Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1891-02-07
THE PENNY POST.
4 ruslnew Mans View az Co What Would
Constltute True Reform in the Postal
Service.

4 Eusiness Mans View as Co What 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 geuer.
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 a
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
ters and news matter, but that the
rates on this legitimate class of mail
matter shall be placed at the lowest fig
ure consistent with it's cost. The an
nual report of the Postmaster-Gencral
shows that the present &c per ounce
rate on lettcis yielded the Government
during the last year $33, 100000, and
that the actual cost of carrying and de-
livering such letters for the same period
was but S. 900. 900, leaving clear profit
of $50, ,00o. .000. But the final balance
shown in the report shows that, instead
Of there being n profit of $50, 900, ,00O,
there was an actual deficiency or loss
of S5, 765, 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, overburdening the al
ready over-taxed facilities of the mail
TO such an extent as to render til.
prompt transmission and delivery OF
legitimate mail matter almost an i'm
| possibility. .
Second. To the shipment through the
mails of Goverume MT freight that could
and should be forwarded through other
channels at much lower cost.
In the face of this report, bill has
been introduced in Congress for the es
tablishment of Parcels Post, whicl
proposes still lower postal rates thar
are now in effect on class of business
that has been largely instrumental in
reducing Il profit of S30,0O0,0O0 to an
actual loss of $5,76s, 800. We conclude
that-it is not Of as much Importance to
the average citizen that the cost for the
transmission of a package of merchan'
disc or other articles of like character
! through the mails shall be less than the
| Government pays for transporting it. as
that the rates of postage on newspa-
| pers and personal and business letters
which arc the province and property o1
all shall be placed within the reach OF
all. The revenue of the Postal De-
partment, if properly applied, fully
| juStihes the reduction of rates
on letter postage, and it is
undouLt IDLY the duty of every voter tO
urge upon theiE Representatives in Con-
gress to legislate for penny postage on
letters and for the continuance of ths
present reasonable rates that are af
forded the newspaper interests of the
country The surplus revenues of the
Postal Department should be used for
this purpose, and for the Improvement
of the facilities for local delivery of let
ters and newspapers, and for the eX
tension of mail routes to regions of the
country not already favored with ac
ceptable postal communications, rather
than that they should be used to built
up branch of public service that i:
not required by the public, and which
experience has demonstrated will ex
haust the revenues and absorb the facil
titles needed for other and more impor
tant branches of the postal service.