For an order of $1 or more, but not exceeding $10, 10 cents.
For an order of $10 or more, but not exceeding $20, 15 cents.
For an order of $20 or more, but not exceeding $30, 20 cents.
Fractions of cents must not be introduced into any order.
XII. When a money-order has been lost by either remitter or payee, a
duplicate thereof will be issued to the party losing the original,
provided he shall furnish a statement, under oath or affirmation,
setting forth the loss or destruction thereof, and a certificate from
the postmaster by whom it was payable, that the said order had not been
paid, and would not thereafter be paid if presented. A second fee will
be charged and exacted for the issue of duplicate orders.
“The Instructions to Postmasters at Money-Order Offices” take up too
much space for our book: indeed, we omit even a synopsis of them, as we
feel perfectly satisfied that our readers would have to study law before
they could fully comprehend their mysteries. We call the attention,
however, of the public to the following rules to be observed as a
cautionary measure:—
“1. To take all means to prevent the loss of a money-order.
“2. Never to send the order in the same letter with the information
required on payment thereof.
“3. To be careful, on taking out a money-order, to state correctly the
Christian name, as well as the surname, of the person in whose favor it
is to be drawn.
“4. To see that the name and address of the person taking out the
money-order are correctly made known to the person in whose favor it is
to be drawn.
“Neglect of these instructions will risk the loss of the money, besides
leading to delay and trouble in obtaining payment.
“Under no circumstances can payment of an order be demanded on the day
of its issue.”
If the money is not called for within ninety days after the date of the
order, there will be difficulty in obtaining it. The regular form of the
order must not be clipped or mutilated. When the payee of an order
desires the same to be paid to any other person, he must fill up and
sign a form of indorsement, and furnish such second party with the
information required to obtain payment of his order, who upon receiving
payment must sign his name upon the face of the order. More than one
indorsement is prohibited by law, and will render the order invalid and
not payable.
It is to be regretted that the system had not been laid down so as to
come within the comprehension of all, and so simplified that the
explanations from the clerks would not tend to involve it in a greater
mystery. It reminds us strongly of a passage in Haddock’s Chancery
Practice, vol. 1, p. 125, intended as a definition of law:—
“When a person is bound _to do_ a thing, and he _does_ what may enable
him _to do_ the thing, he is supposed in equity _to do_ it with the view
of _doing_ what he is bound _to do_.”
_FREEDOM OF THE PRESS._
The freedom of the press, as understood and secured by high
constitutional authority, consists in its identification with every
principle which is involved in our Declaration of Independence. It dare
not aim its shafts at the existence of the government, the Constitution,
and the Union. And yet has not the press—a portion of it, we mean—aimed
to do so during this rebellion, and that, too, at a time while claiming
that government’s protection? A press devoted to the cause of traitors
is as much a traitor to the government as are those who are arrayed in
arms for its destruction. It ceases to be considered the palladium of
liberty, and assumes at once the character of a rebel and a spy, the
moment it strikes at the root of the tree whose fruit is freedom!
Our government, unfortunately, at the outbreak of the rebellion did not
claim the power to suppress such treasonable publications, but actually
left them free to publish what they pleased. The consequence _was_, and
_is_, that that portion of the press is as hostile to the administration
now as it was in the beginning, _silence giving them consent to commit
crime_. Nor was this all: our very postal department assisted in
disseminating their papers by allowing them to go and come with
impunity. Thus the mails established by the United States Government
were and, we are afraid, are still used for its own destruction. Is
there any principle of law or of justice to sanction such leniency on
our part?
