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THE AMERICAN POSTAL SERVICE
History of the Postal Service from the Earliest Times
The American System Described with Full Details of Operation
A Fund of Interesting Information upon All Postal Subjects
By
LOUIS MELIUS
Washington, D. C.
Second Edition Revised and Enlarged
Copyright 1917 Louis Melius
National Capital Press, Inc., Washington, D. C.
[Illustration: POSTMASTER GENERAL BURLESON]
Biographical Sketches of the Postmaster General and His Four Assistants
Albert Sidney Burleson, of Austin, Tex., Postmaster General, was
born June 7, 1863, at San Marcos, Tex.; was educated at Agricultural
and Mechanical College of Texas, Baylor University (of Waco), and
University of Texas. Was admitted to the bar in 1884; was Assistant
City Attorney of Austin in 1885, ‘86, ‘87, ‘88, ‘89 and ‘90; was
appointed by the Governor of Texas, Attorney of the Twenty-Sixth
Judicial District in 1891; was elected to said office, 1892, ‘94 and
‘96; was elected to the 56th, 57th, 58th, 59th, 60th, 61st, 62d,
and 63d Congresses; appointed Postmaster General March 4, 1913, and
confirmed March 6, 1913.
* * * * *
John C. Koons, First Assistant Postmaster General, entered the service
as a Railway Postal Clerk; was transferred to Washington and made
Post Office Inspector, subsequently made Chief of the Division of
Salaries and Allowances and member of the Parcel Post Commission, in
which latter connection his services were considered of especial value
and importance. Appointed Chief Post Office Inspector and upon the
resignation of the late First Assistant Postmaster General, Daniel C.
Roper, was named to succeed him. His legal residence is in Carroll Co.,
Md.
Otto Praeger, Second Assistant Postmaster General, was born in
Victoria, Tex., 1871. Legal residence, San Antonio, Tex. Took a
course of instruction in the University of Texas and was a student on
political economy under David F. Houston now Secretary of Agriculture.
Engaged in the newspaper business at San Antonio in 1887--_San Antonio
Light_ and _San Antonio Express_; was for a time city clerk of said
city; was engaged in newspaper work as Washington correspondent when
appointed Postmaster of Washington, D. C., and in August, 1915, was
appointed Second Assistant to succeed Hon. Joseph Stewart.
Alexander Monroe Dockery, Third Assistant Postmaster General, is a
native of Missouri, born in Daviess County, educated at Macon Academy;
studied medicine, graduated and practiced it for a while but later
engaged in the banking business. Served in Congress from March 3,
1883, to March 3, 1899. Member of Committee of Appropriations, twelve
years; Committee Post Offices and Post Roads, four years; Governor
of Missouri from 1901 to 1905; was author of the bill extending the
special delivery system to all post offices; also extending free
delivery service to small cities; advocated the first appropriation
for rural delivery. Chairman of the commission which bore his name,
constituted by Congress for administrative reforms in the conduct of
public business, and author of the act creating a new accounting system
for the Treasury Department and many other public measures which have
made his name familiar to the public and political life of the country.
James I. Blakslee, Fourth Assistant Postmaster General, was born
at Mauch Chunk, Pa., December 17, 1870. Public school education,
supplemented with special courses at Bethlehem Preparatory School,
Cheltenham Military Academy and High School, Pottstown, Pa.; was
connected with the Lehigh Valley and Pennsylvania railroads as
telegraph operator and assistant yardmaster; Lieutenant, Company E,
Eighth Regiment, National Guards, 1897; commissioned same rank and
regiment, U. S. Volunteers, and appointed quartermaster and commissary,
Reserve Hospital Corps, U. S. Army, during the Spanish-American War.
Removed to Lehighton in 1899. Chairman Democratic Committee of Carbon
County, 1905. Assemblyman, Pennsylvania Legislature, 1907-09 term,
and subsequently made Secretary Democratic State Committee, where his
organizing ability won him national recognition.
PREFACE
This little work on postal affairs aims to familiarize postal employes
and others with the operations of the Post Office Department in all
its varied and numerous details. No attempt was made to cover the wide
field of postal activity and inquiry for which a much larger book
and much greater space would be required. It is simply meant to be a
book of reference, a sort of hand-book on postal subjects for busy
people who may not care to read lengthy accounts or stories which a
few paragraphs might sufficiently explain, or care to wrestle with
columns of figures which are best given in official reports and chiefly
valuable to public men for legislative purposes, for comparison and
survey.
