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Lysander Spooner papers, mostly of 1850-51, relating to his claim for establishing low postage. The claim is absurd. Spooner was an amateur, who doubted the Constitutionality of the Government monopoly in postal affairs (he forgot that a fact is more powerful than a doctrine), attempted a private mail line (which failed), and then fancied that he ought to have a reward because he had “coerced” Congress to reduce postage in 1845. It is all very odd, and rather worthless. There is also a strange letter of Spooner to the woman who had sense enough not to marry him. Spooner died 3 or 4 years ago. The papers were given me by Dr. Charles E. Clark, Boston Registrar of Voters 1889-1892. The papers not so worthless I have pasted in a Scrapbook marked PRIVATE MAILS—LOW POSTAGE.

C.W. Ernst,

___ Postmaster at Boston

Swampscott, 28 August, 1892.