The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1909-03-04
PARCELS POST is
FATAL TO TOWNS
$50 DECLARES SENATOR poLLi-
YER IN LETTER TO EVERETT.
ANSWER MAHAsKA FARMERS
Patronize Home Stores and Industries
Urges the Senator, Else Market
viii BE Ruined and Farms
Deteriorate.

n 4 . Z. q Z q T. ( Z . . \
Washington, D. C.. March 1.-Sena
Itor Dolliyer has come out in pronounce
| ed terms against the parcels post In
reply to letter from f. r. Everett,
secretary OF the Mahaska County Far
mers Institute. which has passed a
resolution in support Of the Burnham
parcels post bill. Senator Delivers
letter follows:
III have your letter in relation to the
parcels post question. have no
means of knowing what views obtain
lamong our people in Iowa upon this
Question aside from the few letters
| that / have received during the past
years in relation to it. / have given
q good deal Of attention, however, to
the subject on my own account and /
have reached fairly welf defined con-
Iclusions In regard to it, ] have no in
lterest whatever in the subject except
the broad interests which arise from
a consideration OF general welfare.
| Sees Great Danger.
81 think the chief danger of our civ
\ ilization lies in the concentration of
1.-THE population and business OF COM
munity In the cities, have rejoiced
| all my lifetime in the fact that our
state has built UP no great cities, but
instead a large number OF fiourishing
towns and villages scattered through.
tout our borders. j believe that it
would be fatally injurious to our farm
ing interests to disturb the prosperity
of the little cities and towns. They
are necessary not only to the comfort
but the material welfare Of our farm
ing population. They furnish our home
markets and many of our products.
which would be totally lost, but other
wise find sale in, the neighborhood OF
market towns. i do not think that
| it is for the welfare of our community
for the government of the United
States to convert the postoffice depart
ment into machine for the distribu-
1 ton of merchandise purchased in New
York, Boston, Chicago and St. Louis
Ito the detrimentof home merchants,
upon whose solvency and prosperity
the growth, and 9eyen the life, of the
icountry town depends.
4 IF few of us took advantage OF the
lalleged bargains that are advertised
by the department stores and left off
patronizing home merchants, it may
be that We could make a little in that
way, but If the whole community took
the same view it is obvious that the
home town would be, totally destroyed,
its business ruined and now where we
have hundreds of little thriving towns
in Iowa we would in time find our
selves surrounded with shiftless and
backward village populations, wholly
out of line with the progress OF which
we are SO proud in Iowa. The imme-
date effect Of conditions would be to
ldepreciate our lands and fatally injure
our people. ..
An Opening Wedge.
Il may be altogether wrong in these
views, but / have entertained them
Iconscientiously for many years and /
am confirmed in this opinion by the
fact that there are few, If any, repre-
lsentatives in congress in either house
who do, not share similar views.
Il have thought that it would be a
good idea to establish a delivery OF
merchandise on the rural route, confin-
ing it. however, to parcels originating
in the town from which the route
starts, or from one station to another
on the route. Even this proposition
which has been strongly urged by the
postmaster general meets little or no
favor in congress, the fear being ex-
pressed that it is only the opening
wedge" for carrying out the program
Iof the great department stores and
will end in turning. over the business
of each locality to outside merchants
and killing the progress and stability
of the small towns"