The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1902-09-09
RETURN POSTAL PLAN
HAY Be ADOPTED
Postage on Business Mail to
Be Paid By Addressee.
ADVANTAGES OF THE SCHEME
Designed for Firms Sending Out Large
Numbers Of Return Stamped Enve-
loPes or Cards, OF Which Ninety Per
Cent Are Destroyed at Present.

One Of the most important innoYa-
lions in the postal service that has been
suggested IN recent years is now under
consideration by the Postofice Depart
ment- Il viii be CT interest and value
TO every newspaper, manufacturer, IN
surance eompany-in fact, to everybody
who sends out d large quantity Of mail
with the idea CT getting replies thereto
The plan viii be put into operation if
the department becomes convinced that
thsre IS q public demand for it. Many
letters. nave already been received in
dorsing the project and urging its
prompt establishment
The proposed service is known as the
return envelope and postal card sys-
TEN. and its working IS very readily
explained II takes the place OF an
existing system which. instead Of fos-
teTing. really places an onerous tax
upon. Interstate commerce through the
mails
The Present Plan.
At present. for instance, q newspaper
that desires to increase its circulation
sends out a lot Of circulars setting forth
the advantages TO be obtained by the
subscribers to that particular paper
and incloses q postal card addressed 10
itself upon the back CT which is printed
q blank order for SIX months OF =
years subscription, asking the recipient
10 sign and drop into The nails Ia
the case of q business institution seek
ing 10 introduce its goods the wording
on the back OF the postal is. OF course,
changed 10 suit the occasion
New. each postal card costs one cent
Each thousand Of them therefore. rep
resents an investment Of SO. which, to
gether with the expense Of printing the
cards and the accompanying circulars
and mailing. the whole sent out TO a
possible customer makes this form o.
advertising very costly; II is AL the
mere so when it is considered that the
returns rarely. If ever. exceed 10 per
cent. and IN some cases fau below that
Cards Are Destroyed
A great many people have a habil
when receiving these cards of removing
the printed matter upon them and using
the postaIs for their own convenience
OF else they simply throw the cards
away. In this manner about 80 per cent
/ Of the postal cards Is dead loss 10 the
( advertiser Ee pays the Government
$40 for each thousand cards with the
+ idea that IL viii perform The service OF
: bringing those thousand cards back 20
/ MIN.
As matter of fact. however. the Gov
I eminent is required 70 return only
about 100 Of the cards and gets $500 on
each / 600 for services II has never
( performed The new system is intended
+ 10 OBJ iate this unfair and onerous tax
upon the business community
Loss to Sender Large.
/ One newspaper IN Chicago, for in
stance, has been sending out 500 600
cards each year. Assuming it has re
+ ceived returns TO the number % 10 per
cent. this paper is. taxed $4,000 q year,
or is r-ssenting the Government with
/ that amount for the privilege OF using
/ this form OF advertising
/ Under the new system which il IS
! proposed TO adopt. this tax on the DeO-
pie viH be abolished. the Government
: will receive pay Tor the amount OF mail
/ II actually carries. For this purpose IL
/ is proposed TO authorize the Use OF q
/ special form Of envelope and postal
card. These envelopes and postal cards
/ viii bear a stamp designed 10 show
. that they can be dropped n the mail,
and carried 10 their destination. where
the postage viii be paid BY the ad-
dressee before delivery
Government VIII Rot Lose.
The Government, while thus reeeiv-
ing pay. for services actually. performed
viii be guaranteed against loss. while
the newspaper or business firm viii save
about 500 per thousand on the cards
he sends out; on envelopes. about SI5-0J.
The new envelopes and cards VIII b.
distributed as the present ones a-e-in
/ circulars. catalogues. or win packages
Of goods. but j. the recipient desires
to throw the envelope or card away &c
can 90 so without cnJailinS a loss OF
cent or cents uyoH the sender,
while al the same time he cannot use
the envelope or card for any purpose
excert that for which it was intended