The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-03-07
The PaternaIism of the Parcels POST
Proposition.

Proposition.
From the Washington Post
Representative Hull of Iowa is in favor
of a domestic parcels post on one condi-
ton. Speaking of the pending measure
intended to introduce this alleged reform
in our postal service he says: Il favor
il if il can be made self-sustaining. but
/ do not care to load down the mails with
parcels if the government must defray
the expense of carrying them" The Chi
cage Chronicle says that is right and
that Mr. Hull is also right in his general
proposition that There is no reason why
the postal service should not be put upon
a paying basis" The Chronicle adds:
"The proper course is to put the entire
serVice-that is. every separate branch of
ton paying basis. If Congress will
do that a parcel post service can be rem
dered at satisfactory rates, the capacity
of express companies can be checked the
free delivery system extended and letter
rates can be reduced. But no gratuitous
class service must be the foundation of
genuine postal reform"
Whatever of "gratuitous class service"
there is in our postal system should be
eliminated There are tons of printed
matter carried in the mails every day at
a loss 10 the government which has no
claim to favorable consideration. Publ
cations which are printed only for adVer-
Using purposes. and have no regular sub
scription list. are distributed by millions
of copies al postal rates far below the
cost of the service. Were this abuse re-
formed and the frankins privilege con-
fined to reasonable limits there would be
no deficit of postal revenues But the
publishers of fake weeklies and monthlies
appear TO be SO strongly backed in Con-
gress that there is little hope of loosen
ing their grip. and as to the franking
business. it bids fair, if not checked to
cover the free printing and free distribu-
ton Of anything and everything that can
possibly be utilized in a political cam
paign.
But how does it happen that the Chi
cage Chronicle. paper that processes 10
he an exponent of Jeffers0nian and Jack
sonian democracy, comes out in advocacy
of the extreme paternalsm embodied in
the parcels post bill? There is quite
enough OF that in the law as II stands.
For many years the government has been
doing an express business scarcely JUST
fed by sound principles, and by no means
i'm harmony with the old-ilme Democratic
creed But now II is proposed 10 copy
the methods of the paternal governments
of Europe and make our postal cars
freight cars and our postal clerks express
messengers. The Chronicle intimates that
this radical departure from the original
intent of the postal service, TINS enormous
injection of paternahsm into department
necessarily, 10 some extent, paternal, Is
necessitated by the eXactions of express
companies Is II the business of our dem
ocrauc government 10 regulate prices by
entering into a cut-throat competition
with men engaged in all sorts of eccuD2-
tons? No man or set Of men, no firm.
corporation. or association can compete
with the United states if Congress under
takes TO perform The work In which he OF
they are engaged. for Congress can en-
ploy che taxing power, and thereby make
up for losses incurred. And where Is the
logical end of such competition? Why
not meet the complaints Of high freight
charges by going into the general freight
business2 Why, when complaint is mace
of exorbitant passenger rates, should not
the government SO into general passe n
ger business2
The malls carry packages from WASH
ington TO Sitka at the same rate charged