All necessary postal knowledge of immediate public interest is herein
set forth in such compact shape as to acquaint the reader with what
he might want to know, or direct his inquiry to sources of wider
information if the desire was not satisfied with the reference thereto
which this work might afford. In general it will be found amply
sufficient for all ordinary purpose as the scope of subjects is as wide
as the active operations of the Department at present include.
The special articles referring to subjects of general postal interest
cover a considerable range of inquiry and deal more fully with those
matters which are but briefly mentioned in that portion devoted to the
purely business details of the Department. Much of this material is
new and all of it treated so as to interest the reader. These articles
on general postal topics in connection with the other matter herewith
given, relating to the service, may please some one here and there and
perhaps justify the publication of this little contribution to the
literature of the time.
L. M.
Washington, D. C.
March 15, 1917.
To Mr. Ruskin McArdle, late Private Secretary to the Postmaster
General, now Chief Clerk of the Department, whose friendly regard I
have long enjoyed and whose courteous and considerate treatment to all
with whom his official relations have brought him into contact, this
little volume is respectfully dedicated as a mark of appreciation and a
token of deep and lasting esteem.
THE AUTHOR.
ORGANIZATION OF THE DEPARTMENT
The operations of the postal service are conducted by divisional
arrangement with the duties of each accurately and specifically
defined. Previous to this administration much of the work of the
various bureaus was found to be overlapping each other and exercising
a separate authority in correlated matters. These officially related
duties were each brought under a proper head, insuring prompt attention
and fixing a definite responsibility which has been found to be of
recognized benefit and value.
OFFICE OF THE POSTMASTER GENERAL
_Postmaster General._--ALBERT S. BURLESON, Texas.
_Private Secretary._--ROBERT E. COWART, Texas.
_Chief Clerk._--RUSKIN MCARDLE, Texas.
_Assistant Chief Clerk._--WILLIAM W. SMITH, Tennessee.
_Division of Solicitor._--
_Solicitor._--WILLIAM H. LAMAR, Maryland.
_Assistant Attorneys._--J. JULIEN SOUTHERLAND, North Carolina.
WALTER E. KELLY, Ohio.
EDWIN A. NIESS, Pennsylvania.
JOHN A. NASH, Pennsylvania.
_Bond Examiner._--HORACE J. DONNELLY, District of Columbia.
_Law Clerk._--ARTHUR J. KAUSE, Ohio,
_Division of Purchasing Agent._--
_Purchasing Agent._--JAMES A. EDGERTON, New Jersey.
_Chief Clerk._--FREDERICK H. AUSTIN, Missouri.
_Division of Post Office Inspectors._--
_Chief Inspector._--GEORGE M. SUTTON, Missouri.
_Chief Clerk._--J. ROBERT COX, North Carolina.
_Appointment Clerk._--Vacant.
_Disbursing Clerk._--WILLIAM M. MOONEY, Ohio.
OFFICE OF THE FIRST ASSISTANT POSTMASTER GENERAL
_First Assistant Postmaster General._--JOHN C. KOONS, Maryland.
_Chief Clerk._--JOHN W. JOHNSTON, New York,
_Division of Post Office Service._--
_Superintendent._--GOODWIN D. ELLSWORTH, North Carolina.
_Assistant Superintendent._--WILLIAM S. RYAN, New York.
_Division of Postmasters’ Appointments._--
_Superintendent._--CHARLES R. HODGES, Texas.
_Assistant Superintendent._--LOREL N. MORGAN, West Virginia.
_Assistant Superintendent._--SIMON E. SULLIVAN, Maryland.
_Division of Dead Letters._--
_Superintendent._--MARVIN M. MCLEAN, Texas.
OFFICE OF THE SECOND ASSISTANT POSTMASTER GENERAL
_Second Assistant Postmaster General._--OTTO PRAEGER, Texas.
_Chief Clerk._--EUGENE R. WHITE, Vermont.
_Division of Railway Mail Service._--
_General Superintendent._--WM. I. DENNING, Georgia.
_Assistant General Superintendent._--GEORGE F. STONE, New York.
_Chief Clerk._--CHASE C. GOVE, Nebraska.
_Division of Foreign Mails._--
_Superintendent._--ROBERT L. MADDOX, Kentucky.
_Assistant Superintendent._--STEWART M. WEBER, Pennsylvania.
_Assistant Superintendent at New York._--EDWIN SANDS, New York.
_Division of Railway Adjustments._--
_Superintendent._--JAMES B. CORRIDON, District of Columbia.
_Assistant Superintendent._--GEORGE E. BANDEL, Maryland.
OFFICE OF THE THIRD ASSISTANT POSTMASTER GENERAL
_Third Assistant Postmaster General._--ALEXANDER M. DOCKERY, Missouri.
