Napoleon Sarony
The Man Wot Pays No Postage
Publisher: H. R. Robinson
Lithograph
1839 |
James Reeside (left) was a successful stagecoach line operator who contracted with the post office to transport mail. Under Postmaster General William Barry, the post office ran into financial problems and could not pay its contractors. Reeside lent large sums of money to the post office to help them pay what they owed.
When Amos Kendall (seated) became Postmaster General, he refused to repay Reeside, who sued to recover the money. In 1841, Reeside was awarded $190,000 by a jury. |