Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1908-01-23


ton and promised their support of the
recommendations Ia my annual re-
port 70 the President, and through
him submitted to congress. The ex-
listing rate for parcels in the United
states is 16 cents a pound, and the
limit Of weight is four pounds We
l have conventions with many foreign
| countries, and the rate TO them is 70
cents a pound, with limit of II
pounds
This means that if you place a
package in the Trenton post office for
New York, which weighs four pounds,
4 it will cost 16 cents a pound, while a
package posted here for a foreign
country will be sent many more thou
sand miles for II cents a pound. If
the package to New York should
weigh four pounds six ounces, the
| postmaster here would have to refuse
! It, while if it was intended for a for
teign country, it would be sent up to
III pounds. The purpose of my rec.
ommendation to congress is to remove
this discrimination against the people
of the United States, and a reduction
1 of four cents in the United States rate
his urged, with the same limit as to
! pounds as for foreign countries. This
proposition Is opposed by the express
companies and the large mail order
Land wholesale houses.
AT first it is hard to understand
! why the mail order houses should OBJ
/ ject to a reduction in the parcel rate
Land raise in the limit of packages,
but when the recommendation con.
cerning the local parcels post for rl-
raj routes Is explained the reason for
the objection is plain.
The local proposition is that for
packages originating on the rural free
delivery route there shall be a charge
of five cents for the first pound and
/ two cents for each additional pound
Or a charge of 25 cents for a package
of Ii pounds. Thus farmer can tel
ephone or send his order by postal
card to his storekeeper and the de
livery will be by the rural carrier
This will prevent the small merchant
from being crowded to the wall by
the large houses as they would have tt.
pay $1.32 postage on a package of II
pounds.
In towns where there is no. free
delivery a drop letter is taken locally
for one cent while in free deIixery
I cftIes Two cents p0Sfage Is exacfed
/ Publishers can send their papers free
in the counties where they are pub
4 lished, while for outside points the
rate is a cent a pound. These are ex-
listing parts of the postal laws and
regulations, yet they are not consid-
cred as being class legislation.
$4,000 RURAL ROUTES.
There are 3S,0 GOO rural free deliv-
cry routes in the United States and
they serve 15,000,00 people. When
the first routes were established In
1896, as an experiment, the sum of
$4,000 was expended For the fiscal
year ending June 80. 1907, the amount
expended on rural routes was $4,000
600 and for 1908 it will be $34,000,000
The deficit in the postal revenues for
1907 was S4.000,000 less than in 1896.
This shows that the rural routes have
not added to the cost of the post Office
department, but rather that they have
been an added source of income. They
are to be post Office department what
branch railroads are to their main
ystems-feeders. They have brought
greater benefits to many people with
out added expense to the government.
"The local parcels post would add
4 to the benefits and by putting the
/ farmer in closer touch with the world
at large and making farm life more
attractive the value of the farm lands
is increased. Another feature is that
rural routes make good roads ne
cessity and this is another progressive
step. The increased cancellations due
to the Inauguration of a local parcels
post would add to the salaries Of
fourth-class postmasters.
POSTAL SAVINGS BANK.
Another proposition in my recon-
mendations to congress is the estab-
lishment of postal savings system.
The government has no desire to come
into opposition with local enterprises
and financial institutions, but rather
to aid them by bringing into chan
nels of trade money that is now use
less. shall call this new money, for
it will be so in the sense of its utiliza-
tion in the channels of trade. 1t will
encourage habits of thrift and econ
omy in the people of the United States
anu Will uIiuS dS uSpUSitOES pCISUuS
who cannot now reach savings or 9TH
er banks, as well as persons who hide
their savings because of distrust The
foreigner knows of the savings banks
in his country and will feel that the
government here is safe and will put
his money in a postal bank where he
would not otherwise deposit.
There will be double safety and
the money will be Immediately put
into channels of trade. because the
government will place it in the nation
al banks of the counties in which the
deposits originated. National banks
will be used as repositories because
they are semi-government institutions,
because the stockholders are liable to
double the amount of their holdings
and because national examiner can
look into the affairs of the bank when
ever the comptroller of the treasury
deems such a course to be necessary