Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1909-12-10
The Postal Deficit.

The Postal Deficit.
Discussing the affairs Of the postof-
flee department in his annual message
President Taft has this to say:
The deficit every year in the postof-
flee department Is largely caused by
the low rate of postage Of l cent a
pound charged on second-class mail
matter, which includes not only news
papers but magazines and miscellaneous
periodicals. The actual loss growing
out of the transmission of this second
class mail matter at / cent q pound
amounts to about S63,000,000 year
The average cost of the transportation
of this matter Is more than cents q
pound.
1t appears that the average distance
over which newspapers are delivered
to their customers Is 291 miles, while
the average haul Of magazines is 1,049,
and of miscellaneous periodicals, LIPS
miles. Thus, the average haul Of the
magazine is three and one-half times
and that of the miscellaneous periodi-
Gals nearly four times the haul of the
daily newspaper, yet all of them pay
the same postage rate Of ! cent a
pound. The statistics Of 1907 show that
second class mail matter constituted
6391 per cent of the weight Of all the
mail, and yielded only 5.19 per cent of
the revenue.
The figures given are startling, and
show the payment by the government
of an enormous subsidy to the news
papers, magazines and periodicals, and
congress may well consider whether
radical steps should not be taken to
reduce the deficit in the postoffice de-
htv hta npxf
between the actual cost Of transporta-
tion and the compensation exacted
therefor.
great saving might be made,
amounting to much more than half of
the loss by imposing upon magazines
and periodicals a higher rate Of post
age. They are much heavier than
newspapers, and contain much higher
proportion of advertising to reading
matter, and the average distance of
their transportation Is three and a
half times as great.
The total deficit for the last fiscal
year in the postoffice department.
amounted to $17,500,000. The branches
of its business which 1t did at loss
were the second-claSs mail service, in
which the loss as already said was
$63,000,000, and the free rural delivery
These losses were in part offset by the
profits of the. letter postage and other
sources CT income. 1t would seem wise
to reduce the loss upon second class
mail matter, at least to the extent OF
preventing a deficit in the total oper-
ations Of the postoffice.
l commend the whole subject to
congress, not unmindful Of the spread
of intelligence which a low charge for
carrying newspapers and periodicals
assist. l very much doubt, however.
the wisdom Of a policy which consti-
trtes so large a subsidy and requires
additional taxation to meet 1t.
There is very little objection to be
urged to the common sense and logic
of the foregoing; but If congress should
carry the presidents suggestions 10
their legitimate conclusions, the result
would be of very great moment to the
business of the newspaper publishers
of the country.
Under the law now, newspapers are
supposed to be carried free Of postage
in the counties in which they are pub
lished and to go from the office Of pub
lication to subscribers throughout the
country at the rate Of one cent a
pound.
The object of free postage was to en-
courage the spread Of information, and
that it has had this effect there Is no
question; but the laws Of free competi-
tion have very naturally and properly
given all the advantage of free postage
to the buyers Of newspapers, leaving
the publishers little or no direct benefit.
This concession of free postage and
re duction rate of cent pound is COM
monty called subsidy; but the practi-
cal result to the publisher does not
bear out this designation. His profit
is no greater than If his postage ac-
&C unit had all along been on a strict
basis of value received.
OF course, we would not undertake to
dispute the figures of the president TO
the effect that the cost Of carrying
second class matter is cents a pound;
but it is nevertheless a fact that there
are hundreds Of big dailies that send
tons of papers by express that could
have gone by mail at only l cent
pound, and they would not do this un-
less there is in it, either better service
or more economy.
But whether the newspapers derive
any benefit from the so-called sub
sidy or not, there is no question Of the
fact that an increase in the rate on
second class postage from l cent
pound to cents pound, will bring
about very material shake up and re-
in the present methods of
the newspapers, and there will be an
appreciable increase in subscription
rates, all along the line.