Judge Story, of the Supreme Court, on one occasion, commenting on that
clause of the Constitution securing the freedom of the press, says,—
“That this amendment was intended to secure to every citizen an absolute
right to speak or write or print whatsoever he might please, without any
responsibility, public or private, therefor, is a supposition too wild
to be indulged in by any rational man. This would be to allow to every
citizen the right to destroy at his pleasure the reputation, the peace,
the property, and even the personal safety of every other citizen. A man
might, out of mere malice or revenge, accuse another of the most
infamous crimes, might excite against him the indignation of all his
fellow-citizens by the most atrocious calumnies, might disturb, nay,
overturn all his domestic peace, and embitter his parental affections,
might inflict the most distressing punishments upon the weak, the timid,
and the innocent, might prejudice all a man’s civil and political and
private rights, and might stir up sedition, rebellion, and treason, even
against the government itself, in the wantonness of his passions or the
corruption of his heart. Civil society could not go on under such
circumstances. Men would then be obliged to resort to private vengeance
to make up the deficiency of the law; and assassinations and savage
cruelties would be perpetrated with all the frequency belonging to
barbarous and cruel communities. It is plain, then, that the language of
this amendment imports no more than that every man has a right to speak,
write, and print his opinions upon any subject whatever, without any
prior restraint, so always that he does not injure any other person in
his rights, person, property, or reputation, _and so always that he
does not thereby disturb the public peace or attempt to subvert the
government_.”
_POST-OFFICE CURIOSITIES._
There are many curious things daily occurring in the post-office under
this head. In “Chambers’s Journal” we find the following:—
“A formal but most essential rule makes letters once posted the property
of the postmaster-general until they are delivered as addressed, and
they must not be given up to the _writers_ on any pretence whatever. One
or two requests of this kind related to us we are not likely soon to
forget. On one occasion a commercial traveller called at an office and
expressed a fear that he had enclosed two letters in wrong envelopes,
the addresses of which he furnished. It appeared from the account which
he reluctantly gave, after a refusal to grant his request, that his
position and prospects depended upon his getting his letters and
correcting the mistakes, inasmuch as they revealed plans which he had
adopted to serve two mercantile houses in the same line of business,
whose interests clashed at every point. Another case occurred in which a
fast young gentleman confessed to carrying on a confidential
correspondence with two young ladies at the same time, and that he had,
or feared he had, crossed two letters which he had written at the same
sitting. Writing of this, we are reminded of a case in which a country
postmaster had a letter put into his hand through the office-window,
together with the following message, delivered with great
emphasis:—‘Here’s a letter; she wants it to go along as fast as it can,
‘cause there’s a feller wants to have her here, and she’s courted by
another feller that’s not here, and she wants to know whether he’s going
to have her or not.’”
THE FATAL LETTER.—A tradesman’s daughter, who had been for some time
engaged to a prosperous young draper in a neighboring town, heard, from
one whom she and her parents considered a creditable authority, that he
was on the verge of bankruptcy. Not a day was to be lost in breaking the
bond by which she and her small fortune were linked to penury. A letter,
strong and conclusive in its language, was at once written and posted,
when the same informant called upon the young lady’s friends to
contradict and explain his former statement, which had arisen out of
some misunderstanding. They rushed at once to the post-office; and no
words can describe the scene,—the reiterated appeals, the tears, the
wringing of hands, the united entreaties of father, mother, and
daughter, for the restoration of the fatal letter. But the rule admitted
of no exception, and the young lady had to repent at leisure of her
inordinate haste.
In this country we are not so strict, as any person posting a letter can
have it restored to him by simply signing his name to the fact of its
being by him written. We would, however, suggest to the department the
propriety of establishing the English system; for we feel confident that
the moment rogues turn their attention to the post-office for the
purpose of plunder, taking advantage of this loose way of doing business
will be the consequence. Another thing: it will make men more careful,
and thus save the department an immense deal of trouble.
_NEWSPAPERS._
Although we have strict laws upon the subject of _trifling_ with
newspapers, our postmasters do not enforce them to the extent they
should. The following is a provision of the English law which does not
remain, as with us, a “dead letter:”—
“Newspapers are always to be considered of equal importance with
letters; and postmasters are forbidden to open them for any other
purpose than that required by law, and are also forbidden to lend them
to any person.”
(From the “English Postal.”)
“BY WEIGHT.—If the weight be exceeded to the smallest extent, even
though the balance be merely turned, the book or printed paper becomes
liable to a higher postage. To provide, therefore, for errors in scales,
&c., it is well to allow a little margin, or to pay the postage of the
next greater weight. It should be remembered that a newspaper when wet
weighs more than when dry. Forgetfulness on this point sometimes causes
groundless complaints about charges for newspapers,—the complainant
erroneously supposing, on weighing the newspaper on its arrival, and
when it had had time to dry, that he had been overcharged. The foregoing
observations apply also to books, &c. sent abroad.
