The Oskaloosa herald., 1906-04-26
PosT PARCELS.

POST PARCELS.
The following article by w. p. 30
gardus of Mount Vernon. Ohio, presl
dent of the National Retail Hardware
Association, throws new light on q
subject that has been discussed
throughout the country for years, and
shows clearly the folly of the proposed
legislation. Mr.. Bogardus says:
I'm discussing the question Of Pos!
Parcels, l want to discuss it, first, In
its relation to us as citizens, and, sec
ond, in its relation to us as business
men. That should presume to dis
cuss the relation we bear to Post Par
cells as citizens in a hardware con
vention ought not to excite any ques
ton, for the end of all law is to estab
lish the principles and practice Of mo
ra!.tl and when we establish the
principles and enter into the practice
of morality we will be rid of many OF
the perplexing questions that come
to us to be solved. At the first the
mail of the people was carried by pri
vate enterprise, but owing to the de
lays and expense of private carriage
it was deemed wise thing for the
government to undertake the distrlbu
ton of the mail-letters and papers
to the people; and among the argu
ments used to justify the action was
the fact that much of the mail was
business mail, and, therefore, identi
fed with the commerce of the country
and its upbuilding, and, therefore, il
was to the interest or the government
that the mail should be promptly dis
tributed and carefully guarded.
ITO leave it in private hands meant
that the government would not have
as complete control over the letters
as it would have should it undertake
the distribution itself; and then laws
could be passed safeguarding the
mails that could not be enforced il
left in the hands OF private individ.
lals; and so the carrying OF the mails
became a duty of the government. On
July &c, 1875, the American Congress
assumed the direction of the postal
service. Until 1916 postage was paid
according to distance - three cents
under three hundred miles and ten
cents over. In 1851 the law was
changed SO that for three cents let
ter could be sent three thousand miles
and ten cents over that distance. In
1856 prepayment by stamps was made
compulsory. In 1868 three cents was
the rate for any distance. Since then
it has been reduced to two cents per
letter.
During these changes there have
been many schemes started by inter
ested persons, who hoped to use the
government to help them develop
their personal ends. At first there
was but one class of mail matter. but
this was changed, SO that now we
have four. First class are letters and
postal cards; second, papers and mag
azines; third, books, and fourth, mer-
chandise. Last year there was about
seventy million pounds of letters and
postal cards went through the mails,
and the income was about $40, 100000,
or about one dollar per pound. In
the second class there was distributed
365,000,000 pounds, ana the income
from that was about 100000, or a
little over a cent per pound. The loss
on carrying that amount of second
class matter was over $40,000,000.
First-class matter furnished so per
cent of the postal income and used
only 4 per cent of the tonnage. Sec
ond-class matter furnished a little
over A per cent of the income and
took 651a per cent of the tonnage, and
third and fourth class matter almost
paid their way.
"Is there any reason why letters
and postal cards should bear the bur-
den of the other class of mail? There
was time when the government
might have been justified in giving
special rates to papers and magazines,
but when it is remembered that the
common school is in every community
and an education such as our fathers
could net get is to be had for the go
ing to school, the old argument that
the paper and magazine were edueat
ors and were doing great work in
the development of the people has
lost much of it's force.
can interesting illustration Of the
result of the fayoritism shown the
magazines is given in the following
example,:
"a certain magazine has a circula
ton of 100000 copies per month
These weigh about a pound each
Now, if but one.third of them are
sent by mail it will cost $4,000 fol
their transportation, on the basis Of
five cents per pound, but as maya
zines are favored and go for one cent
per pound the publisher pays but 81,
900, and the government loses $4,000
on the transaction, or about 100000
on that one magazine per year. Now
If you want a page advertisement In
that magazine you will have to pay
$500 for it. For the 100000 pages Of
your advertisement the publisher
pays Sc for transportation, leaving 9
profit to him on each page Of $494,ant
vet If Won wantefi IN send GOO. 600 cir