The Mena weekly star., 1907-10-24
The Proposed Parcels Post.


 to a finish on the subject of a parcels post.
 A meeting of postmasters. bankers and business men will be held at Chicago in November, at whlcn Postmaster General Meyer will dis cuss such an extension of the postal work of the government which he favors. As the Mckinley administration was distinguished for the institution of rural free delivery, so the Roosevelt administration IS believed to be ambitious to be dis tinguisned for the inauguration of the parcels post.
 The express companies, which have practically monopoly on the remunerative business of carrying packages, will fight the proposed law to the last ditch. They have a man in the senate in the person of Senator Platt of New York, who is president of the United States Ex- press Company. The railroads and the express companies are at times and at places almost identical, so the transportation interests may line up with the express companies. Ma turally a hard battle will follow.
 Of course members of Congress might fear to go home and admit that they had taken the side of the big corporations against a measure that was intended to benefit the whole people. But such members could find an excuse in the other class of opponents of the parcels post-the retail storekeeper, and especially the country storekeeper. These merchants are emphatically against the catalogue houses, " which sell to even remote farm houses by means of orders secured by mails. The small merchants take the position that the parcels post would make easier and cheaper the carrying of packages and thus aid the mail order houses in the big cities at the expense of the smaller neighborhood dealer.
 To this the postmaster general and other postal officials answer that the parcel post would be a greater boon to the country storekeeper than to his customers, because it would enable him to get small quantitie: of supplies to meet emergencies at z much cheaper rate for carriage thar is charged by the express companies The country merchant must keep { great number of articles and can't keep large supplies of each. The postal officials say that a parcel: post system which would enable such a storekeeper to renew quickly his stock of needles, thread, soap candy and other things would be ; great advantage to him. Moreover the postmaster general believes the business of the country merchant would be increased by a parcel, post because a farmer could mail ol telephone an order to his merchan and have the articles brought to hin by the next rural carrier.
 But the postmaster general pro poses to give the country merchant an advantage in rates. He vii recommend that 12 cents a pound b, charged for carrying mail order parcels from any city postoffice to z person living along a rural delivery route, while for delivery from tho distributing office of the rural route or If mailed by a patron of rura route for delivery on the same route or at the same dis tributing office of the route the charge will be only five cents for the first pound and two cents for each ldi ional pound up to eleven pounds, or 25 cents for a package weighing eleven pounds.
 Postmaster General Meyer is also considering the advisability of rec. ommending local parcels post de- livery in cities that have free deliv. cry, but Congress would have tc make an appropriation for wagons and automobiles before this service could be installed.
 The postmaster general will rec. ommend reduction in the merchan. disc rate from 16 to 12 cents a pound and an increase in the weight limit from 4 to II pounds in order to make our parcels post regulations harmonize with those of foreign countries. Gazette.