“INFORMATION.—No information can be given respecting letters which pass
through a post-office, except to the persons to whom they are addressed;
and in no other way is official information of a private character
allowed to be made public.
“RETURN LETTERS.—Postmasters are not allowed to return any letter to the
writer, or sender, or to any one else, or to delay forwarding it to its
destination according to the address, even though a request to such
effect be written thereon; as every letter must be delivered to the
person to whom it is directed (and to him alone) at the address it
bears.
“FORBIDDEN ARTICLES.—The rule which forbids the transmission through the
post of any article likely to injure the contents of the mail-bags or
the person of any officer of the post-office is, of course, applicable
to the pattern-post; and a packet containing any thing of the kind will
be stopped and not sent to its destination.
“Articles such as the following have been occasionally posted as
patterns, and have been detained as unfit for the post, viz.,—metal
boxes, porcelain and china, fruit, vegetables, bunches of flowers,
cuttings of plants, spurs, knives, scissors, needles, pins, pieces of
machinery, watch-machinery, sharp-pointed instruments, samples of
metals, samples of ore, samples in glass bottles, pieces of glass, acids
of various kinds, curry-combs, copper and steel engraving-plates, and
confectionery of various kinds.”
_WATCH YOUR LETTER-BOXES._
In many of our large post-offices postmasters have baskets placed inside
for the reception of letters. These are invariably too small, and it not
unfrequently occurs that the aperture through which letters pass gets
choked up, the basket being full to its mouth. Any person could from the
outside take a handful of letters without any one being aware of it.
Honest men, however, making the discovery, notify the clerks of the
situation of the letters, but not until it is very natural to suppose
some letters may have been stolen. This will account in some measure for
the mysterious disappearance of letters which have caused many an
innocent person to be suspected and the business operations of an office
justly censured. These baskets, instead of being wide and shallow, are
deep and narrow. If properly constructed and arranged, there would be no
necessity for clerks shouting out, “Swamp on the baskets.” This is very
much like locking the stable-door after the horse has been stolen.
We would suggest, therefore, that when dropping a letter, newspaper, &c.
into a letter-box, always to see that the packet falls into the basket
or box, and does not stick in its passage.
_SUGGESTIONS TO THE PUBLIC, ETC._
The following sensible suggestions are taken from “The British Postal
Guide:” let us advise our readers to pay some little attention to them:—
“To see that every letter, newspaper, or other packet sent by post is
securely folded and sealed, and that, when postage-stamps are remitted,
they are enclosed in paper sufficiently thick to prevent them from being
seen or felt through the cover. It should be remembered that every such
packet has to be several times handled, and that even when in the
mail-bag it is exposed to pressure and friction. Unless, therefore, the
article be light and pliant, it should be enclosed in strong paper,
linen, parchment, or some other material which will not readily tear or
break. The observance of this precaution is especially necessary
whenever any fragile articles of value are forwarded by post. These
should always be enclosed in a wooden or tin box. Owing to neglect of
these precautions many postal packets burst open, causing much trouble
to the department and risk to the owners, it being sometimes impossible
to determine to what packet a particular article belongs.
“To fasten the covers of newspapers firmly, so as to prevent the
contents from slipping out. When, for additional security, the address
is written on the newspaper itself, such address (if the newspaper be
franked by an impressed stamp) must in case of re-transmission be cut
off; otherwise the newspaper will become subject to a postage of 2_d._
It is not sufficient that the old address be _obliterated_, as the rules
forbid writing or marks of any kind in addition to the true address.
“In affixing stamps, to wet slightly the corner of the envelope and the
gummed side of the stamp, and then gently to press the stamp till it is
firmly fixed. The practice of dipping the stamp in water is
objectionable, because, unless the stamp be immediately withdrawn, and
care be taken by the use of blotting-paper or some other absorbent to
remove any excess of moisture, the gum may be washed off, or the stamp
may be rubbed off the letter. By the use of envelopes bearing an
_embossed_ stamp (which can be purchased at any post-office), all risk
of the stamp being detached may be avoided.