_Chief Clerk._--WILLIAM J. BARROWS, Missouri.
_Division of Finance._--
_Superintendent._--WILLIAM E. BUFFINGTON, Pennsylvania.
_Division of Postal Savings._--
_Director._--CARTER B. KEENE, Maine.
_Assistant Director._--CHARLES H. FULLAWAY, Pennsylvania.
_Chief Clerk._--HARRY H. THOMPSON, Maryland.
_Division of Money Orders._--
_Superintendent._--CHARLES E. MATTHEWS, Oklahoma.
_Chief Clerk._--F. H. RAINEY, District of Columbia.
_Division of Classification._--
_Superintendent._--WILLIAM C. WOOD, Kansas.
_Division of Stamps._--
_Superintendent._--WILLIAM C. FITCH, New York.
_Division of Registered Mails._--
_Superintendent._--LEIGHTON V. B. MARSCHALK, Kentucky.
OFFICE OF THE FOURTH ASSISTANT POSTMASTER GENERAL
_Fourth Assistant Postmaster General._--JAMES I. BLAKSLEE, Pennsylvania.
_Chief Clerk._--J. KING PICKETT, Alabama.
_Division of Rural Mails._--
_Superintendent._--GEORGE L. WOOD, Maryland.
_Assistant Superintendent._--EDGAR R. RYAN, Pennsylvania.
_Chief Clerk._--LANSING M. DOW, New Hampshire.
_Division of Equipment and Supplies._--
_Superintendent._--ALFRED B. FOSTER, California.
_Assistant Superintendent._--Vacant.
_Chief Clerk._--Vacant.
OFFICE OF THE AUDITOR FOR THE POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT
_Auditor._--CHARLES A. KRAM, Pennsylvania.
_Assistant and Chief Clerk._--TERRENCE H. SWEENEY, Minnesota.
_Law Clerk._--FABER STEVENSON, Ohio.
_Expert Accountant._--LEWIS M. BARTLETT, Massachusetts.
_Electrical Accounting System._--
_Chiefs of Division._--
LOUIS BREHM, Illinois.
JOSHUA H. CLARK, Maryland.
JAMES R. WHITE, District of Columbia.
_Miscellaneous Division._--
_Chief._--JASPER N. BAKER, Kansas.
LATEST FACTS OF POSTAL INTEREST Report of Postmaster General; Fiscal
Year Ending June 30, 1917
The long continued agitation between the railroads and the Post Office
Department over the method of payment for mail transportation is in
process of settlement by actual tests. The contention is whether
the basis of payment shall be by weight or by the space used. While
the space rate is the higher of the two it lends itself to rational
readjustment, and is therefore best for government needs. The tests
made show a saving of about $7,000,000 per annum by the space method.
The efficiency standard now required of Postmasters, has it is stated,
greatly improved the service and the announced policy of the Department
to reappoint all those who render meritorious service has been adhered
to and will be continued.
During the year ending June 30, 1917, 38 second class offices were
advanced to the first class; 135 third class to second, and 1,203
fourth class to third. Average annual salary of post-office clerks is
now $1,142 per annum, city carriers $1,126.50.
Removals of employees for cause are now rarely made, statistics show
less than one per cent in both the post office and city carrier service.
It is recommended that where because of unusual conditions, rural
carriers cannot be obtained at the maximum rate of pay, advertisements
be issued calling for proposals for the performance of such service.
Motor vehicle routes are now in operation on a total length of over
41,000 miles, averaging 54 miles per route, at an average cost of
$1,786.49 per route.
There are now 43,463 rural routes in operation, covering 1,112,556
miles. Cost of rural service decreased 0.011 per patron during the year
1917; cost per mile decreased 0.114 cent per mile.
The cost per mile of travel by star-route contractors is $0.1024. Cost
per mile of travel by rural carrier is $0.1510. This difference in cost
is receiving departmental consideration.
Shipment of parcel post packages increased 14 per cent in 1917,
the increase representing more than 25,000,000 pieces. Cooperation
of postmasters in bringing the insurance feature particularly that
of partial damage prominently to public notice, has resulted in an
increase of over 8,000,000 insured parcels over the showing of 1916.
Growing carelessness in addressing letter mail resulted in 13,000,000
letters being found undeliverable during 1917, an increase of 21 per
cent.
The report shows an audited surplus for the year of $9,836,211 the
largest in the history of the department. The increase over the
preceding year was 5.66 per cent, while the increase in cost was 4.45
per cent. The audited revenues for the year amounted to $329,726,116.
