The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1906-12-26
MAKE POSTOFFICE
PRIVATE CONCERN

Chicago Man Submits the Remarks.
BILE Proposal TO Take Entire Pos.
sal Service Out OF the Govern.
ment's Hands. . "
Washington Times.
To turn over the postal service oi
the United States to private corpora
tio1 under strict public control Is the
Nmarkable proposal made to the Pos.
tai Commission today. e.
w. D. Boyce, of Chicago, publisher,
man of big affairs and several times q
millionaire, made the proposition, on
behalf Of himself and associates,
whom he did not name, to take over
the postof1ce business and run 1t on
business principles. ,....... s..,
The proposal includes agreement i'm
medistely to cut postage rates in half.
There could be no deficit under such
an arrangement for the government to
meet, because the corporation would
have to make ends meet.
Mr.. Boyce wants the postal corpora
ton under postal commission which
shall be the regulating and supervis-
ing agency of the government.
He proposes TO pay Uncle Sam rem
tai for all postoffice quarters occupied
In public buildings, and over against
this he designs to charge the govern
ment regular rates for all services per-
formed for it. These government SER
vices he now estimates at $25, ,000, 900
annually. At half the present rates
this would be cut to $l2, 500, 900.
Applying business methods to post
Office affairs would result in immense
economies in transportation. Mr..
Boyce figures that the expenditure for
railroad haulage would be cut from
$50, 10000 to about one-half that sum.
CUT OUT ALL sINECUREs.
He calculates likewise that orna-
mental or political sinecures would be
eliminated. The political postmas-
ter" would get short shrift, and the
deputy who does the work would be
the responsible man. - ~.
Mr.. Boyce's proposition, he insists,
is made in the utmost good faith. Ger.
tain it is that it affords most effective
talking point from which to point out
the weakness of present postal man.
agement. Direct comparison of the
present postoffice organization with
methods commonly prevailing In pri.
vate business and in great public ser
vice corporations is considered by the
publishers the most effective method
of demonstrating the upresson of re-
strictions which the department lie dis
posed to impose upon them. Mr..
l. Sko H. IL
in the skinner" but its author doesn't
think 80. He says good management
will make the business pay at half of
present rates.
"All want is to get myself and my
proposition taken seriouslyyn he de-
clared. "After that 1t will be easy, for
the public wants lower post rates. I
am not man to be making bluff at
q thing like this l have too many in
terests that could be seriously injured
by such course. The backing Is
ready to form corporation and take
over the postal service on the terms /
have outlined.
TO HAVE RURAL POSTAL EXPRESS.
"Of course, we would propose to de-
velop the business, as any private bus
mess management would do. For in-
stance, We have plan OF rural postal
by which rural carriers would
receive and deliver goods on their
routes, carrying the packages outside
the mail. This would not extend off
the given route. It would make every
store mail-order house, and
would bring an immense measure of
support to the plan from the very peo-
pie who are afraid of the parcels post
lest it should kill the country mer-
chant"
"But doesn't your plan include any
recognition of the parcels post, or
some provision for it9''
mo, that's too unpopular" replied
Mr.. Boyce. "Maybe it will come some
day, but we don't want to assume re-
sponsibility for it now. If Congress
ever wanted it, to introduce 1t under
our system would be simple"
"And you haven't figured on the
possibility Of the postal savings bank
to the service"
mo, that hasn't been taken up.
The service can be developed and ex-
panded in its functions just as fast as
Congress wants, under our system as
we'll as under any other. We would
want to make it earn more revenues;
we would make the rural delivery a
money-earning end of the service, in