that a reduction of postage would
be followed by an increase of mail matter, producing an
amount sufficient to sustain the department in all oi its le-
gitimate expenditures.
1 am sustained in the expression of this opinion, not only
from the ordinary channels of public information, but by
the judgment of the very intelligent and highly respectable
Chamber of Commerce of the city of New York, as ex-
pressed in their letter to the department, a copy of which
and the reply to it accompanies this report.
In the views which I have heretofore expressed upon the
subject of the reduction of postage, and particularly in my
report to the Senate on the 5th of January, 1S43, recommend-
ing a reduction to t^two rates of five and ten cents, upon
the conditions therein stated, I have abstained from recom-
mending the adoption of the postal arrangements now in op-
erationm England, because I was satisfied that system would
notyield the amount of revenue neces&aiy for the service
of the department, and in many oi" its features it was un-
suited to the United States.
Prior to the reduction of postage in England, the Post
Office Department yielded a revenue to the crown, over and
above its whole expenses, of about $7,000,000. It .was just
if not wise policy in the English government to release this
amount of net revenue from postage, operating as a severe
tax on the correspondence of the country, if its exchequer
could sustain it, or the subject was willing to have that ex-
chequer replenished by the substitution of other taxes, such
as excise upon paper, &c.
The mode of managing and conducting the post offices in
the kingdom of Great Britain is not only different from, but
much less expensive, than that in the United States.
In England, the postmaster and his clerks, if any, are
paid an annual salary or stipend. In this country, postmas-
ters and their clerks *are paid by a commission on the
amount of postage collectcd.
Post offices in England are managed by postmasters who
consider themselves amply compensated by salaries much
less m amount than would command the services of com-
peteut postmasters in the United States.
Ifthe same mode nndr.itioof compensating postmasters
were adopted in England which has been adopted in the
United States, it might be well questioned whether the
amount of post office levenue in England would equal the
expenses of the service
I am convinced, upon a most thorough examination into
the habits, condition, and business of the people of the two
countries—the circumscribed limits and den^e population
of the one, the extensne boundaries and sparse population
of the other—that nothing like the same ratio of increase of
he correspondence in this country would follow the like
teductionof postage as h-is taken place in England.
It mav be asked, what is the nature and character of the
reduction of postage which it is deemed by the department
prudent and safe a* th time to be adopted?
The answer to 1 \is quiry v ill depend mainly upon the
fact how Congress wm cottle the question now mooted, as
to thebestmode of defraying the expenses of the depart-
ment. Shall it,'as heretofore, bo required to sustain itself,
or shall it be thrown as an annual charge upon the treasury'?
If the department is to be kit to lean on its own resources,
1 am prepared to lec-oininend a reduction of letter post-
age to five and ten cents the single letter, as heretofore re-
commended by me in a report to the Senate of the United
States ofthe 5th Januaiy, 1S43, upon the teims and condi-
tion* indicated m that report? to which I respectfully ask
jesve to refer yow
In previous reports, I have had the honor to express to
the President of the United States, and through him to Con-
gress, the opinion that it was unjust that the whole ex-
pense of transporting the public correspondence of the gov-
ernment should be charged upon the business and friendly
letters ofthe citizen: also to urge the necessity of repeal-
ing or modifying the franking privilege. These opinions
remain unchanged.
I also suggested the mode by which the government
should compensate the department for the transmission and
delivery of its public correspondence, and the franked let-
ters of public functionaries. That mode was the assump-
tion, by the government, of the amount paid by the depart-
ment for railroad transportation, either by the purchase of
the right, permanently, or by annual appropriations.
4'his portion of expenditure for transportation being fixed,
or nearly so, and not of a character to be unnecessarily in-
creased under the influences of local feelings or jealousy,
not unfrequently invoked in legislation on subjects affecting
local interests, would not greatly exceed, if at all, in the
course of time, the amount of postage which should be
charged upon the government and legally franked letters of
public officers.
By existing laws, all railroads, when completed, are de-
clared to be mail routes, and are, from necessity, adopted by
the department as the means of transporting the mail.
There is no danger that they will be unnecessarily mul-
tiplied by Congress, as is too often the case of ordinary
mail routes.
It was thought then by the undersigned that a sound pub-
lic policy dictated the propriety of- making permanent con-
tracts with such of the railroads as the government was
obliged to employ. It is only in this mode that the depart-
ment can ever hope to control the hours of departure and
arrival of the cars from and to given points; without which
power it is utterly impracticable at all times to give a con-
tinuous and regular transit of the public mail.
