The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1906-04-04


congressman who write ''cocksure''
letters to farmers, telling them that
the expense of operating a parcels
/ post is absolutely prOhibitory," must
feel that the farmer is indeed a green
| guy,'' who can not penetrate the dis
guise of such a wolf in sleeps cloth
/ ing.
| We clipped an item from an eX-
change, but accidentally omitted to
mark the credit on it so can only say,
Exchange.
Our Expensive Postal Service.-The
cost of our postal service is annually
| d subject for discussion and the per-
SONS who raise their hands in horror
over the large amounts expended are
| usually the same as those who oppose
extensions of the parcels post. ct
will be entirely too expensive" they
| say. Now, well informed people know
that countries having parcels posts
| make money on their postal service
| instead of creating a heavy deficit an
nually, as we do.
A part, at least, of the truth is told |
in the following dispatch to the Fort
Worth Record from Washington:
why is it that the postal service |
of the United States should be car
ried Oh at a loss of more than $4,000 |
900 a year when nearly every country |
of Europe and Asia makes money out |
of its pOStOffice?'' was asked of a |
high authority in the pOstOffice de-
partment this afternoon.
Because we have the worst Sys-
tenn OH EARTH" was the immediate re-
ply. The ideal would be to have on
ly three classes, letters, printed mat
ter and merchandise.
I'VE have four, and on our second
class, which covers printed matter in
various forms, there are seven rates
of postage. This class constitutes
nearly 80 per cent of the bulk Of our
mails, and returns about 4 per cent
of the revenue.
I'VE have a parcels post convention
with Germany. You can send pack
age that weighs four pounds and six
ounces to Germany for II cents a |
pound. You can't send it to New
York at any price. The largest pack
age you can send to New York is
four pounds and that will cost you 16
cents pound. We have a parcels
post to Japan. You can send four
pounds six ounces there at II cents
d pound, but you cannot get the mails
to take it to San Francisco"
A correspondent of the Rural New
Yorker writes fOrcibly on this subject
and also that of the free seed humbug:
Parcels Post VS.. "Free Seeds" I'm
talking with different people on this
topic, market gardening in particular,
L have yet to hear the first sensible
man endorse the free seeds and plants
as generally sent out from the Agri-
cultural Department. In conversation
with two of the ablest men of the De-
partment some time back, they both
admitted the free seed shop as a dis
credit to the Government it being both
a big expense to the Agricultural as
well as the POst-Office Departments
for what little good is ever derived
from it. But both these men stated
that Congress would never do away
with the free seeds as long as many of
the members counted largely on hav-
ing these very seeds, worthless as
many of them might be, assist them
in their elections. If only new and
rare seeds and varieties were distribut-
ed for trial (the original purpose of the
business) all would be well and good.
But for stuff to be sent out still that
was discarded as worthless by practi-
cal men years ago is just simply a
serious reflection on the wisdom of the