Coeur d'Alene evening press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1907-1929, 1908-01-02

try papers have taken little part in
the parcels post discussion because
the editors have pot realized that
the cheap carrying of merchandise
in the mails would mean injury to
their best interests. We hope our
readers who favor US by perusing
this article will think this matter
over seriously.
Call on the editors of your local
papers and acquaint them with the
facts as you understand them. If
the department store and catalogue
house interests can shape the policy
of the city papers, the merchants of
the smaller towns can shape that of
the local papers. The interests of
all the inhabitants of the country
towns are bound together. If the
business of one man is injured, so
is that of another. If the parcels
post takes away your business and
gives it to the big mail order houses.
compelling you to pay your rivals
express bills by taxing you to make
up this enormous deficit in postal
revenues, the newspaper which you
help to support will suffer in the
same degree. The merchants of the
town are it's prosperity and it's life.
The more business they do the bet
ter for all, the more valuable all
property becomes and the more slim
illus there is for the further growth
of the town, and for every merchant
who has been forced out of business
there is proportionate loss to the
whole country.
While we have the utmost respect
for the administration of the post
office department, and believe that
the present measure of the honora-
BILE postmaster general is conceived
with the highest and best of motives
and with a desire to conserve all in
terests, and whiel we think that as
at present outlined it is not partic-
ularly Objectionable, we see an en-
tering wedge to something which
would be decidedly so.
1t is our firm conviction that the
original advocates of the parcels
post were a few greedy concerns in
the large cities who saw an oppor-
tunity to obtain the business of the
country merchants. We do not real
ly think that there is any immediate
| danger of a parcels post bill passing
congress. We felt when the foreign
parcels post service was inaugurated
that it would be the entering wedge
| which would be almost certain to
| bring similar domestic service into
operation with smaller rates. Now,
1t would seem, is the time to put a
quietus to this movement, and the
press should do its utmost to place
its views before the postmaster gem
eral in order that he may see that
| the people of the whole country, ex-
eepting only a few selfish CONNER
cial interests in the large cities. are
utterly opposed to the parcels post.
at least. those who understand the
question and the far-reaching effects
of such system.
So, We say to our readers, get
your local papers to print editorials
as strong as possible against the
parcels post measure. Furnish them
with the facts if they do not have
them already, and show them the
parcels post system, which simply
transfers your business to the city
rival and transfers that amount of
advertising to the big city papers.
Then request the editor to send
marked copies of his articles TO your
Representatives in congress and to
the postmaster general. and from
our observations We are satisfied
that it is Mr.. Meyers earnest desire
to give a fair hearing TO every one
and We know that ali matters pres.
ented to him receive the best, most
careful and unbiased attention