Chapter I
INTRODUCTION
The United States Post Office Department is the largest nonmilitary establishment of the Federal Government. It touches the life of every American
and offers services which are indispensable to a growing and dynamic American economy. But the road to the Department's present state
of development has been a long one from a rather inauspicious beginning well over a century and a half ago.
When President Washington named Samuel Osgood as
the first Postmaster General
in 1789 there were only 77 employees, 75 post offices, with revenues of only
$25,000, and less than 2,000 miles of post roads. By comparison,
in fiscal 1955 the postal system had over 38,000 post offices, employed more than one-half million people, transported mail over
millions of miles of post roads, and had
expenditures and revenues involving billions of dollars in handling 175 million pieces of mail each working day.
The Postal Service has made a rich contribution
to our Nation's history. It is,
indeed, doubtful that the progress of America could have been so rapid if the postal system had not been available to
enable an interchange of ideas and
thus allow human actions to be mobilized against the inherent obstacles of a growing nation. The mails were a cohesive element which helped weld the States into a Nation and facilitated a
cultural and educational advancement unparalleled in history.
As
our country developed and our national life became vastly more complex, the natural result was a demand for greater
and more varied postal services. The transformation from an
agrarian to an industrial economy accentuated
the need for faster communications and influenced the type of postal services offered. A growing
population and an expanding economy were
accompanied by increases in mail volume and a widening variety of mail matter entering the post office. This, in turn, created problems of mail classification and rate making. Rate structures
were revised and revised again. Rate reformations were required because of changes
in costs, services, mail
reclassifications, revenue needs, and
new mail handling and transportation methods.
An unusual application of postage rates occurred
when on three occasions, in times of war emergencies, rate increases
were used as means of raising general
revenue. Such increases were in effect in 1815 and 1816 as a result of
the War of 1812; from 1917 to 1919 (plus a tax on parcel post packages from 1918 to 1922) occasioned by World War I; and
from 1944 to 1947 incident to World War II. Frequently
rate reformations and mail reclassifications were made only after long legislative controversy marked by intense
feeling and extended debate. And the
debate has not ended. There will
always be need for such revisions if the Post Office Department is to keep pace
with the changing needs of the
economy which it serves. New rate problems will emerge and older problems which
have not yet been resolved will demand attention of the Congress and the Department. Serious study and
penetrating research are needed to
provide essential information which will help remove inequities in the present rate structure and lead to
the establishment of a schedule of rates,
fees, and charges consistent with the best interests of the Nation. To these ends it is hoped that this
historical study will be a valuable research
tool.
Who Makes the Postal
Rates?
The
authority and responsibility for making the postal rates rests with the Congress.
In recent years, however, the Congress has
delegated certain authority to
executive regulation.
One important instance of
such delegation of rate-making authority was in 1913, when in establishing the parcel post system the Congress empowered
the Postmaster General thereafter to set the rates on fourth-class mail (subject to consent of the Interstate
Commerce Commission).
In 1952 the Congress transferred
to the Postmaster General the authority thereafter to set the fees for the special services.
Government Monopoly on Transportation of Letters
The
monopoly on the conveyance of letters, which the Government reserves to the mail service, has naturally had a
bearing on letter postage rates, although
the effects are not determinable. It was created prior to the adoption of the Constitution and has existed
continuously ever since. The letter-mail
monopoly provisions are commonly referred to as "The Private Express Statutes."' -
Protection of the
Mails
An
interesting sidelight is the manner in which Congress and the Department have provided for the secrecy and sanctity of
letter mail. In 1794 Congress provided
the death penalty for embezzling or stealing mail matter. Before the end of the eighteenth century public
flogging was substituted for the
rigorous death penalty. Eventually flogging, too, was discontinued for the more
humane, but perhaps nonetheless effective, method of imprisonment or fines for
postal violations.
Classification of Mail
In the six
chapters of text that follow, the
first five deal with the major classes
of mail, and the last deals with the special services.
It should be noted that
while in the earlier years varying rates were established for different
kinds of mail matter, it was not until 1863 that the mail was divided into "classes." In that year three classes
were specified; and in 1879 four
classes, the same number as today. In
this book, however, to enable the
reader to trace more easily the evolution of rates on specific kinds of matter, the rates before 1863
are treated in both text and tables under the headings of the appropriate major
"classes" of mail as later
designated. The specific kinds of mail
within each class, and the additions and changes that occurred in classification during the past years, are
detailed in the chapters and tables
devoted to the respective classes.
Tables
of Rates in This Book
The tables of rates and fees corresponding to the chapters of text show the years in which new mail classifications were established,
revisions that were made in the rate
structure, new services that were added, changes that were made in size and weight limits, and other important
modifications. The reader may find the
legal authority for the changes shown in the tables by referring to Appendix A.
IN THE TABLES DOTS (...) ARE
USED TO INDICATE THE ABSENCE OF A
RATE, AND DASHES (- - -) INDICATE THE CONTINUANCE OF A RATE FROM THE LAST CHANGE SHOWN. THE RATES IN EFFECT DECEMBER 31, 1955, ARE SHOWN
EITHER BY ACTUAL LISTING OR BY REFERENCE TO A PRECEDING PERIOD.
The tables do not include all the information appearing in the legal chronology (Appendixes). To have included every special rate which served a unique purpose, often for a brief period
of time, would have unduly complicated
the tables and created unnecessary difficulties. Also, this study does not
include, except under special circumstances, any reference to the international rate structure.
' A pamphlet
"Restrictions on Transportation of Letters (The Private Express Statutes and Interpretations)" can be
obtained from the Superintendent of
Docu ments, Government Printing
Office, Washington 25, D. C.; price 10 cents.
An historical analysis of international rates is a major undertaking in itself. Any attempt to include the thousands of rates involved in international-mailings would have detracted from
the main purpose of the book.
Appendix A is a chronological selection of abstracts of the most
important public laws and
departmental orders affecting postage rates.
Appendix B is a chronological selection of
abstracts of legislation providing
for the free transmission of certain types of mail matter. Included are various laws covering franked and penalty
mails, and also laws pertaining to
free mailing privileges of members of the Armed Forces, ex-Presidents, widows of ex-Presidents, newspapers, and others.
Changes in Postal Rates
The first postage rates in effect under the
Constitutional Government of the United
States of America, following its establishment in 1789, were those which had been fixed by the Continental
Congress through the Ordinance of
1782. These rates were continued in
effect until changed by the new
Government in 1792. (See Appendix A.)
Thus occurred the first of the long line of changes in postal
rates which were to be made down
through the years, as detailed in the following pages.