The San Francisco call., 1898-05-14
Conqress Should Investiuate the Cause of the Large An
 nual Deficiency.
Advertising Periodicals Take Ad- vantage of the Second Class
 Privileges.

The postal authorities of this city do not take kindly to the proposition recent ly made in Washington that the number of daily mail deliveries in the large busf- ness centers of the United States should be cut down in order to reduce the alarm ing deficiency in the Postoffice Depart ment which has existed for many years. There are five mail deliveries per day in San Francisco in the business districts, and should this number be cut down to four much hardship and inconvenience will be inflicted upon the business com munity Daniel s. Richardson, secretary for the postoffice in this city, said yes terday that San Francisco merchants had become so much accustomed to the five daily deliveries that the looping off of even one of them would cause them much inconvenience and would injurious ly affect the business interests of the en- tire community.
 The postal deficiency, he said, was large ly due to the abuse of the second class mail privilege. The mails are clogged he said with serial novels and other trashy publications. The class of literature privilege is the lower order of literature anu in no case the higher. Amongs the mass are a large number of papers claiming second class rates that are pri- mariIy designed for advertising and free circulation in hotels and on railway trains and class of publications repre-
  instance, a grocery firm will issue a cat alogue of prices and add something to it to make it just come within the require ments of second class matter, thus oblig- vertising. If these catalogues were obliged to pay third class rates the firm would pay eight cents a pound instead of one cent pound, which is the second class rate.
 Tn addition to the abuses of the sec ond-class privilege my impression is, ID. .ak,o rates paid by the Government are too high for the transportation of mail matter in proportion to the rates of freight charged by transportation com similar care If the second-claSs privi- lege were restricted to legitimate newspa- pers and periodicals the deficiency would be speedily wiped out. The privilege should be restricted and the rates paid for transportation should be reduced'
 MT. Richardson showed some interest ing statistics bearing on the matter. Dur ing 1896 there was revenue to the Gov ernment of $60, SPA ASA on 65,337 343 pounds of first-class matter The revenue dur ing the same year on 34S ,ssS64s pounds of The 1Sr' revenue on 7s.7o1, ,14S pounds SV''eSi of third-class matter was 0,324, ,069 and the revenue from 19,950,17 pounds of fourth-class matter or merchandise was s I29 ,321 From the years 1887 to 1896, in- elusive, the total cost of transportation of second-class matter amounting to 2,097,- 640, 300 pounds was $lSf, Sll,224, While the re- ceipts to the Government to pay for the same were only S20, ,976 ,403, leaving de- f1ciency of $146 ,S34 S21. It should be borne in mind that this deficiency is for the transportation of second-class matter only.
 MT. Richardson called attention to an- other important factor In the case, and that was the fact that the Government was getting all the long-haul matter and the express companies are getting the advantage of all the concentrations of weight and short-haul matter. Within d Iauius M oi ovo HiiIoo etiS eA1Pless coin- for fraction under a cent per pound
 MT. Richardson added that the business community were under a debt of grati- tude to The Call for the stand 1t has ta- ken In this matter of reforming the abuse which Is responsible for the great defi- ciency. The editorial in yesterday morn> ing's issue of The Call was timely and to the point. A congressional investigation should be had by all means.