Remarkable growth in postal savings is shown. In 1917 there were
674,728 depositors with a total of $131,954,696 to their credit.
The average balance for each depositor was $195.57. This was an
increase over the previous year of 71,791 in the number of depositors,
$45,934,811 in the amount and $52.90 in the per capita balance.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
PAGE
Latest Facts 7
General Postal History 11
Beginning of Personal Communication 12
Postal History of England 12
Penny Postage 13
General Post Office in London 14
French and German Postal History 15
The American Colonial Period 16
Under the Continental Congress 16
The Crown Postmasters 17
Post Offices and Post Roads Established 18
The Period of Progress 18
Postage Stamps Introduced 19
Progressive Steps Taken 19
Historical Data 20
CHAPTER II
_Questions of Finance. Postal Revenue--How Derived and Expended_
Revenues and Expenditures 21
Method of Expenditure 21
Appropriations 22
Auditor 23
CHAPTER III
_Departmental Operations--General and Detailed Descriptions and Cost
of Service_
History of Rural Free Delivery 24
Rural Delivery Defined 25
The Struggle for Rural Delivery 25
The Advantages of Rural Delivery 26
Rural Delivery as Viewed by President McKinley 27
First County Rural Delivery 27
Country-Wide Extension, Rural Delivery 28
How Rural Delivery Enhances the Value of Farm Land 28
Per Capita Cost, in Rural Delivery 29
Some Necessary Conditions, Rural Delivery 31
Annual Cost per Patron by States and Pieces Handled 31
Population and Extension, Rural Service 32
Motor Vehicle Routes, Rural Delivery 32
Village Delivery 34
City Delivery 35
Star Routes 35
Postal Savings 35
Money Order System 36
Stamp Books 36
Postal Cards 37
Division of Stamps 37
Classification 37
Purchasing Agent 38
Dead Letter Office 38
Mail Locks 39
Mail Pouches 39
Post Office Supplies 41
Special Delivery 42
Foreign Mail Service 42
Topography Branch 43
Division of Post Office Service 44
American Postal System 45
Considerate Treatment of Newspaper Mail 45
CHAPTER IV
_Special Articles_
Stamp Manufacture, Bureau Engraving and Printing 46
Post Office Inspectors 48
Railway Mail Service 48
Parcel Post, Opposition Thereto 49
Interesting Facts. Postmasters General 53
Withdrawal of Letters from the Mail 54
Handling of the Mail in Department 54
Cost Accounting 55
Cleansing Mail Bags 55
Farm-to-Table Movement 55
Postal Service in Alaska 57
Standardization of Post Offices 58
Postal Savings Circulars in Foreign Tongues 58
A Patriotic Editor 59
Damage, Parcel Post Mail 59
Opinion of Daniel Webster on Mail Extension 60
Blind Woman on Pay Rolls 61
Wanamaker--Four Postal Reforms 62
The Rural Carrier as a Weather Man 64
New Box Numbering System, Rural Routes 65
Wireless Telephones, Rural Service 68
Parcel Post Exhibits at County Fairs 70
The Great Express Service of the Government 71
The Telephone and Parcel Post in Cooperation 72
Speeding up the Service--Rural Mails 73
Training Public Officials 74
For the Benefit of the Fourth Class Postmasters 76
Public Work and Private Control 77
Protecting the Public Records 78
Registry and Insurance Service, 1916 78
Readjustment Rate, Second Class Mail 79
Peculiar Customs, European Rural Delivery 80
What Was a Newspaper in 1825? 81
Women in the Post Office Department 82
Railroad Accidents, Construction of Cars 83
Public Ownership of Telegraph and Telephone--Burleson 83
Liquor Carried by the Mails 84
How the Post Office Department Helps the Farmer 85
Expediting the Mails on Star Routes 87
Abraham Lincoln Postmaster in 1837 88
A Central Accounting Office for Each County 88
Millions of Money for Good Roads 89
$14,550,000 for Rural Post Roads 91
Mail Extensions by Air and Motor Truck Routes 92
Care Required in Preparing Contracts 93
Birthday American Postal Service 93
List of Postmasters General 94
CHAPTER V
_Miscellaneous Matters_
General and Financial Summary 95
Items of Interest 97
Old Laws and Regulations 104
Queer Collection Holiday Mail 108
Feeding the Cats 110
Couple of Distinguished Canines 110
Soldier’s Sister a Mail Clerk 112
INDEX TO ITEMS OF INTEREST 112
THE AMERICAN POSTAL SERVICE
CHAPTER I
General Postal History
The need of communication was doubtless one of the earliest activities
of the Ancient World, not for public use but for government purpose.