The reasons which prompted that recommendation, inde-
pendent of the question of reduction of postage with which
it was connected, have been strengthened by subsequent
experience in making and executing and performing con-
tracts for transporting the mail with railroad companies.
The amount now paid for railroad transportation and trans-
portation by steamboats forming essential connecting links
in railroad lines, is $750,569 per annum.
If Congress will relieve the department from the payment
of this amount, either by permanent contracts with the com-
panies, or by annual appropriation from the treasury, as a
consideration for transporting the public correspondence of
government, &c., to protect the department against the
abuses of the franking privilege, and the inroads upon its
revenue by private expresses or posts, the rates of postage
may safely be reduced to five and ten cents, which rates
will yield a sufficient revenue to defray the remaining ex-
penses of the department, and allow its gradual extension
as the demands of the community may require.
If, upon a fair experiment, based on the reduction pro-
posed, it was ascertained a further reduction could be made,
and produce a revenue equal to the wants of the service, that
reduction could hereafter be ordered by Congress.
It is believed the mode here proposed, by which the gov-
ernment shall contribute its fair proportion to the expenses
of the department, is preferable to that which has been else-
where suggested, vi7: of requiring accounts to be kept with
each department, and the postage to be paid out of their con-
tingent tund. It is more simple, less complex, and possess-
es the advantangc of certainty, by which the department,
at all times, will be enabled to regulate its engagements for
the remainder of the service in each year.
The only evil likely to follow from a reduction of the
postage on the terms proposed, (particularly ifthe frank-
ing privilege be taken from deputy postmasters,) which at
present occurs to me, and which I think it my duty to state,
will be the difficulty of obtaining competent men to dis-
charge the duties of" postmasters in the smaller post offices,
which, though not productive in themselves, are useful to
thecountry, and cannot be well dispensed with.
Whether it shall be the pleasure of Congress to reduce
the rates of postage, or to permit them to remain as they
now are, it is a duty which I cannot omit, again to recom-
mend further legislation by Congress, m order to protect
the dep3rtment in the exercise of its legitimate functions.
A spirit, generated by the condition of the country, at war
with the observance of existing laws, has defied the power
of the general government over the subject of post offices
and post roads.
The laws heretofore enacted to restrain the establishment
of private mails or posts, have been found inadequate to de-
ter the lawless and irresponsible from openly or covertly
embarking in the business of transporting letters over and
upon mail routes.
The extent of loss to the revenue of the department aris-
ing from this cause alone, cannot be accurately stated. An
estimate of the amount, approximating to probable certain-
ty, may be mode by reference to the great induction of the
income of those offices upon, and adjacent to, the lines of
railroad connecting the important commercial cities and
towns of the United States.
Prosecutions have been instituted against many of these
violators of existing law. In some of the courts of the
United States, they have been discharged by the judges,
mainly upon the ground assumed in the opinion of the couit,
that the evidence'did not bring the offence charged within
the provisions of the acts of Congress, or that the law itself
did not prohibit the transportation of mail matter over mail
routes by individuals in the mode which these depredators
have adopted.
The distuct courts of Maryland and Pennsylvania pro-
nounced judgment against such of the offenders as have
been tried before them. The penalty of fifty dollars im-
posed for the offence is too small, if the defendants were in
a situation to have it enforced, to deter them from prose-
cuting successfully their illegal business.
In one of the cases recently tried in the district court for
Pennsylvania, the question of the constitutionality of the
laws of Congress prohibiting the citizen Irom establishing a
private post, &-c , was directly raised by the counsel for the
accused, and the exclusive power of Congress over the sub-
ject of post offices and post roads denied. The point was
overruled by the intelligent judge who presided. The case,
Senate, and fit. oO
T understand; is to be taken to the Supreme Court. " -
theless, the party convicted stiU continues bis business
very extensively—in some places openly, to others eovffihp
—upon the leading post routes. ^ . J
I will not in this report, undertake to discuss this question
On a former occasion, I ventured to obtrude upon you a
condensed argument on this subject, the object of which
was to prove that the framera of the constitution when
they granted to Congress the power to establish post offices
and post roads, did not leave, or intend to leave, the power to
be exercised either by the States or the people.
The very nature of the power granted—-the objects to be
attained by its exercise—-would indicate clearly, if the lan-
guage were equivocal, that it must be exclusive., Jhe du-
ties required to be performed cannot well be performed by
any other power than that which, pro hac vice, pervades'the
whole sphere of post office operations.
