The Cairo bulletin., 1909-11-30
NEW MAIL SERVICE pRoposlrlo,

In LppincottS Coionel willard
French. tells of a new plan which
seems likely to be- adopted by thu
Post Office Department and whicl
should prove of great benefit to tn,
public. 1t Is at present known onl!
as the return envelope and posta
card plan, but 1t has already gon.
through all of the preliminary exam
intions of the Congressional Commit
tees on Post Offices and Post Roads
and commissions appointed by thu
Postmaster General, and has not onlI
been approved but by legal authorit,
has been pronounced something
which the Department has power Il
inaugurate without legislation. Colo
mel French says:
The system is something which ap
plies chiefly TO advertisers who USE
the mails in distributing circular
with enclosed envelopes or posta
cards, soliciting correspondence or or
ders. A careful investigation has re
suited in the report that where th'
enclosures are unstamped very iltth
is ever heard from them, and wher,
the cards or envelopes are stamped
but one in ten ever returns. This re-
suits in making each reply which the
advertiser receives cost him twenty
cents for postage alone. And yet, I'M
der he discouraging conditions, there
are sent out annually. hundred mil
lion envelopes and as many posta
cards.
THE law requires that all postage
shall be prepaid, so that any plar
which has been devised will require
the cooperation of outside agency, tt
the extent of securing deposit o.
a hundred thousand dollars with the
Department, as a postage fund. Th'
Department will manufacture envei
opes and cards, bearing a peculiar
stamp which can easily be recognized
distinguishing it from ordinary man
These the Department will sell t.
whatever form of syndicate may rep
resent the deposit, at the regular price
less the price of the stamp The con
tractor will distribute them as they
may be ordered by advertisers, ntel
having return address printed or
them, with notice that the stamp II
void II the address is changed. Sucf
envelopes and cards endorsed by ad'
vertisers may be returned TO then
without affixing additional stamp, but
on arriving at their destination they
will be held by the post office till tht
advertiser pays the regular postage or
all such matter as he actually receives
The moment the envelope or card II
mailed, the stamp which the Depart
ment impresses becomes legal STAMP
and satisfies the law, while it Is OF nc
value if the address is changed, anc
no loss to the advertiser II throwr
away. When the advertiser pays the
amount Of regular postage on all such
mail as he actually receives. he only
keeps the original deposit intact.
ment to rely on outside cooperation
Pneumatic tubes, for example-and IL
fact almost all transpOrtation-are
accomplished through private cooper
alton. and 1t is not anticipated thai
there will be any delay or difficulty in
arranging with some form OF corpora
ton. as a reasonable profit viii b.
allowed by Government contract Il
the receiver and dispenser; while Il
will be greatly to the advantage OF tht
Department 10 have an active agency
constantly at work encouraging trade
and creating new business all oyel
the country. AS a result of the in
vestigations it was reported to tn
commission that without any furthe
impetus than the removal of the pres
ent handicap to business in this line
the firms already using the mail
would increase their use at least NV
fold, which alone would result In In
creasing the revenue of the Depart
ment over sixteen million dollars an
| nually With the natural growth AM
| the new business that would follow
1t is thoroughly conservative TO ac
cept the report that when the system
is understood and in working orde
the net revenue to the Post Office De
| partment will come very close 10 Wip
Ing out even the threatened deficit o
thirty millions Considering eithe
the public or the Department, it i
worth trying"