In Holy Writ we learn that the Israelitish Nation made early use of
the means at hand. In the first Book of Kings it is stated that Queen
Jezebel wrote letters in Ahab’s name, sealed with the King’s seal,
and sent them to the elders and nobles in the city. In the Book of
Esther mention is made of sending letters by posts to all the King’s
provinces. There are also evidences that the Assyrian and Persian
nations established stations, or posts a day’s journey apart, at
which horses were kept ready saddled with waiting couriers for the
transmission of public orders and edicts. Xenophon mentions that Cyrus
employed posts throughout his dominions and Herodotus speaks of the
large structures erected for post stations. The mail service of China
dates far back into antiquity. It is said that in the fourteenth
century there were 10,000 mail stations in the empire. Peru, remarkable
for its early evidences of civilization, had according to the historian
Prescott, communication established from one end of the country to
the other. There is, however, nothing to show that ordinary human
affairs received any attention at this early period, the activities of
rulers being devoted entirely to governmental interest and concern.
The affairs of commerce and trade were probably carried on by personal
enterprise, by voyages of trade discovery by water or expeditions on
land.
The method of using couriers for transmitting intelligence was
evidently long continued, being the only means known by which such need
could be met, or the one which most naturally suggested itself. The
Romans employed couriers for the promulgation of military and public
orders to their scattered provinces, private letters being sent by
slaves or by such opportunity as occasion afforded. It is said that
Charlemagne employed couriers for public purposes, but the practice
was discontinued after his death, special messengers being used when
occasion required. England employed couriers for public purposes in the
thirteenth century, and in the fourteenth century Louis XI returned to
the practice of employing mounted couriers and established stations
but only for government purposes.
The Beginning of Personal Communication
As early as the beginning of the thirteenth century the need of
personal communication was recognized and the University of Paris
arranged for the employment of foot-messengers to bear letters from its
thousands of students to the various countries in Europe from whence
they came. This plan lasted until 1719. In the fifteenth century an
attempt was made and the custom prevailed for some time, of sending
letters by traveling tradesmen or dealers who made regular trips
in certain directions for barter, purchase or sale. The tremendous
stimulus given to the development of commercial conditions by the
crusades, made business intercourse necessary, and the post riders
who had surplus horses soon found use for them in the conveyance of
passengers and ultimately in the transmission of general information
which finally resulted in a fixed compensation and which method
remained in use for a considerable period.
The real beginning of letter posts for private and business purposes,
dates from the year 1516, when Roger, Count of Thurn, established
riding posts in the Tyrol, connecting Germany and Italy. A letter post
had been established in the Hanse towns in the thirteenth century,
but the actual commencement of such activities dates from the year
1516. The Emperor Charles V made these riding posts general throughout
his dominions and appointed Leonard, Count of Thurn, his postmaster
general. The Counts of Thurn and Taxis held this monopoly by regular
succession for many years afterward. The rapid growth of English
civilization made postal progress necessary for its people and this
brings us to the period of most interest to students as well as the
average reader.
The Postal History of England
As much of our postal system is naturally based on that of England from
our early Colonial dependence, it is of interest to note the various
steps of English progress and development in connection with the
subject.
The first English postmaster general of whom any account can be given
was Sir Brian Tuke, who is described on the records of the year 1533 as
“Magister Nuncrorum, Cursorum, Sire, Postarum,” but long subsequent
to this appointment of a postmaster general the details of the service
were frequently regulated by proclamation and by orders in council.
During the earlier years of Queen Elizabeth, most of the business of
the postal service to and from England was managed by the incorporated
“Merchant Strangers” who appointed special postmasters among themselves.
The accession of James I, necessitating more frequent communication
between London and Scotland, led to many improvements in the postal
service. It was ordered that the posts should travel not less than
7 miles an hour in summer and 5 miles in winter. In 1619 a separate
postmaster general for foreign parts was created. Thomas Witherings
was one of the successors in this office and entitled to rank as one
of the many conspicuous postal reformers in the continental service.
All letters were then carried by carriers or footpads 16 or 18 miles a
day. It required two months to get answers from Scotland or Ireland to
London. He directed that all northern mail be put into one “portmantle”
directed to Edinburgh and separate bags to such postmasters as lived
upon the road near to any city or town corporate, which was the first
step in the separation of mail since carried to such perfection here
and elsewhere.
Penny Postage Attempted
The income from the post office in 1643 was but 5,000 pounds.
