OCR Text |
Show AN IMPORTANT COMMUNICATION. A Ruling on the Action of a Postmaster In a Leading Case. - Postmaster Benton is in receipt of the following fol-lowing from the department at Washington: Post Office Department, ) Office or First Ass't Postmaster Obs'i. Washington, May 27, 1892. ) Gentlemen: I have the honor to acknowledge ac-knowledge the receipt of your letter of the 21th instant, in reference to postmasters furnishing fur-nishing the addresses of their patrons, to creditors and others who are desirous of ascertaining their whereabouts. 1 have carefully considered your communication, commu-nication, and tind that the rule of this department, de-partment, which has been in force for many years, under the provisions of which postmasters post-masters are forbidden to make public information infor-mation obtained by them in the discharge of their duties, is based upon the general principle prin-ciple that "one of the highest obligations of the department to the people Is to preserve, by all means in its power, the absolute sancity of the seal." The postmaster is an agent of the government, govern-ment, and there is no relation which the government sustains towards the people of such high trust and of such peculiar and confidential character as in the transmission of sealed communications. The name of the person addressed is written writ-ten on the outside of the letter for the single sin-gle purpose of enabling the postmaster to deliver it to the proper person. For any other purpose the postmaster is presumed to have no knowledge of the address. His knowledge is coutined to the discharge of his official duties. The privacy of the service ser-vice would be at an end if the, postmaster could be required to disclose the name and address of his patrons, except after due judicial ju-dicial proceedings shall have been taken. The patron of a postottice furnishes the postmaster his address for oue purpose oniy ; that is to secure the delivery of his mail. It would be an unwarranted act of the postmaster post-master to betray the trust reposed in him by furnishing the address to the very person ( perhaps ) whom the patron wishes to avoid. 1 think the question of address lies between the parties themselves, and that the postmaster postmas-ter sbould not be called upon to interfere, or, in other words, perform detective service for a creditor. This rule cannot be considered by you as a hardship, when you remember that a letter addressed to a person whom you desire to -find will be delivered to him, if his address be known, and if the addressee of the letter wants you to be advised off his whereabouts, he will give you the information; if not, the postmaster must not furnish it against his wishes. 1 trust you will not feel that the view of the department, as expressed above, is arbitrary, ar-bitrary, and have no doubt that upon a moment's reflection you will agree with me that the address of a patron is hi own secret, se-cret, to be made public by him in his own way, and not by an officer of the government govern-ment who has executed an oath to protect his secret, so far as the postmaster's official duties are concerned. S. A. Whitfield, First Assistant Postmaster-General. |