The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1904-03-25
The Aid Which the PostoHfGice Department
Miqht Render to Commerce. BY 4h sBs sssss ma1sss
By John Brisben Walker
In the COSMOPOLITAN,

the conveniencas of the department to the
necessities of the American merchants
that there would be an annual saving o
the American people of a sum which may
be represented by $500. 000, 600 and still be
within bounds
advanced postoffice organization is Illus
trated In some measure by these facts.
But these, though striking, embrace only
a small part.
Here is another phase OF the subject. II
a merchant wishes to make his shipments
c. o. D.-a thing impossible under our
postal system and possible only by eX-
press at a payment of a fee of at least
25 cents-he may do SO in Germany by a
small additional fee of a few cents. In
Austro-Hungary this idea has been elab-
GRATED into all almost perfect system, by
which both merchant and purchaser. may,
at a most trifling cost, conduct, the one a
collection, the other a payment of &C
count. A depositor purchases from the
postofice department a cheque book. for
which a charge of 81 per hundred cheques
is made, and a book of deposit blanks.
costing 80 cents per hundred blanks. the
name and number and address of each de-
positor being printed on each cheque and
deposit blank. In addition to this, he re-
ceives one hundred special envelopes for
one-tenth OF a cent each on which Is
printed the address OF the government.
These cost about 10 cents per hundred.
Wishing to pay q debt, the depositor fills
out q postal cheque to the order Of his
creditor with the address. date and
amount. He %incloses 1t in one of the spe-
cial envelopes addressed TO the postoftice
department. The postoftice authorities
find the poyee, pay the amount and take
his receipt for the same. Within a short
time the depositor receives through the
postoflce q statement showing the trans
orticy, II contains the date name of de-
positor, number of the cheque, amount,
name of the poStoftice where 1t has been
paid and the cash balance of the deposit
tor. The whole cost OF his transaction
has been one and four-tenths cents. The
cheque of the deposItor. forwarded In this
way, becomes a postofice order, without
mourning the trouble, time and expense
which our system involves. The RENTER
has had all the advantage of q postoftice
money order without going to the postof~
fee, without spending a moments time
except that required for drawing a
cheque, and the government has become
responsible for its proper payment.
Here is still another phase of the sub
iect. In New York city, If you will stand
in any block, you Will witness all day long
a procession of wagons arriving and de-
livering parcels. Mr.. Wanamaker's wagon
arrives and delivers q package at one
house, then two at another. and goes out
VI lllC IioNNs Y -
comes. Then Macy's wagon delivers an
other parcel. Then Stern, then Saks, theT
: the postman, then the telegraph boy, thel
the postman again, then the BookloVer!
: library, and so one after another the long
, costly and laborious procession move:
l into and out of that street, each wager
delivering its one, two OF three packages
. and the householders paying for 1t all.
And throughout the 5000 miles OF streets
of Great New York this same stupid, dis
organized, wasteful and eXtravagant sys
Il tenn goes on hour after hour, day afte
day and year after year. 1t would not b
too much to estimate the loss annually II
u New York city alone at &.WO,G0o.
WI the merchants and manufacturer
{ Of the United States permit such disor
ganization Of their most important inter
Z ests to continued?
Is there a remedy? Only one. TIL
= United States government must buy GU
the private interests vested in the grea
express companies which today SO par
alyze the problem of transportation. "a
full value, even for watered stock. TAX
the price of express companies stocks o
the LIST of January, 1904, as a criterion,
+. you will. Pay the full price. Almost an
price would be cheap to get out of tn
II way of m these strong companie:
" which are today so intrenched. In the pos
:" office department and In congress, an
=, which have such a paralyzing effect upo
3 Industrial processes. Give the America
~ merchants and manufacturers a clear fel'
!" They have a right to every facility ft
&c doing business eXpeditiously, economical
~ efficiently and with a safeguard OF insu
- ance. -