Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1910-01-06

heaviest loSS. HIS ngureS follow
Receipts. Expenses
First class ;. .sl32,304S44 S1S,6S0 649
Second class . 9,O66,O43 73194.O70
Third class :. :. 25,556,111 2S,7S5,6sa
Fourth class . 7,755.921 5,659,732
Foreign -. S,5S5,564 6,OSO,553
Free congressional 5183S5
Free departmental 5,219,661
Registry service 2,SS9912 6,76S,437
Special delivery 1,973,451 1928, 1854
Money orders -. 3,946,S13 4,015,2O6
Magazines and other periodical
publications, exclusive of daily news
papers, comprise about 60 per cent OF
the second class mail" says Mr.. Hitch
cock. Magazines alone form about 70
per cent. While the average haul of
magazines proper is more than 1000
miles and that of other classes of peri
odicals, not including daily news
papers, ranges from $50 to more than
LOO miles, the haul of daily news
papers, which compromise about 40
per cent of the second class mail,
averages less than 300 miles.
The cost of transportation by rail
and by other means forms slightly
more than third of the total expense
Of handling the second class mail
Magazines proper, because of their
long average haul, show cost OF
more than 5 cents pound for trans
portation, while for daily newspapers,
for which the average haul is much
less, the transportation cost is less
than two cents a pound.
I'm view of these conditions the
question naturally arises how far the
length of haul should be regarded in
fixing the rates of postage for second
class matter. The fact that the aver
age transportation distance for mag.
azines and other periodicals Is SO
much greater than that for daily news
papers has led to the suggestion that
the former class Of publications be
charged higher rate of postage than
the later.
Another plan that recognizes length
of haul as an important element III
fixing second class postage rates is the
establishment Of zone system under
which given rate would be charged
to all points within a certain radius
from the office of mailing and higher
rate to points beyond the limits Of the
zone. For convenience in carrying out
such plan zone boundaries could be
fixed conforming to the state lines that
most nearly approximate a given
radius.
ut has been suggested also that in
fixing postage rates for second class
mail discrimination be made be-
tween purely reading matter and mat
ter printed for advertising purposes,
higher rate to be charged on the latter
AS advertisements comprise so
large a part of the publications distrib-
uted at second class rates, it is urged
that by following this plan sufficient i
increase in revenue can be effected
without any additional postage charge
on the legitimate reading matter in
periodicals.
NO matter which of these plans
shall be adopted or whether the sim
pier method now in force Of charging
a fiat rate on all second class mail
shall be continued, some substantial |
should be made in order to reduce the |
tremendous losses the government rev.
enues now are suffering from this
source"
The magazines which are carried |
through the mails for thousands Of |
miles are getting the best of the pres
ent postal arrangement. The big
newspapers with the padded Sunday !
issues are also favored by the pres
ent rates. The papers of state wide
which devote their energies
10 giving the news without attempting /
to enter the magazine field cannot be |
held responsible for contributing to |
the postoffice department deficit They |
are paying much more in proportion
to the use they make of the mail than
the advertising padded magazines and |
the top-heayy metropolitan papers.
GEMERoUR AMERICANS.