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National Post

Michael Taube: Private mail delivery's not such a crazy idea — it was done as far back as 1844

Article content In an age in which people rely more on email, texting and electronic billing, will many Canadians care the second time around? I believe they should. Even if our reliance on physical mail has declined, it's impossible for us to completely avoid sending letters, envelopes and packages. Article content Hence, we should be demanding competitive rates for postage stamps and overnight courier services, supporting cost-cutting measures to reduce wasteful spending and promoting fiscally sound strategies for rural delivery and the use of community mailboxes in the suburbs. Article content It's time to either fully privatize Canada Post, or open up the free market to create real competition for mail delivery and postage rates. The privatization model that should be studied and emulated is Lysander Spooner's privately-run post office. Article content Spooner, a 19th-century lawyer and political thinker, embraced a mishmash of libertarianism, anarchism and the odd-sounding free market socialism. He launched the American Letter Mail Company in 1844 to directly compete with the U.S. Postal Service monopoly, which had long frustrated him due to excessive government interference, extensive regulation and high postage rates. Article content As he argued in 'The Unconstitutionality of the Laws of Congress Prohibiting Private Mails' that the 'power given to Congress, is simply 'to establish post-offices and post roads' of their own, not to forbid similar establishments by the states or people.' Article content Spooner established offices in major cities like New York, Boston and Philadelphia. His company offered significantly lower rates for stamps. Agents travelled with the letters by train and boat, and passed them onto messengers who delivered them. The company flourished in its first few years, and customers were seemingly satisfied. Article content But the U.S. government was furious and set out to eliminate its competition. Spooner was eventually taken to court, and although a U.S. Circuit Court judge sided with Spooner and questioned the legitimacy of a government monopoly on mail delivery, he ultimately proved to be no match for the U.S. Congress. Article content 'In 1851, Congress again lowered rates and simultaneously enacted a law to protect the government's monopoly on the distribution of mail,' Lucille J. Goodyear wrote in American Legion Magazine in 1981. 'Whereas threats of jail had not fazed or dampened Spooner's zeal in the fight, the latter move by Congress forced him into defeat.' Article content Article content Article content