Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-19

PARCELS POST Urged
Proposed to Utilize the Rural
Free Delivery.
SCHEME OF Mr.. De GRAW
Would Allow Carriers to Transport
Packages.
LIMIT WEIGHT TO FIVE POUNDS
Suggests a Rate of Three Cents a
Pound - Believed the Service
Would Become Remunerative.
BY WILLIAM E. Curtis.

efdi LIZ ITdW, WHO IDS lIQIuculdtS
ton oyer the subject, to extend the useful
ness of the rural delivery mail service as
far as possible, and to make each carrier
serve the convenience and comfort of the
people on his route to the very last de-
gree. How this may be accomplished Is
now the subject OF inquiry and reflection.
The Postmaster General and his subordi-
mates in charge of the service have been
holding frequent consula tons for several
months. Various plans have been proposed,
and some of them have been recommended
to Congress. Chairman Overstreet of the
House committee on post Offices is taking a
deep interest in the subject. There are of
course, differences of opinion, but all are
agreed that the rural delivery carrier may
be made more useful than he Is, and that
the people living in rural districts may get
great deal more for the SO, 100000 that is
being spent for their benefit than they are
realizing at present
The proposition receiving the largest
amount of attention at present relates to
the delivery of merchandise, te- ssssist ing the
farming population to purchase supplies and
have them delivered at their doorsteps.
The government delivers information and in
teiligence. but not merchandise to any
quantity. as the tax, which amounts to
Is cents per pound in postage, is prohib-
tive. 1t is very much larger than Is charged
for the same service in the European coun-
tries. Originally rural delivery carriers
We're allowed to carry passengers, baggage,
parcels. etc. in their conveyanees, and to
do shopping for the farmers families along
their routes. TWAS great accommodation
TO the people. farmers wife could send
TO town any day for spool of thread or
pound of coffee or sugar or his daughter
could persuade the carrier to buy her a
box or confectionery or piece of ribbon.
1t was not compulsory on the part of the
" n
for his services, that his own compensa-
ton was increased while the public con-
Yenlence was promoted Almost every day
almost every carrier in the country was in
trusted with some errand. They used to do
shopping, send kilograms and take SUBJ
scriptions for the newspapers but two
years ago paragraph was inserted in the
appropriation bill for 1904 prohibiting all
this.
The explanation was that the carriers
Were delayed and demoralized in the per-
rormance of their duties and that this pri-
vate express business was temptation for
them to make money for themselves and
discriminate in favor of certain citizens and
neglect others. Jealous and spiteful mer-
chants. who were not patronized COM
planned to members of Congress and they
made trouble about it and frequently filed
charges, so that the department was very
much annoyed. In order to satisfy these
grumblers the entire 10000 carriers were
put under the ban.
At present carriers are allowed to handle
merchandise that is not mailable-that is,
they can get a prescription filed at drug
store to oblige any farmer their routes
because the law forbids the sending of
liquids through the mail. but they cannot
buy sheet of paper or a spool of thread
or a yard of cotton cloth now because those
are mailable. This of course, is Just and
right, although it looks little inconsistent,
and 1t would be a great qualification to
more than 1906. 900 of people If the carriers
were authorized to do errands. At the
same time, IL the government could collect
low rate of postage upon the purchases of
the carriers or upon packages of merchan-
disc ordered otherwise, it would undoubt-
eddy produce very large revenue.
The European Custom.
This is done in Europe everywhere. For
example: Germany has system of deliver
Ing parcels through the mails within dis
lance of forty-six miles at the following
rates:
Five pounds and under. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. &c.
Between and 10 pounds. ....,......... &c.
Between 10 and 20 pounds. ..............12 c.
Between 20 and 30 pounds. ..............1 Sc.
Between 80 and 40 pounds. ...............24 c.
Between 40 and 60 pounds. ...............40 Acc.
Between 90 and 100 pounds. CSC.
Similar rates are charged for similar serv-
Ice in other parts of Europe. In Switzer
land and Belgium the rates are nearly one
half those of Germany.
We have similar arrangement with sew
eral foreign nations, under the regula tons
of the international Postal Union. and to-
day grocery man or general storekeeper
in any village in the United States can send
a package of merchandise, excepting ex-
plosives and liquids, to Calcutta, or Zanzi-
bar. or Ladysmith, South Africa or Potosi,
Bolivia, for less than one-half the postage
he would be required to pay if he sent the
same thing to farmer living two miles
from his store.
This seems incredible and absurd, but 1t
10 taIa trita han I rdt,1
ing from a trip around the world two years
ago 1 wrapped up all the guide books and
other books that had accumulated during
the journey and mailed them to my adj
dress in Washington from Hongkong, be-
cause if / had kept them until | reached
San Francisco l would have been compelled
to pay double the amount of postage. From
Hongkong I was allowed TO send eleven
pounds in a package: from San Francisco
or any other part of the United States /
could not have sent more thin four pounds.
We have parcels post treaties with nearly
all of the European countries, but have no
such arrangement between the states; and,
although we can send packages weighing
not more than four pounds as fourth-class
matter, we are compelled to pay very
much higher rate of postage than for for
eign mail.
Proposed Parcels Post Service.
When Congress prohibited rural delivery
carriers from doing >errands for their pa
irons, IT prONlueU no
the Postmaster General urged 1t as neces-
sary. He called attention to the fact that
the telephone service. which now reaches
almost every farmer in the country. had
created demand for parcels post service
in connection with the rural delivery, for
carrying packages of dry goods, groceries,
durgs, tobacco, stationery, books and other
articles from the stores In town to farmers
in the country, and he recommended the
passage of an act authorizing packages of
merchandise Weighing not more than five
pound to be sent through the mails at
the rate of cents a pound. A bill for
that purpose was introduced by Mr.. Ellis
of Missouri.
The farmers. of course. are very strongly
in favor of It, The local merchants through
out the country, however, are opposed TO It
for fear that their customers will send to
the mail order houses of the large cities
for their supplies.
The post office officials are in favor of the
proposition, not only because they believe
1t will serve great public convenience, but
also because they are convinced that the
| postage collected on merchandise will go
far to meet the annual deficit of $4,000 600
In the post Office accounts. Postmaster
General Corteiyou, who has given the SUBJ
3ect very careful study. believes that the
deficit would certainly be largely reduced
n riirai carriers are allowed n, raryv M -