The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1907-1921, 1910-02-12

" not about time that we quii giving
The foreigner u better rate than We
give our WI peoplel IL. for eN
ample, YOU live on n rural route. you
may order ten pounds of coffee from
the city Of Mexico 1T twenty. FIVE
cents per pound aud It will be- sent
and delivered at your door by your
postmnn free of postage; but " you
wanted coffee from your nearby
town grocer, he could send YOU hut
-four pounds, aud the postage On that
would he sixty.four cents. more than
the Mexican grocer pays for the
pound sent 10 you. Whyi Ask your
congressman aud senator aud the ex
press companies.
No other government permits com
petition IN the carriage OF mailable
matter by privnt" express but this
enlightened land IT free and home 81
the brave II wa not eve thus In this
country. Express companies had hardly
been organized when they began 10
compete with the mnils oNet the most
profitable routes. This became NJ such
Importance. aud they were making
such infoRds into the revenues Ut the
postal department that the attention
Of ngre was directed Ia the ne
cessity Of remedial legislation. aud the
committee Of the house on postofices
aud po-troadu looked into the sub.
iec, aud reported to congress under
date Of February ~, lsiI.
Here are n few sentences from this
report to show It's tcnori The com.
mittec Is unanimously NJ opinion that
the power granted by the constitution
to establish p~ostoihccs and postroads,
aud the laws passed IN pursuance OF
II. ARE both frapdulcntly evaded aud
wantOnly violated and defed: aud
that the government ought. without
hesitation, to interposc It's strong arm
/" arrest and forever SUPPRESS such
lawlcss conduct. '......' further legisla.
ton il necessary 10 protect IN. pub
II" service, and presents n question
M less momentous than this: Whe,h.
~ the constitution aud laws Of the
country ~ n lnwleSs combination Of
refractory individuals shall triumph
Ask your congressman aud senators
IL they have ever read this report.
\ law Was passed in isis which
made II unlawful for any private tx.
press Ia carry for hire over any post
road or from any city. town or place
to any other city, town or place he.
tween which the mail IL regularly
carried, any letter or packet aud
Ibis law was intended to prevent com
petition with the postofice in the ear.
ringr of mail matter. This law was
cDforred for u number of years and We
had 10 postal deficit. Gradually, its
enforcement was neglected. until now
even under this law, the postofice de.
pnrtment does rot claim n monopoly
~ 10 letters.
The word packet might as well
have been left out Of the law even
,hough "a court of the United States
has said that letter aud packet il
simply old'fashion for mail mat
ter. The enforcement Of the old law
has yrown to he an 'old.fashioned
Yiriue ,onP since abandoned, aud NJ
We have big postal deficits which you
aud | pay, while at the same time We
pay III" express companies such rates
~ To enable them tn cut s2+ 700 900
dividend melons In u single year.
The profitable short.haul package bust,
ness is all handled by the express com
panics, and the long haul is left for
the p%osiotice to handle at n loss; and
there o are! What are you going
10 10 about it'