Ultimately the posts both inland and foreign were farmed out to John
Manley for 10,000 pounds a year by an agreement made in 1653. About
this time an attorney of York, named John Hill, ventured upon the plan
of placing relays of post horses between that city and London and
undertook to convey letters and parcels at half the former charge. He
aimed to establish penny postage for England, two-penny postage for
Scotland, and a four-penny postage for Ireland. But the post office
was regarded in that day as a means of revenue and incidentally of
political espionage and government did not approve of such individual
enterprise. His letter carriers were literally trampled down by
Cromwell’s soldiers, and the enterprising attorney narrowly escaped
severe punishment. Another attempt at penny postage for London was
established by William Duckwra, a custom house employe, and Robert
Murray, a clerk in the excise office. Duckwra carried for a penny
and registered and insured, both letters and parcels up to a pound
in weight and $10 in value. He established hourly collections and
ten deliveries daily for the central parts of London and six for the
suburbs. The Duke of York had, however, a patent covering this service
and suits were laid against him which put an end to his enterprise.
The systematic employment of women in post office and telegraph service
was for a long time an experiment and a problem, but it afterwards
proved a success. Under new regulations in 1870, women were employed
as telegraphists for eight hours daily with pay according to age,
intelligence and practical experience. At the close of 1880, there were
a thousand women so employed in the cities of London, Edinburgh, and
Dublin, and nearly as many in minor postal positions throughout the
Kingdom.
General Post Office at London
The necessary authority for the establishment of a general post office
at London to cover the British dominions, including the American
Colonies, was given by act of Parliament in 1657. Under this act the
postal affairs of England were conducted for a great length of time
with but little if any improvement. It was not until the memorable
pamphlet of Sir Rowland Hill was issued in 1837 that any real progress
was made or any attempt made worthy of mention. Postal conditions were
so unsatisfactory that he made the whole subject a matter of profound
inquiry and his pamphlet on “Postal Reform” stirred the nation and
led to a complete reformation of the entire postal system and was the
beginning of the British post office as we see it today.
The important events in English postal history given above and that
which follows in chronological order are abridged from the Encyclopedia
Brittanica, 1891--1720, organization of cross roads and rural posts;
1753, establishment of post office in American Colonies under Benjamin
Franklin; 1774, improved mail coaches and organized mail routes; 1821,
first conveyance of mail by steam-packet; 1830, first mail coach by
railway; 1834, postage stamps invented by James Chalmers, Dundee,
Scotland; 1835, overland route to India; 1838, Postal money order
system; 1840, general and uniform penny postage (per half ounce); 1855,
first street letter boxes put up in London; 1856, Postal Guide issued;
1861, Postal Savings Banks instituted; 1870, transfer of telegraph to
state and postal cars introduced; 1881, postal orders issued; 1883,
parcel post established.
French and German Postal History
The French Postal System was founded by Louis XI in 1464. It was
largely extended by Charles IX, 1565, and generally improved under
Henry IV and Louis XIII. Napoleon abolished the board system by which
the French service was then conducted and recommitted the business
to a postmaster general as it had been under Louis XIII. Napoleon
greatly improved the service in all its details, and the measures he
adopted and the reforms he introduced in 1802 remained in force for
many years afterward and are probably in use now with such additions
as developments suggested. The most important reforms in French Postal
History were the extension of postal facilities to all the communes,
effected under Charles X, 1829; adoption of postage stamp, 1849, under
Louis Napoleon. Issue of postal notes to bearer, 1860; Postal Savings
Banks, instituted 1880.
The development of the Prussian or present German postal system was
mainly due to Dr. Stephan, who was also the chief organizer of the
International Postal Union. This Prussian system, incorporated into the
admirably organized post and telegraph service of the empire, began
with the Great Elector, 1646. In Strasburg a messenger code existed as
early as 1443. A postal service was organized at Nuremberg in 1570.
The first mail steam packet was built in 1821; the first transmission
of mails by railway was in 1847; telegraph service in postal affairs,
1849. A regular delivery by letter carriers attached to the state
postal system existed in Berlin as early as 1712.
These principal items of postal history concerning France and Germany
are condensed from the excellent articles upon the subject as found
in the Encyclopedia Brittanica, edition of 1891, as well as the
information on English postal history, for which acknowledgment is made
in its proper place relating to the Postal History of Great Britain.
The American Colonial Period
The earliest attempt to provide postal facilities for the colonies was
in 1672 when Governor Lovelace, of the New York colony, established
monthly service between New York and Boston. An office was later
established at Philadelphia from which weekly mail was received and
sent. By the signing of letters patent in 1691 the control of the
American posts was vested in Thomas Neale, commonly called the “Neale
Patent.” In that year Neale and the Royal Postmasters General appointed
Andrew Hamilton, Postmaster General of America. All the colonies except
Virginia cooperated with him in improving and extending the service.
