The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-12-08
POSTOFFlCE DEPARTMENT.
Second Class Mail Matter.

The deficit every year In the postoffice
department is largely caused by the low
rate of postage of ! cent a pound charged
on second-class mail matter, which IN
cludes aot only newspapers but maya
zines and miscellaneous periodicals. The
oc+nal loss growing out of the transmits
sion of this second-class mail matter at
cent a pound amounts to about S6S.0oo,-
nm a year The average cost OF the
TRANSFORMATION of this matter Is more than
cents a pound.
It appears that the average distance
over which newspaper are delivered 10
their customers is 291 miles, while the
average haul of magazines is 1049. and
If miscellaneous periodicals ll2S miles.
Tbus the average haul of the maya
zine Is three and one-half times ana thal
fthe miscellaneous periodicals nearly
four times the haul of the daily news
naner. vet all of them pay the same posi-
are rate of / cent a pound Ine sea'is
tics of 1907 show that second-class mail
,,otter constituted 1891 per cent OF the
weight of all the mail. and yielded only
10 per cent of the revenue. -
The figures given are startling anu
Show the payment by the government or
an enormous subsidy to the newspapers
magazines and periodicals, ana Congress
NAV well consider whether raoicai STEPS
should not be taken to reduce tne oeheie
in the postoffice department caused py
This discrepancy between the actual cost
of transportation ana 'he oo''pes
exacted therefor
Great saving might be made, amount
,rg ~ much more than half of the loss,
by imposing upon magazines ana periooi-
Gals n higher rate of postage. Ihey are
much heavier than newspapers, ana con-
tain a much higher proportion OF ao-
vertising to reading matter, and the av-
erage distance of their transportation Is
three and a half times as great.
The total deficit for the last nscai year
in the postoffice department amounted to
az bO0 600. The branches of its business
which II did at loss were the second
Glaze mail service, in which the loss as
already said was $83, 1000, and the free
rural delivery in which the loss was $SS, :
On oOo These losses were in part offset
| nv the profits of the letter postage and
| other SOURCES of income. 1t would seem
wise to reduce the loss upon second-ciass
mail matter, at least to the extent of pre-
venting a deficit in the total operations
| of the postoffice department.
T commend the whole subject to Con-
.eress. not unmindful of the spread of in
telligence which low charge for carry
ing newspapers and periodicals assists. 1
very much doubt however, the WISDOM
of a policy which constitutes so large
subsidy and requires additional taxation
to meet 1T.
,The second subject worthy of mention
IN the postoffice department Is the real
necessity and entire practicability OF es-
tabltshine postal savings banks. The
successful party at the last election de-
c,ared in favor of postal savings banks,
and although the proposition finds OPP
Moments in many parts of the country,
7 am convinced that the people desire
such hanks. and am sure that when the
hanks are furnished they will be produce
, five of the utmost good. The postal saw
inps banks are not constituted for the
,r,rnose of creating competition with 9TH
or hanks. The rate of interest upon de-
posite to which they would be limited
would be. so small as to prevent their
drawing deposits away from other banks.
l believe them to be necessary in order
TO offer a proper inducement to thrift and
saving to a great many people of small
means who do not now have banking
facilities. and to whom such system
would offer an opportunity for the ac-
cumulation of capital They will fur
nish a satisfactory substitute, based on
sound principle and actual successful trial
in nearly all the countries of the world.
for the system of government guaranty
of deposits now being adopted In several
western states. which with Difference to
those who advocate It seems to me to
have in it the seeds of decentralization to
| conservative banking and certain fnan-
| cial disaster.
The question of how the monax de-