Cañon City record., 1907-11-28
Postmaster General Meyers Address :.
To New England Postmasters Ass n

to people living in our own country
(and even then permits them to send
only pounds) than on packages to
people living in twenty-five foreign
lands, for which they need pay only
12 cents a pound, and Which may
weigh up to II pounds.
Two interests are opposing the ex-
tension of parcel posts in this country
the express companies and the
country retail merchants. The latter
fear that the mail order houses will
derive a benefit to their own disad-
vantage. 1t is in connection with the
country retail merchants that I desire
to speak especially.
1 propose to recommend the estab-
lishment of a parcel post on rural
routes which will meet the objections
of the small storekeeper and retailers.
This will be boon to our rural popu-
lation, and to the storekeeper, as the
latter can receive his orders by mail or
telephone and dispatch the desired
merchandise by the rural carrier. The
farmer will be saved from hitching up
his horse and losing the time he needs
for planting or harvesting his crops.
and it will enable the storekeeper to
increase his sales and meet the re-
quirements of modern trade. If my
recommendations are adopted, it will
cost 12 cents a pound for the mail-or-
Ger house to send parcels to the rural
delivery patron from any city post-of-
flee, while for delivery from the dis
tributing Office of the rural route, or
if mailed by a patron of any rural
route for delivery to patron on the
same route, or at the distributing post
Office of said route, the charge will be
but cents for the first pound and 2
cents for each additional pound up to
II pounds, or 25 cents for a package
weighing II pounds. In Germany the
small storekeeper has not this advan-
tage in competing with Eail order
houses, but he has adapted himself to
the situation, and in many instances
has become the agent in his town,
thus supplying the people with goods
which it is impossible for him to keep
in stock without a great outlay of
money.
1 am also considering the advis-
bility of recommending a local parcel
post delivery at city free delivery post
Offices, but in order to install such
system it will be necessary to obtain
from Congress a special appropriation
to acquire wagons and automobiles to
do the required hauling. AS already
stated, there is a parcel post existing
in the United States today, but at
rate of 16 cents per pound and limit
of pounds. The object Of my recon-
mendation to Congress will be to get
a decrease that will meet the rates
charged for parcels sent by post to
other countries. In other words,
reduction of cents a pound, and an
increase in weight which will compare
in some measure to that which has
been adopted by other highly civilized
nations. An 11-pound limit will, how
ever, be far from the maximum es-
tablished by France (22 pounds. Ger
many (11O pounds), and Belgium G32
pounds).
Another matter of great public in
terest which l shall recommend for
the consideration of Congress is
postal savings bank system, which
has been adopted by many countries
in the last thirty or forty years. These
banks were established in England as
early as 1861, in France, in 1882. and
in Austria in 1888. Now, with us in
New England, we realize that the
necessity for postal savings banks Is
very much less than in many other
parts of the country, and this Is de-
monstrated by the fact that in New
England the average distance of the
savings bank from the post office Is
about IS miles; in the Middle and
Western States 1t Is about rs miles;
in the Southern States, 33 miles; and
in the Pacific Slope States, IS miles.
We desire to encourage among our
people economy and thrift, and by the
use of the postal savings banks to
give them every opportunity to hus-
band their resources. The policy will
not be to compete in any way with
the savings banks, but rather to en-
courage the habit Of depositing saw
ings. The people that we shall want
to reach are, first, those who have
not the facilities at hand for deposit
ing their money in a savings bank,
and secondly the foreign population
which is entering the country in such
enormous numbers and which Is, to
a great extent, boarding its surplus
earnings. The immigrants reach the
United States suspicious Of any priv
ate banking institution but with abb
solute faith In the government We
have evidence OF this in the fact that
they are buying postal money orders
payable to themselves. Our object Is
to bring hidden money to light. to in
still life into it. and to lead it again
into the channels Of trade, for the
mutual benefit of labor and capital.
and thus add to the prosperity thro-
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