The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1911-06-18
POST IS
TO GET attention
Will Be One of Important
Matters Before Congress
in Near Future.
~ JONATHAN WINFIELD.

long been agitated, and has now
reached the point where its advo-
Gates believe they see an opportunt'
~ for the entering wedge which Will
inaugurate the system in this country
countries of the world.
Senator Bourne, leading progressive
Republican, and chairman of the SEN
ate committee on pOstoffices and post
roads, a position which the reaction
airy leaders found it impossible to de-
prive him OF in the reorganization OF
the committees at the opening Of the
extraordinary session, has introduced
a resolution directing his committee
TO make an investigation of the steps
necessary to be taken to amend the
postal laws so as to permit OF the es-
Establishment of the parcels post. And
yet no bill has been offered in the
senate looking to the inauguration OF
the system as part of the postal
service, but it is the intention Of the
senator from Oregon to draft such
measures. following the inquiry
his committee will make into the mat
ter, IL the senate can be induced to
authorize it, While the subject of par
cells post legislation is not included as
part of the program of legislation OF
the house for this session, there have
been introduced in the house since
the session began, eleven measures
providing for the establishment of the
system. All of these bills are design
ed to have the parcels post estab-
lished by degrees, to have it started
and tried out on rural routes.
A Bill by suIzer.
Only one Of the eleven bills pro-
vides for a general parcels post, with
limit of eleven pounds to the pack
age, the same as provided by all save
one of the countries with which the
United States has a postal convention.
This bill Is fathered by Representative
Sulzer of New York, one of the lead
ing advocates of the parcels post leg
islation.
Although the Democratic majority
of the house is not committed to the
rangement has been made by Chair
man Moon Of the committee on post
Offices and post roads to grant hear
! ings on the several measures begin
ming on June IA. At that time all
persons who are interested in the sub
ject will have an opportunity to ap-
pear and be heard for or against the
legislation. These measures provide
parcels post, but in general they seek
to limit its operation for the purpose
Of experiment to the rural routes. that
is to provide that a parcel weighing
not more than eleven pounds may be
carried by a rural route carrier from
any point to any other point upon
his route. This, 1t is argued, would
be no drain upon the resources Of the
postofice department, but instead.
would be likely to produce revenue
which would go long way toward
wiping out the present annual deficit
in the department, If it did not do SO
altogether.
| The probabilities are that, in the
end, after hearing the arguments for
and against the proposition, the COM
mittee will draft provision to be in
serted in the general postoffice appro-
priation bill next year, which will d.
rect the postmaster general to desig.
nate certain rural routes upon which
the parcels post experiment shall be
tried out, and that the department
shall at the end of year report to
congress upon it's workings. The
friends of such legislation are so
thoroughly convinced that it will
prove a paying experiment that they
are willing to have 1t started in this
way, believing that it will hereafter
grow and develop in much the same
tenn has grown.
For years parcels post legislation
was thwarted in congress largely
through the efforts Of the late Sena.
tor Thomas c. Plat, the head if one
OF the big express companies whose
huge profits would have been material
ly curtailed If the government were to
90 into the business of carrying small
packages.
. Glance at the Profits.
A glance at the profits made by the
express companies shows the reason
why such legislation is SO bitterly OPP.
posed by them. In 1909 the gross re.
ceipts of the American Express com.
pany were s3l,?09,721. Its net earn.
ings from the express business were
S1,716,004. or an annual profit during
the year upon the capital invested in
the company of 1856 per cent.
During the same year, the net prof
its of the Wells-Fargo Express com
pany were 70.7 per cent. Net earn
ings of the Adams Express company
the Southern Express company, and
the other big express companies were
Icorrespondingly large.
In 1909 the various railroads of the
country received from these four big
express companies sums for carrying
express as follows:
From the Adams Express company
$14,945. s96.5S; from the American
Express company, s14,621. 07216;
from the Wells-Fargo Express com
pany. s11.416.1o9.6O from the United
States Express company $7,SS2. 906. 90
Under the contracts which the ex
press companies have with the rail
roads for transportation of express
matter. from 45 to So per cent, or or
the average about AT per cent of the