Chapter 10

RAILROAD TRANSPORTATION. One of the most difficult points in the administration of the post-office, has been the dealing with railroad corporations. As these are bodies without souls, they can only be dealt with on the footing of pecuniary interest. And as they are state institutions, and local favorites, public opinion has been generally predisposed to take sides with the railroad, and against the department. And thus the railroads have been able to exact exorbitant allowances for services which cost them next to nothing. Were the whole mails of the country to be sent at once by a single railroad, what would be the amount? The average number of letters mailed in a day is 142,857; which, at the average weight of ⅓ ounce, would weigh 2976 pounds. The average number of newspapers in a day is 150,685, which, at the average weight of 2 ounces, would give 18,834 pounds. The whole together make 21,815 pounds, equal to 109 passengers, averaging, with their baggage, 200 pounds each. These passengers would be carried by railroad 200 miles, from Boston to Albany for $545. The daily cost of railroad service is $1637, which shows that it is distance, not weight, that is chiefly regarded. Or, in other words, that the weight of the mails is of very little account to railroads. It is well known that the corporations regard the carriage of the mail as almost clear profit. The whole daily mails of the United States could be carried by the inland route from Boston to New Orleans, by the established expresses, at their regular rates on parcels, for a little over $3000; while the whole daily expense of mail transportation is $6,594. The expresses will carry from Boston to New York, for $1.50, an amount of parcels, which the post-office would charge $150 for carrying as letters, or $18.40 as newspapers—and all go by the same train, of course involving equal cost of transportation to the company. The inference is unavoidable, that the government is charged exorbitantly by these companies, from the entire absence of competition on almost every railroad route. While human nature remains the same, it is to be expected that corporations will take this advantage unless some counteracting interest can be brought to bear upon them as a restraint against extortion.

Now, let the post-office present itself to the people as a system of pure and unmingled beneficence, studying not how it can get a little more money for a little less service, but how it can render the greatest amount of accommodation with the least expense to the public treasury, and it will at once become the object of the public gratitude and warm affection; men will study how to facilitate all its transactions, will be conscientiously careful not to impose any needless trouble upon its servants, and will generally watch for its interests as their own. Such is the benign effect upon all the considerate portions of society in England. Then the government will be fully sustained in insisting that all railroads shall carry the mail for a compensation which will be just a fair equivalent for the service performed, in reasonable proportion to other services. And if the corporations are perverse in throwing obstacles in the way, the people will expect that such coercive measures should be employed, as wisdom may prescribe, to make these creatures of their power subservient to the public good, and not to mere private aggrandisement.

In January, 1845, a document was communicated to congress by the Postmaster-General, containing replies by the British post-office to certain queries which he had proposed to them. This document gives the distance travelled daily by mail trains on railways at 1601 miles, at a cost per mile of 1_s_. 1-18/32_d_. per mile. But this “distance” is the number of miles between place and place. The total number of miles that the mail travels by railroad daily is 5808, which would make the real cost per mile of travel about 5-¼_d_. The number of miles travelled by railroad in this country is 4,170,403, at the cost of $597,475, which is about 12 cents per mile. But the English trains are driven at much greater speed than ours, the expense of running is much greater in all respects, the cost of the roads is vastly higher, the weight of mails is much greater, and therefore the price of transportation might be higher than with us. But it is lower. The average weight of mails sent daily from London alone is 27,384 pounds, which is 5569 pounds more than the whole daily mails of the United States. By act of parliament, the Postmaster-General is authorized and empowered “to require of every railway company that they shall convey the mail at such times as he may deem proper; and the amount paid for such services is settled by a subsequent arbitration.” Railroad service is performed in New Hampshire for a fraction over 4 cents per mile. The average in New England is 10-½ cents per mile. The average price of passenger fares, for short distances or long, is but 3 cents per mile. There can be no doubt that it is within the constitutional and proper prerogative of congress to take the use of a railroad for the public service, leaving the just compensation to be awarded by arbitration. Neither can it be doubted that enlightened arbitration would greatly reduce the price from what is now paid.

COMPARATIVE COST OF OTHER TRANSPORTATION WITH LETTER POSTAGE. The following table shows the cost of passage from Boston to the places named, and the cost of transportation of parcels of usual weight by Express, with the price per half ounce at the same rates.

