The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1891-02-18
THE PENNY POST.

THE PENNY POST.
L Business Mans View ~ 10 Whist Would
Constitute True Reform In the Postal
Service.
A writer ON the subject Of the postal
service Of the country In . recent arti'
Gle advances the following ideas, which
are, perhaps, worthy Of consideration:
The annual report Of the Postmaster
General has provoked considerable in.
quiry as to the necessity for reform in
postal rates. The ideas advanced by
the different articles that have appeared
on the subject as to the most desirable
changes that could be made are gener-
ally prompted by the personal or
business interests Of the writer of the
theory. We believe that the public gen.
orally will take the view that the Postal
Department was established for the safe
and rapid transmission Of letters Of
business or personal nature, and for the
prompt dissemination Of news matter,
and that all other undertakings Of the
Postal Department should be secondary
to this. The public demand not only
the rapid and safe transmission OF let
tiers and news matter, but that the
rates on this legitimate class of mail
matter shall be placed at the lowest fig
ure consistent with its cost. The an
nual report of the Postmaster-General
shows that the present &c per ounce
rate on letters yielded the Government
during the last year $Ss,0OO,OO0, and
that the actual cost of carrying and de-
livering such letters for the same period
was but IS, 600, 900, leaving clear profit
of $50, 100000 But the final balance
shown in the report shows that, instead
of there being profit OF 10000, 900,
there was an actual deficiency or loss
Of $5,76S, 800. Inquiry into the causes
of this deficiency discloses the fact that
it is due,
First. To carrying through the mails
at rates largely under cost tons of ad-
vertising matter and schemes of every
character and merchandise packages Of
every nature, overwhelming the al
ready over-taxed facilities Of the mails
to such an extent as to render the
prompt transmission and delivery OF
legitimate mail matter almost an i'm.
possibility.
Second. To the shipment through the
mails of Governme mt freight that could
and should be forwarded through other
channels at much lower cost. gg
In the face Of this report, bill has
been introduced in Congress for the es-
tablishment of PARCELS Post, which
proposes still lower postal rates than
are now IN effect on class of business
that has been largely instrumental in
reducing profit of $50, 100000 to an
actual loss Of IS, 76s, 300. We conclude
that it is not of as much Importance to
the average citizen that the cost for the
transmission Of package of merchan'
disc or other articles of like character
through the mails shall be less than the
Government pays for transporting II, as
that the rates of postage on newspa
pers and personal and business letters
which are the province and property Of
all shall be placed within the reach o.
all. The revenue of the Postal De.
partment, if properly applied, fully
justifies the reduction Of rates
on letter postage, and it il
undoubtedly the duty Of every voter X
urge upon their Representatives in Con
gress to legislate for penny postage OF
letters and for the continuance of tn,
present reasonable rates that are af
forded the newspaper interests Of tn,
country. The surplus revenues of the
Postal Department should be used fol
this purpose, and for the improvement
of the facilities for local delivery of let
tiers and newspapers, and for the ex
tension Of mail routes to regions Of tn
country not already favored with &C
ceptable postal communications, rathe
than that they should be used to BULL
up branch Of public service that i
not required by the public, and whicl
experience has demonstrated will ex
haust the revenues and absorb the facil
tiles needed for other and more impor
tant branches Of the postal service.