Evening star., 1907-10-27
,CHEME OF PARCEL POST
Objections of All But the Express
Companies Overcome.
HELPING COUNTRY MERCHANTS
Outline of a Postal Savings Bank
System and What It Probably
Will Accomplish

PHILAD ELPHIA. Pa, October %
Postmaster General George l.. von Meyer.
who was guest Of w Atree Burpae of
this city at a dinner at the CE!ou League
Club tonight. made an address in which
he called attention to recommendations
which he proposed making in his annual
report for the consideration Of the next
Congress He took Up the questions Of
parcel post. the installation of special
parcel post on IA al routes and the es-
tablishment Of postal savings banks. Of
the first proposition he said
What I am attempting to do is 20
abolish an injustice and one might even
say an un-American practice l refe- to
the policy of charging our own people IL
cents pound. with a weight limit Of
four pounds WHILE giving a rate of Il
cents a pound and a limit of eleven
pounds on packages destined out of the
country to twenty-five foreign countries,
Consequently l shall recommend the
same rate and the same limit OF weight
for parcels. whethe- intended for points
In this country or abroad which means
a reduction of 4 cents a pound and an In
crease in the maximum weight TO eleven
pounds. This certainly is only equitable
When I first broached this subject
publicly it was stated In one or two news
papers that l was attempting to estab-
lish a parcel post. Parcel post as you
all know. already exists and has existed
for many years Therefore, 7 can have
no share in the credit for establishing
the custom OF transporting packages
through the United States mails"
On the R. F. D. Route.
Taking up the rural parcel post ques-
ton, he said:
Heretofore the opposition to the ex-
tension of the parcel post has come in
the first instance from the express COM
panes. and then from the retail rner-
chant and the country storekeeper the
fear In his case being that the mail or
der house would derive a benefit to his
own disadvantage. Now, I can disarnl
the criticism of the retail country rner-
chant and storekeepcr by the fact that
shall recommend a parcel post system
on the rural delivery routes. a special
rate to be charged on packages for de
livery from the distributing office of the
rural route. or If mailed by patron
Of any rural route for delivery to a
patron on the same route. or at the dis
tributing office of said route.
This will be a great boon to the
farmers and others on the rural
routes. because when they are able tc
order their goods by telephone or pos
tai card It will relieve them OF the in
convenience of going to town to
obtain the necessaries OF life 1t will
facilitate the consumption and increase
the business Of the country merchant who
necessarily obtains his goods from the
wholesale dealer
Postal Savings Banks.
Taking up the question Of postal say
ings banks the Postmaster General said
During the fiscal year ended June 30
1907. the Post Office sent to Europe the
money Of immigrants to the extent OF
$71 100000. of this slGJOO.OOO going tc
Italy. $500. 600 to Hungary. &c, 800 900 tc
Austria. the same amount to Russia and
80 10000 to Great Britain. This money
represented slight portion of their saw
ings. because 1t Is human nature to give
away but a small portion. This money
while 1t was accumulating. might have
been put into the postal savings banks
in fact. 1t has been brought to my atten-
ton that many OF the Italians and Tmmi.
grants of other nations. being ignorant OF
our language and suspicious Of our pri.
vate institutions. are sending their say
ings home in order that they may be
placed in the savings banks of their ma
tive countries. This. I am told, would no
be the case in great many instances II
we had a postal savings bank
| 1T IS in order to accommodate a large
| class Of people who have not the proper
| facilities that I believe postal saving.
banks should be established. AS an evil
| dence that 1t Is not the desire of the gov.
ernment to compete with the private say
! ings banks in obtaining the deposits Of
| the people, I shall advocate rate Of IN
terest of per cent per annum. OF / pei
| cent semi-annually, and a limit of $500
not more than $3.50 to be deposited in any
! one year.