The average weight of passengers with their baggage is set at 230 pounds. This would be equal to the weight of 7360 letters, at half an ounce each, the postage on which, at two cents, would be $147.20, irrespective of distance.

From Boston Passenger Per half oz. Express Per half oz. Fare. Mills. Freight. Mills. 230 pounds. To New York, $4.00 5-10ths $1.50 2-10ths To Philadelphia, 7.00 9-10ths 3.50 5-10ths To Baltimore, 10.00 1 3-10ths 5.50 7-10ths To Cincinnati, 25.00 3 2-10ths 10.50 1 4-10ths To St. Louis, 35.00 4 7-10ths 12.00 1 6-10ths To New Orleans, 45.00 6 1-10th 14.00 1 9-10ths To Liverpool, 120.00 16 3-10ths 7.20 9-10ths per Cunard Steamers

Rowland Hill discovered that the cost of transporting a letter from London to Edinburgh was 1-36th of a penny; and the Parliamentary Committee ascertained by a different calculation, that this was the average cost per letter of all the mails in England.

PENNY PAPERS. The establishment of penny papers in this country is a very striking illustration of the principles here involved. It is now just fifteen years since the New York Sun was commenced by a couple of journeymen printers, one of whom had just been in my employ. They were intelligent and enterprising, and began by writing their editorials and police reports, which they then set up in type, and worked from an old Ramage press, with their own hands. They printed seven hundred papers, of a very small size, which they sold to boys at 62-½ cents per hundred, and the boys sold them in the streets at one cent each. Soon their editions increased, and they enlarged their sheet, and hired it printed on a Napier press which I owned. Again their business increased, so much that it became necessary for them to have a press of their own, driven by steam power. One of the partners then sold out his interest for $10,000, went to the West, studied law, and has been twice a candidate for Congress, with strong prospects of success. The concern has since passed into other hands, and has continued to prosper. For many years it has been printed on a sheet larger than could be bought for a cent, making a constant loss on the paper alone; besides which, it has cost $25 a week to the editor for the leading articles alone; and I know not how much for other editorial labor, market and commercial reports, ship news, foreign news, lightning expresses, correspondence, &c. And yet the amount received for advertising has covered all these expenditures, and enabled the present proprietor to realize, as is supposed, a splendid fortune.

A man in Boston buys 200 copies of the New York Tribune and other papers daily, for which he pays 1-¼ cents each. The Express brings him the parcel for 50 cents, which is one quarter of a cent for each paper. The post-office would charge $3.00 for postage alone. For the half cent remaining to him after expenses paid, the carrier delivers his papers to subscribers all over the city, collects his pay once a month, and runs all the risk of loss of bundles and bad debts. Each paper weighs about an ounce and a half—equal to three single letters of full weight, the postage on which would be fifteen cents, making $30 in all. It is impossible to doubt the practicability of cheap postage.

In Scotland, with but 2,628,957 inhabitants, and no great commercial centre, no political metropolis, and but little foreign commerce, such is the effect of cheap postage that 28,669,169 letters are sent in a year. Even in _poor_ Ireland, where the people die of hunger by thousands, where there are millions of people who never taste of bread, and where the majority of the people are said to be unable to read or write, with a population of 8,175,124, less than half the population of the United States—there are 28,587,996 letters mailed under the influence of penny postage. The population of Scotland and Ireland together is 10,804,081, not half the present population of the United States; the number of letters in a year is 57,257,165, being more than _all_ that are sent in the United States, franks included.

CONCLUDING REMARKS. I am brought to the close of this essay, with only a brief space left to be filled, and with many subjects of remark untouched—the Exclusive Right of the Post-office—the History of Postage in this country—the Sectional Bearings of Cheap Postage—the Postage Bill now before Congress—the Moral and Social Benefits of Cheap Postage. This pamphlet has been wholly written since the vote of the Publishing Committee, which must be my apology for some repetitions. The main arguments cannot be overthrown, until men disprove arithmetic.

Who can doubt that cheap postage would bring three times as many letters as are now sent by mail in this country. And that would give a greater revenue to the post-office than it now receives. It is impossible to doubt the success of cheap postage, when once it is established.

