Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1906-11-19
The Postal Investigations.
louisville CONFECTIONERY

The recent sessions of the pOStal
Commission, created to consider aud
report to the Congress various recon-
mcndations Of amendments to the
postal laws, brought out nothing more
| clearly than the fact that "sccond-
class" mail matter is being used rs tho
scanegoat on which to place the
| burden Of the postal deficits with
Which The department has had to deal
for many years. 1t seemed from the
| testimony of the officials of the Post
Office Department that there was
| hardly an evil or a weakness that they
were not only willing but anxious to
ascribc directly to the "sccond' class.
1t is because of this tendency TO blame
| the deficit on the "sccond"-or ncWs-
paper-class that the suggestion has
been seriously made in some quarters
| actually to increase the rate of one
| cent pound and reduce tWo-ccnt
letter postage, The two great facts
brought out at the sessions referred to
| which show cOnclusiNc'E the gratui-
tous nature of the ai,t;tgonism to the
| present rate for sccond-class mail are,
in brief, that the Government matter
1
would. if paid for, rrnduc" an annual
Icvcnlc Of $4,000, 0oO-nore than
enough to wipe out the dcficit-a and
that tho compensation paid railroads
for transporting tho mail is out
ragcously cXorbitant. one Of the
Government agents, an official Of the
postofIicc Department. Was forced to
admit the former. I'll" latter was in
Idisputab!.- lcl by DR..
| Emanuel IF. II ]. of the Postal Reform
| League, MO .ur twenty years has
made a study Of postal problems and
| is a recognized authority on them.
In his testimony DR.. Pfcifcr cited
the effort Of Mr.. Stcncrson some time
ago to amend the Appropriation Bill
| by providing for gradual reduction
| in the compensation paid railroads.
ON account Of rule of the House. he
was declared out of order. And yet,
| lore was on" of the principal nuts to
be cracked in overcoming the annual
postal deficit. Dr. Pfcifcr took til"
position that you cannot establish Il
just rat" for mail matter Of the
second class until you first fix Il just
rate for railway mail compensation.
IL l WAS called mo Il mouse 10 Ill
vcstigatc tho sanitary conditions
there he said Il would not confinc
myself to ono part Of tho house. but l
would 20 through the whole building,
beginning with the cellar" He made
q long argument in favor of IL rcduc
ton in railway compensation. He
reviewed the report Of the Walcott
Loud Commission of 1895 and thought
it strange that after that commission
had engaged the services of the
ableSt statistician obtainabla"-Dr.
Henry c. Adams of the University Of
MichiSan-to analyZe the various
factors entering into the question of
railway mail service, and after that
expert had reported in favor of re-
duction in railway mail pay. the
majority Of the commission had voted
the other way. DR.. Pfoifcr quoted
with approval the minority report of
". II. Fleming. who agreed with Dr.
Adams that the RAILROADS We're being
paid too much, and who called atten
ton u the fact, while the cost of rail-
road construction and equipment has
decreased immensely iii the past
twenty years. while the capacity Of
cars and the power Of locomotives
have increased enormously and the