US Presidency
1909

A great saving might be made, amounting to much more than half of the loss, by imposing upon magazines and periodicals a higher rate of postage. They are much heavier than newspapers, and contain a much higher proportion of advertising to reading matter, and the average distance of their transportation is three and a half times as great. The total deficit for the last fiscal year in the Post-Office Department amounted to $ 17,500,000. The branches of its business which it did at a loss were the second class mail service, in which the loss, as already said, was $ 63,000,000, and the free rural delivery, in which the loss was $ 28,000,000. These losses were in part offset by the profits of the letter postage and other sources of income. It would seem wise to reduce the loss upon second class mail matter, at least to the extent of preventing a deficit in the total operations of the Post-Office.