The Corvallis times. (Corvallis, Or.) 1888-1909, 1904-01-30
ASKING PENNY POSTAGE.
Petitions Circulated in Corvallis Some
ii thing Abont the Plan.

Petitions Circulated in Corvallis Some
! thing Abont the Plan.
| Petitions are in circulation in
Corvallis, asking, congress to in.
augurat' one cent letter postage,
anl protesting against proposed
bill for the establishment of a par
GELS post service. It is said. that
Ievery persons to whom the petitions
have been presented has unhesi.
tatingly signed.
The penny letter postage plan
has been sgitated for several years.
lD i's favor is the report of the
p stmasrer general in 1890 show
ing that while the actual cot of
handling the letter business of the
country was only So. .ooo, 900, the
revenue, derived by the govern
msnt therefrom was S38, ooo, 900,
yielding a profit of $50, 100000 or
375 per cent, Based on this re-
port, the estimate is that OH a one.
cent rate for letters. the govern
ment could still handle the busi-
ness at an enormous profit. The
present excess of the profit on the
two cent postage on letters fs ex-
pended in carrying the illegitma'e
business In second class matter,
embodying the advertising matter
sent out by various coacerns, bogus
aud otherwise, all over the coun-
try. Another most favorable con-
sideration is, that every person in
the entire country would be bene--
fciarg. Two caIt postage, not
only in many case with private
individuals, but with all business,
concerns, is an important item in
the years expenditure, With the
expense cut in twain. a benefit
would accrue in which all the peo-
pie in the country would be bene-
f ted.
TAKING ALL FOR A FEW.
The Parcels Post plan, to which
the petitions protest, is scheme by
which it is proposed to still main
tain the two cent post ge on letters
and epend the excess In the trans.
portation Of merchandise by mail
at greatly reduced rates. For in
stance, it is proposed to carry II
pounds of merchandise to any part
of the country Cor IS cents. The
charge for the service would be but
very small per cent of the cost.
and the loss entailed, which " ould
be enormous, is to come out Of the
profit on the two cent postaes ar
raugement, 1t is in short, the de-
sire to transform the mails from
the legitimate channel into a sort of
commercial express business, lewy-
ing tribute on all the people TO keep
lit up. The real benefciaries, will
be, not all the people, but the large
depa, tment stores of the country,
comparatively few in number.
These people hope by the scheme.
to have the government bear the
chief portion of the expense in trans
porting their packages, the gov.
ernment in turn maintaining. the
two cent postage plan, in which
all people shall be taxed to raise
means for the added expenee- In
brief, it is the purpose of these big
esta ablishments if possible, to use
the government as a means Of tax
ing everybody, creating a sort of
paternalism that meaus millions Of
dollars for a favored few at the ex-
penss of the many.
He BIT ONCE BUT NOT TWICE.
! 1t is no part of the business d
government to help out these big
concerns in their private business.
The Ierpetuatoo Of thesman retail
/! traders is essential to general wei.
fare. II means livelihood for more
people, which in turn means more
consumers of farm-grown products,
1t means the occupation of more
buildings, and more employment
| for builders. Such es establishments
as Montgomery Ward & Company
; and Ssars- Rot bu K of Chicago ar
a posi iva d. trimeot to the entil
country, and those who deal will
them err in judgment. The char
acter of these houses is illus tratet
: by the fact that they do not attemp
; TO do retail business in Chicago
= but depend on orders from a dis
t. lance for the immense profits the,
l. yearly pile up. With them 1t i
always the case of buying a pig i
a poke, and hence there is alvey
Ii a profit. The pig may look lik
other pigs, and squeal like othe
pigs, but is different. A Bento
county man bought a complet
il suit of clothes. hat, shoes, and a
d from one of them for $40; but /
IS never wore the outfit. Neither di
= bo aver huv another ffom Their