Now is the favorable time for its adoption. The astonishing success of cheap postage in Great Britain is opening people’s eyes. The rapid progress which public opinion has made in the last six months in favor of cheap postage, creates a confident expectation that congress will yield to the first resolute motion that shall be made, and adopt a well-considered system, of which two cents letter-postage shall be the basis, with a general provision for prepayment. The details will be easily adjusted when the principle is adopted. Let us have no evasions, no half-way measures, to delude with false hopes, and to stand as obstacles in the way of the only true system.

Why should I enlarge upon the benefits of cheap postage? The only question to be asked is—What shall every man do to obtain it? The answer is, You must understand its merits; you must talk with your neighbors, and get them interested in its favor; you must write, if you can, for the papers; you must unite, without delay, in signing and forwarding the following petition to congress:

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States, in Congress assembled_:

The undersigned, Citizens of:

respectfully petition Congress to pass a Law to establish A UNIFORM RATE OF POSTAGE, not to exceed ONE CENT ON NEWSPAPERS, and TWO CENTS on each PRE-PAID LETTER of half an ounce, for all distances; and for other corresponding reforms.

APPENDIX.

I. TABLES FROM THE PARLIAMENTARY RETURNS.

The parliamentary return, obligingly sent to Dr. Webb by Mr. Hume, M. P., bears date the 11th of June, 1847, and was made in pursuance of an order of the House, passed April 22, 1847. The tabular statements contained in this important paper will be examined with great interest by those who are accustomed to statistical inquiries, and are here presented for their use. Taken in connection with Mr. Hume’s table, on page 4, they will present the most convincing evidence of the unparalleled success of cheap postage.

A comparative statement of the NUMBER OF LETTERS delivered in the United Kingdom, in one week of the month of November, 1839, and of each subsequent year, taking a week in the month of April, 1847. (Condensed from the parliamentary document.)

Years. England and Ireland. Scotland. United Wales. Kingdom. 1839(3) 1,252,977 179,931 153,065 1,585,973 1840 2,685,181 385,672 385,262 3,456,115 1841 3,029,453 403,421 413,248 3,846,122 1842 3,282,021 474,031 446,494 4,202,546 1843 3,401,595 478,941 468,677 4,349,213 1844 3,744,011 527,630 511,663 4,783,304 1845 4,467,619 597,425 601,715 5,666,759 1846 4,629,324 649,324 621,850 5,890,704 1847(4) 4,823,854 698,313 626,709 6,148,876

II. An account, showing the GROSS and NET POST OFFICE REVENUE, and the COST OF MANAGEMENT, for the United Kingdom, for the year ending the 5th day of January, 1839, and for each subsequent year.

Year ending Gross Cost of Net Revenue. Revenue.(5) Management.(6) 5 January, 1839 £2,346,278 £686,768 3_s_. £1,659,509 —_s_. 9½_d_. 6¾_d_. 17_s_. 2¾_d_. 5 January, 2,390,763 10 1½ 756,999 7 4 1,633,764 2 9½ 1840(7) 5 January, 1841 1,359,466 9 2 858,677 —5¼ 500,789 11 4¼ 5 January, 1842 1,499,418 10 938,168 19 7½ 561,249 11 4¼ 11¾ 5 January, 1843 1,578,145 16 7½ 977,504 10 3 600,641 64½ 5 January, 1844 1,620,867 11 10 980,650 7 5¾ 640,217 4 4¼ 5 January, 1845 1,705,067 16 4 985,110 13 10¾ 719,957 2 5¼ 5 January, 1846 1,901,580 10 2¾ 1,125,594 5 — 775,986 5 2¾ 5 January, 1847 1,978,293 11 1,138,745 2 4¼ 839,548 9 6 10¼

III. Return of the PAYMENTS made by the POST OFFICE during each of the years ending the 5th of January, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842, 1843, 1844, 1845, 1846, 1847, for the CONVEYANCE of the _Mails_ by _Railway_ in Great Britain.