A weekly post was established between Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to
Boston, Saybrook, New York, Philadelphia, Maryland and Virginia. Five
riders were engaged to cover each of the five stages twice a week.
In 1707 the crown purchased the good will of the American post and
continued John Hamilton, the son of Andrew, in that office at an annual
salary of 200 pounds. In the year 1737, Franklin became postmaster
at Philadelphia and generally supervised the other offices of the
colonies. In 1753 he was one of the deputy Postmasters General, but was
dismissed in 1774 by Governor Hutchinson, of Massachusetts, because of
his adherence to the patriotic cause.
Under the Continental Congress
But Franklin was not to remain idle for when the Continental Congress
met at its second session at Philadelphia, July 26, 1775, they resolved
to have a post office system of their own and he was selected to carry
on the work. A salary of $1,000 per annum was voted him with permission
to employ a secretary and a comptroller with a salary of $340 per
annum to each, and a line of posts ordered established from Falmouth,
New England, to Savannah, Ga., with postages 20 per centum less than
those afforded by parliament. However, Franklin’s great diplomatic
ability soon secured him a transfer to a wider field of usefulness and
his son-in-law, Richard Bache, who had been comptroller, was named
to succeed him. The ledger kept by this gentleman is still preserved
among the archives of the Department. It consists of about 3 quines of
foolscap, written over in a neat and legible hand. Ebenezer Hazard,
who had been the Constitutional postmaster at New York, so termed to
distinguish him from the British deputy at that place, was appointed
to succeed him. In 1782, an act was passed by the Colonial Congress
establishing a line of posts between New Hampshire and Georgia, the
salary of the deputies not to exceed 20 per cent of the revenues.
The rate of postage at that time on letters weighing not over 1
penny-weight and going not more than 60 miles was equal to 5½ cents and
a proportionate charge for greater weights and distances.
The Crown Postmasters
In a well-written article in the Washington, D. C., _Evening Star_, of
July 26, 1913, upon the occasion of the celebration of the one hundred
and thirty-eighth year of the American postal service, the activities
or self-assumed powers of the English or crown postmasters and its
effect in encouraging the independent sentiment of the time was stated
as follows:
“These crown postmasters had, or at least they exercised, the right of
‘spying’ upon the mails intrusted to their care. This made it difficult
and dangerous for the liberty-loving colonists to communicate with
each other. The zealous representatives of England also professed to
exercise a supervising care over the newspapers which were printed in
the colonies, and made arbitrary rules and regulations against those
who were too liberal or outspoken in their expressions of condemnation
of things as they then were and who dared to urge the liberty and
independence of the colonists. Some papers were shut out of the mails
and some were forced to tone down their utterances. A pound sterling was
demanded to carry 250 papers, 130 miles.
“The post office led in the unification of the colonists. Paul Revere
was the confidential post rider of Massachusetts. The tea party in
Boston Harbor would have been but a neighborhood affair but for the
agency of the post office and the patriotic publishers who spread the
news up and down the Atlantic coast.
“The postal service did more than any one other agency to unify and
unite the colonists. It 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. Printing 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, so most
postmasters became publishers. In this way the news of the doings of the
various jealous colonists was disseminated and the opinions of these
early postmaster-publishers were given wide circulation. It added an
incentive to trade and intercourse. By making the colonists acquainted
it dissipated jealousies. The growth of the post office from the humble
beginning of a sturdy carrier from New York to Boston loaded with
‘divers letters and small portable packages’ (you see they had parcel
post even in those days), solidified the colonists and made their
independence possible.”
Post Offices and Post Roads Established
During the Continental Government, the receipts of all the post offices
did not exceed $35,000 and in 1789 were $10,000 less. February 20,
1792, an act was passed establishing post offices and post roads within
the United States, the first general law. The contracts made were to
run eight years and the salary of the Postmaster General was increased
to $2,000, and $1,000 for his Assistant. The original number of post
offices (that is for the first year) was seventy-five and the mail
routes less than 2,000 miles over which mails were carried by horse,
stage, or sailing packets. In 1795, the number of postoffices had
increased to 453, and the routes to over 13,000, and the net revenue to
over $42,000. This closes the period of Continental management, except
ordinary details and changes which bore no relation to any especial
object or purpose.