“Never to send money or any other article of value through the post,
except either by means of a money-order or in a registered letter. Any
person who sends money or jewelry in an unregistered letter not only
runs a risk of losing his property, but exposes to temptation every one
through whose hands his letter passes, and may be the means of
ultimately bringing some clerk or letter-carrier to moral ruin. Every
letter which contains money or other valuable article, even when
registered, ought to be securely sealed.”
_FORBIDDEN ARTICLES._
“Postmasters are instructed not to receive any letter, &c. which there
is good reason to believe contains any thing likely to injure the
contents of the mail-bag or the person of any officer of the
post-office. If such a packet be posted without the postmaster’s
knowledge, or if at any time before its despatch he should discover any
such packet, he is directed not to forward it, but to report the case,
with the address of the packet, to the secretary. The following are
examples of the articles referred to:—
“A glass bottle, or glass in any form; razors, scissors, needles,
knives, forks, or other sharp instruments; leeches, game, fish, meat,
fruit, or vegetables; bladders or other vessels containing liquids;
gunpowder, lucifer matches, or any thing which is explosive or
combustible.”
_LETTER-CARRIERS, THEIR COMPENSATION, ETC._
“Letter-carriers shall be employed as the postmaster-general shall
direct, at a compensation not exceeding $800 a year, which may be
increased to $1000 at offices where the income will allow, on proof of
the carrier’s fidelity, diligence, and experience. Carriers must give
bond. Deliveries shall be made as frequently as the public interest may
require. No carrier’s fee or extra postage shall be charged on letters
delivered or collected by carriers. Separate accounts must be kept of
the expenses of the carrier-service and of the receipts from _local_
mail-matter; and all such expenses must be paid from the income of the
office employing the carriers. Letter-carriers may be employed, under
contract between postmaster and publishers, to deliver newspapers,
periodicals, circulars, &c., but such contracts must be first approved
by the postmaster-general; and the postmaster-general may also provide
for delivery by such carriers of small packets, not exceeding four
pounds each, at the rate of two cents for each four ounces.”
Attempts were made subsequent to the passage of this law (1862) to have
the salaries increased to $1000, urged by the applicants in consequence
of the high price of provisions. In 1864 they were coolly informed that
there were plenty of people _outside_ ready to step _inside_ at the same
salary. The post-office would present a strange appearance if this
system was adopted, for the duties of the office are not learned in a
day. Under former administrations it was the chief object of men in
power to pay their employees living wages and reward honesty, sobriety,
and attention to business by preferment. _It is not so now._
_ONE-CENT SYSTEM._
The law authorizing the free delivery of mail-letters and all other
mail-matter by carriers took effect on the first day of July, 1863. We
much question if the change has benefited the treasury of the
department.
_THE DISTRIBUTION OF LETTERS IN EUROPE._
Although we have expressed a doubt in relation to this system with us,
it may not apply to other countries. Here it is expected that the income
of an office will sustain its own expenses, and hence every postmaster
is anxious to make his report to the department favorably to this
system. Carriers now receive a regular salary; before, they depended in
a great measure on the one-cent system, which lessened the department’s
expense for carriers’ pay more than one-third what it is now. The one
cent was received from the recipients of letters and papers, which they
paid freely, and not unfrequently made it two when they came to settle
with the carriers. Merchants and others still consider the old plan the
best, _having an idea that they are better served_.
AUSTRIA.—Brought to the door. In all larger places, without carrier’s
fee; in smaller places (villages and farms), a fee of two kreutzers (one
cent) is charged.
BELGIUM.—Brought to the door throughout the kingdom.
ENGLAND.—By carriers without fee.
FRANCE.—By carriers without fee (to the door) in both city and country.
Poste restante exists for letters so addressed, and when the person’s
address is not found.
HANSEATIC CITIES—BREMEN.—By letter-carriers to the door.
ITALY.—To the door by carriers without fee.
THE NETHERLANDS.—By carriers without fee.
PRUSSIA.—By carriers. In larger cities the fee will soon be abolished
entirely; in the rural districts it is six pfennige (about one and a
quarter cent) per letter.
SWITZERLAND.—By carriers without fee.