no branch of the federal government more strikingly illustrates the wonderful growth and extension of uncle sam’s business than the postal service. its history is the history of the commercial and industrial development of the nation, for it has kept abreast, so far as supplying the means of quick and reliable communication is concerned, of the onward march of progress. it ought to be the desire and the aim of every man and woman who purposes to take up the postal service as a life career, to know something of its history, its gradual evolution. only in this way can they form a just estimate of its relative value in the scheme of government, and without such knowledge they will be merely perfunctory human machines, void of that close personal attachment so necessary to success in any undertaking.
a review of the history of the postal service in america has all the interest and charm of an old romance dealing with the life and customs of a bygone age, particularly when depicted by one whose heart and soul is wrapped up in the service, by one[6] whose career in itself is the best proof of what studious habits, devotion to duty, and loyalty to the department can do for a man in the postal service. that man is edward m. morgan, postmaster of new york city, who, starting as a letter-carrier in 1873, came up through the ranks, grade by grade, until he was entrusted with the management of one of the two largest post offices in the world.
beginning of the postal service.
mr. morgan in speaking of the history of the postal service says:
“the post office played but a minor part in the early affairs of new amsterdam. for many years after the consummation of the greatest real estate deal on record, which secured from the indians the whole island of manhattan for twenty-four dollars, most of the slight correspondence that was carried on was forwarded in the care of chance travelers, or mutual friends of the correspondents. later the necessity of some sort of receiving place was felt and what was known as the “coffee house delivery” came into use. letters were addressed to some popular coffee house or tavern, where, upon receipt, they were “posted” in a conspicuous place in the public room where they remained until by chance or gossip, the persons for whom they were intended learned of their arrival.
[7]
new york’s first post office.
“that system in time came to be regarded as unsatisfactory, and in 1692, when new york, as it had then come to be called, was still a quiet village of about five thousand inhabitants, the village authorities passed an act or ordinance establishing a post office. this was followed by the founding here, in 1710, of a “chief letter office” by the postmaster-general of great britain, shortly afterwards, arrangements were made for the delivery of mail from boston twice a month, and propositions were advertised for the establishment of a post to albany. the interesting feature of that advertisement, to us who are accustomed to the speedy locomotion of to-day, was that the mail was not to be carried by coach, or boat, or even on horseback, but on foot. the records are hazy as to the location of the first official post office in new york city, but according to an advertisement that appeared in a paper of the period, it was removed in 1732 from the quarters it then occupied to “the uppermost of the two houses on broadway, opposite beaver street.” the year 1753 found it still in the same location. it was closed on sundays, and at other times it was open for business from 8 a. m. until noon, excepting on post nights, when business was transacted until 10 p. m.
[8]
annual postal receipt less than $3,000.
“in 1786, during the administration of sebastian bauman, the second postmaster after the close of the war of the revolution, there was a regular schedule for the arrival and dispatch of mails between new york and albany and new england, and also between new york and the south. mail from new england and albany arrived on wednesday and saturday in winter, and on tuesday, thursday and saturday in summer. the income of the office at that time was $2,789.84. compare that sum and the income for the twelve months ended september 30, 1911, when, for the first time in the history of the new york office, the receipts for any twelve consecutive months passed the twenty million dollar mark, being exactly $20,451,172.53.”
franklin first postmaster general.
it is an interesting and singular coincidence, overlooked by some of our historians, that the man to whom most credit is due, probably, for the organization of our national postal service was benjamin franklin, who did so much to encourage and promote the use of electricity, the other great medium for transmitting intelligence. franklin was the first postmaster[9] general under the revolutionary organization, before the adoption of the constitution in 1787. he was chosen because of his earlier experience in postal matters, as postmaster of philadelphia in 1737, and as deputy postmaster general of the british colonies in 1753. he was removed from the latter office, to punish him for his active sympathies with the colonists. when independence was declared one of the first acts of his fellow patriots was to place him at the head of the post office department. but the stern necessities of the revolution called for franklin’s great abilities to perform services of still greater importance, and richard bache, his son-in-law, was chosen to succeed him as postmaster general, in november, 1776. mr. bache was succeeded by ebenezer hazard, the compiler of the valuable historical collection bearing that name. he held the office until the adoption of the constitution and the inauguration of washington.
washington chose for his postmaster general, samuel osgood, of the famous new england family. he had been graduated from harvard college in 1770. he soon became a member of the massachusetts legislature, a member of the board of war, and subsequently an aid to general ward. in 1779, he was chosen a member of the massachusetts constitutional convention, and two years later was elected a member[10] of congress. after four years in congress he became first commissioner of the treasury. when he left washington’s cabinet he was made naval officer of the port of new york where he died august 12, 1813.
