The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1905-09-15
Friday, September IS, 1905
THE PARCEL POST.

now holding its twenty-ffth annua
session in the city of Richmond, Va
Mr.. J.. Bryan Grimes, secretary 81
state of North Carolina, is one of ths
delegates in attendance. He has IN
troduced a resolution endorsing the
parcel post" plan and urging congress:
t establish such an institution:
Whereas. a parcels post would
greatly encourage industry, increase
commerce and prove most convenient
to the manufacturer. merchant. farm
er and citizen in. every walk of life;
and
Whereas. it is a commercial neces-
sity that WOul save man millions of
dollars q year to the people of this
country and at the same time be prof
liable to the government: and
Whereas. the experience of Euro
pean nations has proved that a parcels
post is a practical and profitable
branch of enterDrisc-
Germany. for instance. carrying pack
ages weighing not over 10 pounds to
all warts of the empire for thirty cents.
CT bou one-fourth Of q cent a pound.
and making a profit thereon: and
Whereas. h Tourth-clas.s matter
now carried by post is limited to r
cells weighing not more tina -four
pounds. at a charge of one cent an
ounce. or sixty-four cents a package.
which is equivalent in effect to multi
tying the CARRYING Of parcels at all:
Therefore. be it Resolved
l. That the farmers national con
gross urge upon the congress of the
United States the Immediate establish
ment of a parcels post whereby pack
q ~. NIAioLi,1Er not 49, 3I1x1 v1-L-~
five pounds ran be delivered at any
Iostoffice or rural route in any part
of tho Urited States at a cost to the
sender Of n cent per pound.
2. That the members of the various
state DELEGATIONS in this congress re-
quest the congressman from their
states to- urge upon the Of
the United States the establishment of
a parcels post. and that the secretary
CT this congress be and nc is hereby
instructed to mail to each senator and
representative in the United States
n copy of this resolution.
A suitable caption for the above
would be "a Resolution Advocating
the Closing of Stores in the Rural Dis
tricts, Towns and Smaller/Citi and
for the Benefit of the Big Department
Stores of the Centers of Trade"
The establishment of such a postal
system would have most serious effect
on the business Of the country lis
tricts and smaller cities and towns. It
would be in the interest of the big de-
partment stores of the larger cities Of
the north. A few houses in such Cit
les as New York, Philadelphia, Bos-
ton, Baltimore and Chicago would then
DO the business of the south, which
is now carried on by the merchants of
that section. Home merchants would
be obliged to go out of business. And
While running these merchants the sys-
tenn would not be without it's great
drawbacks to the very. people in whose
behalf the plan is advocated. The
jewellers in the smaller towns and ru-
raj districts could not do all of their
purchasing in the northern cities
through the parcel post. Some things
they would be obliged to secure from
the home stores-if there were any
but the home stores, with the bulk of
their trade transferred to the big de-
partment stores of the cities, could
not afford to keep open for the frag-
mentary trade in odds and ends that
was left to them; so in the end the
parcel post would be found to work as
great inconvenience to the country
people in one respect as it is claimed
it would be to their advantage in the
other.
There is only one class OF people
who would derive real benefit from
this system and they are the proprie-
tors OF the big department houses.
Their trade would be greatly increas-
ed to the injury of the wholesale ana
retail merchants of the towns and of
those of the latter class in the country.
Mr.. Grimes could devise no scheme
which would do greater injury to his
section of the country. We are forced
to believe that he did not give this
mater careful consideration, before
introducing his resolution.
There is another objection to this
proposed parcel post, and that is The
additional expense to the government.
Admit to the mails packages of TWEEN
ty-fve pounds weight at the low rate
OF one cent a pound and the postofice
department will have to increase its
force in offices and on postal cars 10
an almost inconceivable extent. Rail-
ways will have to run hundreds of ad-
dltlonal cars-all this to be paid for
u OF the taxes of the people. Put
this system into effect and the rural
free delivery carriers who now make
their circuits in buggies or on horse
back will have to substitute two
horse wagons to accommodate the