The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1877-06-09
THIRD.CLAss NAIL NATTER.


Three Leading Expfees Companies Bid
ding for Share Of the Guinness.
From the New York World, May 81
1t will easily be recollected that not
long ago the influence of the leading ex-
press companies secured an advance in
the rates charged for the transmission
of what is classed as third-rate matter,
the establishment of facilities for the
distribution of such matter afforded by
the Government having proved serious
ly to affect the business and diminish
the receipts of the express lines. A
loud protest went up all over the coun-
try against this concession to the express
companies, which had its effect upon
Congress, and the tariff, which had in
creased, asreduced to its original form,
and packages were sent through the
post at the rate of l cent per ounce.
The use of the mails for the purpose
of transmitting small packages became
exceedingly popular Immediately after
the service was established, and
that the business is worth
bidding for is indicated by
the action of several of the best known
companies. On and after May 81, the
Adams, American, and United States
express companies will carry packages
not exceeding four pounds in weight at
the rate of cent per ounce or fraction
of an ounce, but no package will be
rated at less than 10 cents, and the val
uation of each package will be fixed at
not exceeding 81. The matter on
which the charge will be cent an ounce,
or the fraction of an ounce, will be al
most identical with third-class mail
NATTER" and will include books, bulbs,
circulars (unsealed), cuttings, PAM
phlets, patterns, samples, seeds, sheet
music; and in the merchandise list will
exclude jewelry, precious stones, gold
and silver ware, silks, laces, furs, extra
bulky articles, such as hats, caps, and
millinery goods, liquids in glass Gun
protected by woody, explosives, and
packages of matter of extraordinary
value. These packages, of course, can
only be delivered at points to which the
express companies reach, so that the
mail service will still be The one having
the most extensive communications all
over the country.
The mails now carry many packages
of third-class matter at charges of less
than half the amount which the express
companies have decided shall be the
minimum for their service, the large
majority of the packages being stamp
ed below five cents each. The express
companies become responsible to the
extent of 81 for each package, while the
Government assumes no responsibility.
The failure to assume any responsibility,
however, does not appear to have i'm
pairedthe confidence of the public, for
the number of complaints of losses in
the mails of this sort of matter have been
very few, and most of them have result
ed rather from the carelessness of per-
sons mailing the matter than from the
neglect of the Post-Office authorities.
Assistant Postmaster Pierson said yes
terday that the service had been made
use of by some of the largest dealers
in this city, and that few
complaints had been received
from them, and of the number made a
majority had afterward been acknowl-
edged to result from mistake on the part
of the house mailing the packages. One
book house made repeated complaints,
and the strictest watch was kept over
their packages at the Post-ofiice. The
firm was finally assured that the losses
must occur out of the department and
before the matter was submitted to the
care of the Government. A watch was
accordingly set in the establishment
from which the matter originated, and
it was soon discovered that one of the
employees had been regularly purloin-
ing dictionaries and other books which
were supposed to have been lost in the
mails