The labor argus. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1906-1915, 1910-01-20
Poured Into Camp of
Postal Officials by
Sen. La Toilette.
Rigidly Center
ed on Rotterness of
Congressional Bias in
Mail Service Matters.

ator Robert NJ. LaFollette wields the
two-edged sword of truth with unsparing
hand with the recently announced annual
postal deficit as his text.
And when he is through YOU feel as
II you missed it in not getting sufficient
West Point education to be able to WELD
saber of your own
Here are the lightning like thrusts and
passes, the points and ripostcs of the
doughty " insurgent' gladiator:
The failure of the postal revenue to
meet the postal expenditures is subject
OF perennial discussion. The postal def
cit, like the poor, we have always with
u.s. Various plans and departures have
been suggesed to wipe it out. 1t has
been suggested that the extravagant pay
of the railroads for carrying the mails
be reduced. But with congressional boss
es who would frank back and forth dur
ing the m;il-wcighng period tons of use
less public documents for the mere pur-
pose of stuifing the mails and increasing
the railroad rakc-off, this suggestion
never got far.
1t has also been recommended by at
least one postmaster general that the gov
ernment build and own the railway mail
cars instead of paying the railroad more
than their total cost annually for the
rent of the cars. But this recommended
tion never received consideration by CON
gress.
Then there is the postal savings banks
proposition, to which the Republican par
ty Is committed. The operation of n
postal sayings system would increase pos
tai receipts without corresponding in
crease i'll expenses and thus tend to re-
duce the deficit. But the system is
against this RADICAL and socialistic -
undertaking and the system congress has
thus far stranglcd postal savings bank
legislation.
Recent disclosures of express compa-
ny's earnings add new and important ar
guments for parcels post. 1t was Post
master General Wanamaker who said that
there were only four reasons why the
people could not have parcels post
These four reasons were the four big ex-
press companies.
The Wells Fargo Express Company in
the fiscal year 1909 earned net, after
the payment of all expenses and taxes,
over Sc per cent of the total value of
all its property and equipment used in
its business, and received in addition
s., 100000 income from investments of
the accumulated profits. 1t presentes its
share holders with Il special Christmas
dividend of 300 per cent or $24,OOO,OOO.
The American Express Company has
been paying dividends of to - per
cent for years, on Il capitalization half
water; and last year received an income
of $1,17s,OoO from investments of its adj
| ditional accumulated profits.
The Adams Express Company with a
! total investment of about Sc 900 900 has.
; in recent years, in addition to high reg
ular dividends, distributed additional, ac-
cumulatcd profits in special dividends.
amounting to 36,OOO.OO0 and last year
received from its accumulated profits not
yet distributed an income of over $1,000
600 So that another special distribution
dividend of 100 per cent is about due to
the Adams share holders.
And so might go on giving the
statistics of the extravaganza profits of
the express carriers. Some of the smaller
companies earned last year 200 to 500
!
The pertinencc of these facts in con-
nection with the postal deficit is this: :
These earnings represent what the public
!; is paying private interests for the trans
;portation of express-freight, parcels and
also mailable matter and money, trans
ported by the express companies partly
in competition with the postal depart
ment and probably in contravention of
;the postal laws of the United States
Now the public has little use for the
independent express company arrange
ment. The public wants Il parcels post
conducted by the government for the
Transportation of smaller parcels and the
railroads should furnish adequate fast
freight service for the transportation of
such large parcels and shipments as re-
lquire expedition. A parcels post. estab-
ilishcd on honest basis. would give the
public better service at lower rates. and
yield n revenue that would wipe ont the
postal deficit However. 4 parcels post
is not recommended by the present post
master general.