The post office and its story an interesting account of the activities of a great government department

If our Post Office Circular contained racy reports of this nature concerning the smart deeds of our officials, the vested interests of the halfpenny press would be imperilled, and an injunction would be demanded against the Postmaster-General to prevent him entering into competition with private enterprise. The Postmaster-General in one report gravely stated that the postmaster of Sheridan, Wyoming, “had been removed from his office because he had an unfortunate habit of burning all mail matter which did not meet with his approval.” This action of the Postmaster-General seems certainly to have been justified: the Post Office has eccentric servants all over the world, but it draws the line at the destruction of mail matter. Wherever this happens the man is dismissed, and in England, at least, he would be prosecuted. The South American post offices in many instances take after the mother country of Spain. The Monte Video Times in July 1896 made this pathetic complaint: “It is now some two years that we have been without postcards.”