It will not do tor Congress to await the decision of the
Supreme Court upon this question—a question which has
been regarded as settled, not only by judicial decisions, b^t
the legislation of the country, and acquiesced in by the
States and the people for nearly a half century. A power
of punishment and restraint sufficient to maintain the su-
premacy of the laws" of the land, and suited to the present
condition of affairs, should at once be vested in the judicia-
ry department.
I cannot concur in the opinion I have heard often ex-
pressed, that the only remedy for this evil is a reduction of
postage. There is no rate of reduction which prudent le-
gislation can, at this time, make, that will prevent success-
ful competition in the business of carrying letters, by in-
dividuals, over post roads. If we take the system as a
whole, the government has conveyed, and will convey, let-
ters as cheap as it can be done by individuals. But if pri-
vate mails are permitted to occupy,the most productive
routes, it is conceded that individuals can transport letters
cheaper on these ioutes than the department.
No rate of revenue upon imported merchandise,however
low, will prevent smuggling, if the penal sanctions of the
law against it be repealed.
Without further legislation by Congress upon this sub-
ject, it is idle to expect the department to sustain itself at
any rate of postage. The failure to pass some act amenda-
tory ofthe existing laws, at the last session, quadrupled .the
number of private mails then in operation. Prompt and ef-
ficient legislation on this subject is demanded by every con-
sideration of public policy.
The nature of the service and amount of costs of portions
of the steamboat mail service, particularly between New
Orleans and Mobile, and Charleston and Wilmington, have
fully impressed my mind that it would be sound policy, both
in a national and economical point of view, for the govern-
ment to authorize the construction of steamboats suited to
this service, to be employed as mail steamers in time of
peace, and so constructed that they could; in time of warj
be converted into a portion of the marine defence of our
bays and harbors.
The policy of employing such vessels in the mail service
of other governments has been adopted. May it not be/the
part of wisdom to profit by their example?
Under existing laws, the Postmaster General is not au-
thorized to contract for transporting the mail on the high
seas:, or bej ond the limits of the United States. The neces-
sity and public utility of a regular mail between this coun-
try and Cuba, and other foreign ports, must be apparem to
all; and such mail would have been put in operation by me
long sincc, if the power to do so existed. I respectiully
suggest that the power to contract for the transportation of
mails to foreign ports be authorized, snd the rates of postage
fixed by law.
This policy will be more obvious, if we take into consid-
eration the amount o( postage paid for letters which now
pass to and from the United States in foreign vessels. The
number of letters which are transported in the Cunard line
of steamers alone, between Boston and Liverpool, is about
60,000 per month, charged with a postage of $15,000, equal
to $130,000 per annum, the greater part of which is a tax
upon American citizens and American commerce. Would
it not be better that this sum should be paid to American
citizens, thereby encouraging and sustaining American en-
terprise and the American commercial marine, than the
marine of any foreign power7
Such a power at this time is pechliarly. desirable, should
the enterprise, now in contemplation, of establishing aline
of American steamers between the United States ana Liver-
pool and Havre, be consummated.
Congress, at the last session, passed a resolution author-
izing the Postmaster General to enter into regulations with
ccrt&in governments for the intercliage of mail matter and
the pre-pajment of postage on letters to and from the re-
spective countries. Not having the means appropriated
which would enable me to send an agent to Europe to make
the necessary investigations and piehminary arrangements
to cany into eftVct the intention of Congress, the only
mo<ie which spomed practicable or likely to accomplish the
purposes indicated was to avail mj self of the kind offices
of some of our residi nt ministers abroad. To tv, o of them—
Mr.fKvoictt in London, and Mr. Kni£> in l'ans—I addressed
communications and submited certain propositions, with a
request that they would submit them, in that mode most
acccptable to themselves, to the po.st office departments of
the two governments,copies of w Inch accompany this report.
From Mr King I have received a communication inform-
ing me that he had submitted the p? o/ef to the post office de-
partment of France, and he had reason; to believe that this,
or some mode like it, would be acceded to by that govern-
ment.
A more simple orrangement could be made, if the Post-
master General was vested with power to execute and is-
sue stamps to be used on foreign letters, and authorized to
exchange stamps or purchnselhem irom foreign govern-
ments. if, during the session of Congress, I shall be in-
formed of the favorable result of the proposition submitted,
I shall submit to j on. to be communicated to that body, a
further communication, with the plan in detail, suggesting
such legislation as may be deemed necessary to carry it in-
to effect.
Respectfully, your obedient servant,
C. A. WICgWFFE.
To the President of the United States.
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United States. Congress. The Congressional Globe, Volume 14: Twenty-Eighth Congress, Second Session, legislative document, 1845; Washington D.C.. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth2366/m1/440/: accessed May 5, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.