5th January, 1839, £12,380 5_s_. 7_d_. 5th January, 1840, 52,230 1 2 5th January, 1841, 51,301 6 8 5th January, 1842, 94,818 7 10 5th January, 1843, 77,570 5 7 5th January, 1844, 96,360 10 5 5th January, 1845, 89,809 4 6 5th January, 1846, 179,257 4 1 5th January, 1847, 107,890 14 2

IV. An account of the Number and Amount of MONEY ORDERS issued (and paid) in England and Wales (London included), from the 5th April, 1839, to 5th April, 1847, inclusive.

For the Quarters ended Number. Amount. 5 April, 1839 28,838 £49,496 5_s_. 8_d_. 5 July, 1839 34,612 59,099 9 5 5 October, 1839 38,510 64,056 7 8 5 January, 1840 40,763 67,411 2 7 5 April, 1840 76,145 119,932 12 1 5 July, 1840 94,215 151,734 15 8 5 October, 1840 122,420 196,507 14 3 5 January, 1841 189,984 334,652 14 8 5 April, 1841 275,870 567,518 12 3 5 July, 1841 289,884 608,774 11 2 5 October, 1841 334,071 661,099 9 — 5 January, 1842 390,290 820,576 11 10 5 April, 1842 419,530 890,575 17 1 5 July, 1842 422,452 885,803 4 5 5 October, 1842 432,205 901,549 5 5 5 January, 1843 493,439 1,031,850 5 3 5 April, 1843 512,798 1,080,249 2 2 5 July, 1843 495,723 1,032,643 5 11 5 October, 1843 515,458 1,060,023 8 7 5 January, 1844 562,030 1,196,428 8 2 5 April, 1844 582,056 1,212,094 4 9 5 July, 1844 555,561 1,166,161 12 3 5 October, 1844 574,250 1,184,178 — 5 5 January, 1845 621,826 1,296,451 17 4 5 April, 1845 656,452 1,372,405 18 8 5 July, 1845 613,539 1,279,050 2 4 5 October, 1845 637,369 1,316,164 12 1 5 January, 1846 719,813 1,495,832 17 6 5 April, 1846 716,618 1,490,626 12 5 5 July, 1846 679,236 1,399,789 17 2 5 October, 1846 706,055 1,447,507 17 2 5 January, 1847 779,790 1,588,549 7 2 5 April, 1847 810,603 1,654,278 7 —

The Commission on Money Orders was, on and from the 20th November, 1840, reduced as follows:

For any sum not exceeding £2, from 6_d_. to 3_d_. For any sum above £2, and not exceeding £5, from 1s. 6_d_. to _6_d.

V. Return of the Number of CHARGEABLE LETTERS, which is passed through the London General Post, inwards and outwards, in the first four weeks of each year, beginning with 1839, distinguishing the Unpaid, Paid with Coin, Stamped, and Total.(8)

Years. Unpaid. Paid. Stamped. Total. 1839(9) 1,358,651 263,496 1,622,147 1840(10) 787,139 2,217,127 3,004,266 1841 370,080 2,204,419 2,108,074 4,683,073 1842 351,134 2,166,960 2,760,757 5,278,851 1843 312,839 2,431,231 2,972,828 5,716,898 1844 433,270 2,524,270 3,079,418 6,037,526 1845 504,519 2,613,648 3,681,026 6,800,293 1846 551,461 2,899,306 4,435,966 7,886,733 1847(11) 448,838 3,057,257 4,905,674 8,411,769

VI. Return of the Number of CHARGEABLE LETTERS which passed through the London District Post, excluding all General Post Letters, in the first four weeks of each year, beginning with 1839.

Years. Unpaid. Paid. Stamped. Total. 1839 800,573 220,813 1,021,286 1840 331,589 1,207,985 1,539,574 1841 157,242 926,264 752,134 1,835,640 1842 118,101 820,835 980,694 1,919,630 1843 113,293 837,624 1,020,091 1,971,008 1844 98,712 859,776 1,181,314 2,139,802 1845 99,005 947,660 1,337,132 2,383,697 1846 119,165 1,055,717 1,573,603 2,748,485 1847 108,158 1,079,378 1,685,105 2,872,641

The Penny Rate took effect on this route Dec. 5, 1839.

The increase of the total, since 1839, is 181 per cent.; showing that the greatest increase is out of the London District.

