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<p>[QUOTE="kaparthy, post: 4518237, member: 57463"]<font face="Georgia">Actually, the cause was <b>private competition against the postal system.</b> </font></p><p><font face="Georgia">(See Wikipedia for <b>Lysander Spooner </b>and his American Letter Mail Company. He was but one of several.) When AML Co. started, it cost <b>18-3/4 cents</b> to mail a letter just from <b>Baltimore to New York. </b></font></p><p><font face="Arial"><b>See The Foundation for Economic Education here:</b></font></p><p><font face="Georgia"><a href="https://fee.org/articles/lysander-spooner-the-anarchist-who-single-handedly-took-on-the-us-post-office/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://fee.org/articles/lysander-spooner-the-anarchist-who-single-handedly-took-on-the-us-post-office/" rel="nofollow">https://fee.org/articles/lysander-spooner-the-anarchist-who-single-handedly-took-on-the-us-post-office/</a></font></p><p><font face="Arial"><b>And on the inefficiency of state monopolies here at the Online Library of Liberty:</b></font></p><p><font face="Georgia"><a href="https://oll.libertyfund.org/quotes/541" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://oll.libertyfund.org/quotes/541" rel="nofollow">https://oll.libertyfund.org/quotes/541</a></font></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Wikipedia on the American Letter Mail Company:</b></p><p><font face="Georgia">"Spooner started the service out of frustration with the exceedingly high postal rates. It cost 18 3/4 cents to send a letter from Boston to New York and 25 cents to send one all the way to Washington DC. A letter sent from Boston to Albany, NY written on a 1/4-ounce sheet of paper and carried by the Western Railroad, cost 2/3 as much as the freight charge for carrying a barrel of flour the same distance. Spooner's justification was that the Constitution provided for a government-run postal service, but did not exclude others from engaging in the same business. Spooner dropped his rates even lower, delivering many letters for free. This competition dropped prices dramatically with postage of 6 1/4 cents per each half-ounce and stamps 20 for a dollar. Deliveries were made twice daily between New York City and Philadelphia. The US Government tried to lower prices by threatening railroads to withdraw business. However, the U.S. Government challenged Spooner with legal measures whereby Spooner was initially vindicated. In fact the U.S. Circuit Court expressed doubt that the U.S. had the right to monopolize the transportation of mail. Congress eventually forced him to cease operations in 1851 by legislating a US monopoly. [1]"</font></p><p><font face="Georgia"><b>The citation is to this article:</b></font></p><p><font face="Georgia"><b>Goodyear, Lucille J. "Spooner vs. U.S. Postal System," <i>American Legion Magazine, </i>January 1981.</b></font></p><p><font face="Georgia"><br /></font></p><p><font face="Georgia">In addition to the 3-cent silver, the Mint also created the $3 gold (1854-1889) to facilitate purchase of 100-stamp sheets. The Red Book considers that an opinion by numismatists. We have no epigraphic archival evidence from the Mint on their motives.</font>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="kaparthy, post: 4518237, member: 57463"][FONT=Georgia]Actually, the cause was [B]private competition against the postal system.[/B] (See Wikipedia for [B]Lysander Spooner [/B]and his American Letter Mail Company. He was but one of several.) When AML Co. started, it cost [B]18-3/4 cents[/B] to mail a letter just from [B]Baltimore to New York. [/B][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][B]See The Foundation for Economic Education here:[/B][/FONT] [FONT=Georgia][URL]https://fee.org/articles/lysander-spooner-the-anarchist-who-single-handedly-took-on-the-us-post-office/[/URL][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][B]And on the inefficiency of state monopolies here at the Online Library of Liberty:[/B][/FONT] [FONT=Georgia][URL]https://oll.libertyfund.org/quotes/541[/URL][/FONT] [B]Wikipedia on the American Letter Mail Company:[/B] [FONT=Georgia]"Spooner started the service out of frustration with the exceedingly high postal rates. It cost 18 3/4 cents to send a letter from Boston to New York and 25 cents to send one all the way to Washington DC. A letter sent from Boston to Albany, NY written on a 1/4-ounce sheet of paper and carried by the Western Railroad, cost 2/3 as much as the freight charge for carrying a barrel of flour the same distance. Spooner's justification was that the Constitution provided for a government-run postal service, but did not exclude others from engaging in the same business. Spooner dropped his rates even lower, delivering many letters for free. This competition dropped prices dramatically with postage of 6 1/4 cents per each half-ounce and stamps 20 for a dollar. Deliveries were made twice daily between New York City and Philadelphia. The US Government tried to lower prices by threatening railroads to withdraw business. However, the U.S. Government challenged Spooner with legal measures whereby Spooner was initially vindicated. In fact the U.S. Circuit Court expressed doubt that the U.S. had the right to monopolize the transportation of mail. Congress eventually forced him to cease operations in 1851 by legislating a US monopoly. [1]" [B]The citation is to this article:[/B] [B]Goodyear, Lucille J. "Spooner vs. U.S. Postal System," [I]American Legion Magazine, [/I]January 1981.[/B] In addition to the 3-cent silver, the Mint also created the $3 gold (1854-1889) to facilitate purchase of 100-stamp sheets. The Red Book considers that an opinion by numismatists. We have no epigraphic archival evidence from the Mint on their motives.[/FONT][/QUOTE]
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