The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1909-01-15
THAT POSTAL DEFICIT

Postmaster General Meyer an
nomces the postal deficit for the ifs
cal year ended June 80, amounts to
$16,910,O00. Mr.. Meyer said he would
call the attention of congress 10 the
fact that he is firmly convinced the
establishment of special parcel post
confined to rural routes, would tend to
wipe out the postal defcit.-EX-
change.
We must plead guilty OF egotism
enough to make us believe that we
can give the postmaster general a cOU-
pie of pointers which, if they do not
provide a way TO fully make up the al
legged deficiency, will go a long way to-
ward it, The first is to cut off the
franking privilege enjoyed by mem
bers of congress and senators who
frank almost everything from a collar
to a threshing machine through the
mails, and the dear people pay the
bills and hustle to make up the def
cheney.
The second is for the postoffice de-
partment to cease carrying free of
cost the tons and tons of envelopes
which are printed by the government.
There is no justice or reason why the
gov ~rnment should be allowed to do
job printing and send the products of
its large plant all over the country
through the postiffice and not be oblig-
ed to pay for them the same as any
other job printer.
This was brought 10 our notice
very forcibly the other day when we
had to pay Is cents postage on a
bunch Of dodgers We wished to send
to a customer at Williams Bay. and at
the same time we saw a couple of
boxes Of envelopes for a Lake Gene
va business man which had been
printed in the government printing Of
fee and shipped from Washington alb
solutely free Of postage. Why does
the country printer. who pays taxes.
have to pay postage when the govern !
ment, which pays no taxes, can ship
its products free? Is there any sense
or reason or justice in the PROPOSE I
ton?
If this first district Of Wisconsin /
and hundreds of other DISTRICTS all ,
Ovn, tho oo,,rt,,,- ,,-o,,y ,,,,,,.~.-.~.,.. I l.
men who were honest and actually
had 'the interests of the dear people"
at heart at any other time than just
before election and did not put in
their time at Washington planning /
and scheming for a reelection. they 4
would look into the postofice depart
ment's deficiency honestly to find its
cause and cut off such fragrant abuses i
of the mails mentioned above.
Now about this special parcel post
confined to rural routes" If it is a
good thing, why not give it to all the 4
people? Again, how can the postmas-
ter general expect to wipe out the
postal deficit by filling the mail cars
whit bulky and heavy packages of
merchandise at cheap rate of post
age when the department is already
carrying all the weight it can and still
has the ever present deficit?
We don't know whether or not Post
master General Meyer is interested in
a fair" store or in mail order house.
but we must say that his manipulation
Of the postoffice department leads a
fellow to suspect.
When will congress arise to its duty
and. cutting out all personal perquis-
ties, face this postofice deficit. treat /
I in an honest, businessIike manner
md settle it squarely, so that all must
)ay their full share and no more2- .
AXE Geneva (Wis) Herald.