The Period of Progress
From 1801 dates the great advance in modern methods, ideas and
accomplishment. It then occupied forty days to get a letter from
Portland, Me., to Savannah, Ga., and bring back an answer, and
forty-four at Philadelphia for a reply to one addressed to Nashville,
Tenn. Ten years later the time had been reduced to twenty-seven and
thirty days. By 1810 there were over 2,400 post offices and the post
routes covered over 37,000 miles. Marked improvements began soon after
this period. The office of Second Assistant Postmaster General was
created and the scale of postages changed. Single letters of one piece
were charged from 8 to 25 cents, according to distance. Sunday delivery
of mail at post offices was inaugurated about that time in the face of
great objection from the religious bodies of the country, the strife
being kept up for many years.
In 1813 the mails were first conveyed in steamboats from one port
town to another, the Government paying 3 cents for each letter and 1
cent for newspapers. The postal laws of 1816 made a further change
in postage which lasted until 1845. The new scale charged letters
consisting of one piece of paper, not going over 30 miles, 6 cents; not
over 80 miles, 10 cents; not over 150 miles, 12½ cents, and not over
400 miles, 18¾ cents, and for greater distances, 25 cents. On the ninth
of March, 1829, Hon. William T. Barry, of Kentucky, was commissioned
Postmaster General by President Jackson, and called to a seat in his
Cabinet, being the first Postmaster General to receive that honor.
Postage Stamps Introduced
Early in 1836, pony expresses as they were called, were put into
operation on the principal turnpike roads of the Southern and Western
States for the purpose of carrying letters of persons desiring
greater expedition, press news and Government dispatches, at triple
the ordinary rates, but the experiment was abandoned, not proving
profitable. In July, 1838, the Department was reorganized and an
Auditor appointed. The office of Third Assistant Postmaster General
was also created at that time. Railroads were declared post routes
by act of Congress, in July, 1838, and the mails carried upon them.
Postage stamps of the five-and ten-cent denominations with the faces
of Franklin and Washington, respectively, were introduced in 1847.
Previously all postages were collected entirely in money, prepayment
being optional. July, 1851, a new series of stamps was adopted,
consisting at first of denominations of 1 and 3 cents, but afterwards
of larger amounts.
Progressive Steps Taken
Rapidly sketched for reference, the more important progressive steps
that followed show that during the administration of President
Tyler, while Hon. Charles A. Wickliffe, of Kentucky, was Postmaster
General, many reforms were instituted, such as cheapening the postage,
improving the manner of letting routes by contract, prohibiting
private expresses, and restricting the franking privilege. Prior to
this period, letters were not rated by weight but by enclosures. For
instance, a letter containing three banknotes for which the single
letter charge would be 18¾ cents for over 150 miles, was then charged
75 cents, the inclosure making it a quadruple letter. Under the new
system the rate was measured by the weight, all weighing not over
half an ounce were regarded as single letters and carried for 5 cents
for distances not over 300 miles and 10 cents for greater distances.
In 1850 the “foreign desk,” from which ultimately grew the admirable
arrangement of the Postal Union, was instituted by Hon. Horatio King,
of Maine. Through the efforts of Judge Hall, of New York, Postmaster
General under President Fillmore, the postage on letters was reduced
to 3 cents. The registration system came in under Postmaster General
Campbell, of Pennsylvania, during the administration of President
Pierce. The Free Delivery Service was inaugurated in 1863 by Hon.
Montgomery Blair, of Maryland, also the money order system in 1864, in
Lincoln’s administration. The Railway Mail Service dates from July,
1862, when Judge Holt, of Kentucky, ordered its establishment, the
first railway postoffice being from Quincy, Ill., to St. Joseph, Mo.,
on the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railway.
Historical Data
A summary of historical data covering some of the principal features of
postal progress may be given in chronological order as follows: Postage
stamps first issued at New York, July, 1847; stamped envelopes first
issued, June, 1853; letters registered, July, 1855; newspaper wrappers,
Act of Congress, February, 1861; Free City Delivery, July, 1863; Money
Order System, November, 1864; International Money Orders, October,
1867; Postal Cards, May, 1873; Postage reduced to 2 cents, October,
1883; Special Delivery, October, 1885; Rural Delivery, October, 1896;
Postal Savings, January, 1911; Parcel Post, January, 1913.
The maximum number of post offices in the United States, 76,945, was
reached in 1901, since which time by the introduction of rural delivery
the number has steadily declined, 21,011 having been discontinued.
July, 1916, there were 55,934 in operation. Extent of post routes in
miles in 1790 was 1,875. In 1915 the number was 1,672,169. The miles
of service performed in 1915 amounted to 617,527,795. The entire
compensation paid to postmasters in 1789 was $1,657. In 1916 the
estimated amount was $31,150,000.