VII. Table by Mr. Hill, showing the loss of Revenue by the Post Office, compared with the Increase of Population.

Years. Population. Postage. Postage due Loss. Pr. ct. by Population. 1815 19,552,000 £1,557,291 £1,557,291 1820 20,928,000 1,479,547 1,677,000 £194,553 11.6 1825 22,362,000 1,670,209 1,789,000 118,781 6.6 1830 23,961,000 1,517,952 1,917,000 399,048 20. 1835 25,605,000 1,540,300 2,048,000 507,700 24.8

VII. Table by Mr. Hill, showing the loss of Revenue by the Post Office, compared with the Increase of the Stage-Coach Duty.

Years. Stage Coach Postage. Post due by Loss. Pr. ct. Duty Coach Duty. 1815 £217,671 £1,557,291 £1,557,291 1820 273,477 1,479,547 1,946,000 £466,453 24. 1825 362,631 1,670,209 2,585,000 914,781 35. 1830 418,598 1,517,952 2,990,000 1,472,048 49. 1835 498,497 1,540,300 3,550,000 2,009,700 57.

The revenue from the stage coach duty had increased 128 per cent. in twenty years. There was no reason why the natural demand for the conveyance of letters should not have increased at least as much as the demand for the conveyance of persons. It was evident that the postage revenue fell short by at least two millions which was lost by the high rate of postage.

NEWSPAPERS.

[From Porter’s Progress of the British Nation.]

Owing to the great craving of the people for information upon political subjects during the agitation that accompanied the introduction and passing of the bill “to amend the representation of the people,” commonly known as “The Reform Bill,” a great temptation was offered for the illegal publication of newspapers upon unstamped paper, many of which were sold in large numbers in defiance of all the preventive efforts made by the officers of government. The stamp duty of fourpence per sheet was therefore taken off in 1836, leaving a stamp of 1_d_., as an equivalent for free postage.

IX. Table showing the Number of Newspapers at different periods, and the Revenue derived from the same.

Years. Newspapers. Revenue. 1801 16,085,085 £185,806 1811 24,421,713 298,547 1821 24,862,186 335,753 1826 27,004,802 451,676 1830 30,158,741 505,439 1831 35,198,160 483,153 1835 33,191,820 453,130 1836 35,576,056 359,826 1837 53,496,207 218,042 1838 53,347,231 221,164 1839 55,891,003 238,394 1840 60,922,151 244,416 1841 59,936,897 1842 61,495,503 1843 1844

X. Table showing the Increase of Expense in the British Post Office, consequent upon the Increase of the Number of Letters under the new System; the Rate per Letter of the Cost of additional Letters, and the Profits realized from such Increase, expressed in decimals of a penny.

Years. Increase of Increase of Additional Additional Letters. Cost. Cost. Profit. 1840 93,000,000 £70,231 _d_. 0.181 _d_. 0.819 1841 27,500,000 101,678 0.887 0.113 1842 12,000,000 72,256 1.445 (12) 1843 12,000,000 35,826 0.716 0.284 1844 21,500,000 (13) — 1.004 1845 29,500,000 6,870 0.055 0.945 1846 28,000,000 140,576 1.205 (14) 1847 2,2500,000 23,879 0.257 0.746

N. B. The increase of letters since 1839 is 246 millions, and cost of the increase is .347 of a penny; so that every letter now added to the circulation yields a net profit to the government of .625_d_., or nearly two thirds of the penny postage.

FOOTNOTES

1 “The estimate for 1839 is founded on the ascertained number of letters for one week in the month of November, and strictly speaking, it is for the year ending Dec. 5th, at which time 4_d_. was made the maximum rate. The estimate for each subsequent year is founded on the ascertained number of letters for one week in each calendar month.”

2 “This is exclusive of about six and a half millions of franks.”

3 The number of franks was ascertained for each of the weeks ending January 11, January 21, and February 4, 1838; and the mean of these three gives 126,212 as the estimated number for one week, which is 8 per cent. of the whole, and leaves 1,459,761 as the number of chargeable letters.

4 Week ending April 21, 1847. The whole number in the week ending February was 6,569,696. The number 6,148,876, for one week, multiplied by 52, gives 319,741,552, the total number for the year 1847.

5 Namely, the gross receipts, after deducting the returns for refused letters, &c.