Norwich bulletin., 1909-12-08

times and that of the miscellaneous periodical nearly four times the haul of the daily newspaper, yet all of them pay the same postage rate of 1 cent a pound. The statistics of 1907 show that second class mall matter constituted 63.91 per cent of the weight of all the mall 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- partment caused by this discrepancy between the actual cost of transporta- ton and the compensation exacted therefor.
 A 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 a much high CT 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 postotSce department amounted to $17,500,O00. The branches of its business which 1t. did at loss were the second class mail service, in which the loss, as already said, was S63, 100000, and the free rural delivery, in which the loss was $2S,000,000. These losses were in part offset by the profits of letter postage and other sources of income. It would seem wise to reduce the loss upon second class mail matter, at least to the ex- tent of preventing a deficit in the total operations of the postottice.
 I commend the whole subject to con- gress, not unmindful of the spread of intelligence which a low charge for carrying newspapers and periodicals assists. I very much doubt. however the wisdom of policy which consti- tutes so large a subsidy and requires additional taxation to meet it.
 Postal Savings Banks.
 The Second subject worthy of men, ton in the postoffice department is the real necessity and entire practica- bility of establishing postal savings banks. The successful party at the last election declared in favor of postal savings banks, and, although the prop osition finds opponents in many parts of the country, I am convinced that the people desire such banks and am sure that when the banks are fur nished they will be productive of the utmost good. The postal savings banks are not constituted for the purpose of creating competition with other banks The rate of inteEest upon deposits tc which they would be limited would be so small as to prevent their drawing deposits away from other banks.
 I believe them to be necessary in or der to offer a proper inducement tc thrift and saving to a great many people of small means who do moi now have banking facilities and tc whom such a system would offer ar opportunity for the accumulation of cap ital. They will furnish a satisfactory substitute, based on sOind principle and actual successful trial in. nearly all the countries of the world, for tho system of government guaranty oi deposits now being adopted in severa western states which, with deferenc' to those who advocate it, seems to m to have in it the seeds of Hemoraliza l tion to conservative banking and cer tain financial disaster.
 The question of how the money de | posted in postal savings banks shai | be invested is not free from difficulty but believe that a satisfactory pro vision for this purpose was inserted a an amendment to the bill considere' by the senate at its last sessinn. l has been proposed to delay the consid eration of legislation establishing postal savings bank until after the re port of the monetary commission. Thi report is likely to be delayed, and prop erly so, because of the necessity 10 | careful deliberation and close irtres tigation. I do not see why the on should be tied up with the other. l is understood that the monetary com mission have looked into the system of banking which now prevail abroaN | and have found that by control ther, exercised in respect to reserves anC the rates of exchange by some centra authority panics are avoided. It i not apparent that system of posta savings banks would in any way inter fere with a change to such a systen here. Certainly in most of the coun tries in Europe, where control is thu exercised by a central authority, posta savings banks exist and are not though to be inconsistent with a proper finan cial and banking system.