The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1911-09-15
The Express Parasite.

The Express Parasite.
Characterzing the express companies
of the country as economic parasites
and "squatters on the postal function !"
Representative David J. Lewis, of Mary
land, told the Pennsylvania State Grange
the time had come for the creation of a
postal express.
Mr.. Lewis was the principal speaker at
a big celebration held at White City last
week by the. State Grange of Pennsyl-
vania on Grange Day. The grange has
Endorsed the bill which Mr.. Lewis has in
troduced and is pressing in Congress for a
postal parcel express. His speech was
devoted to the advantage of the plan be
proposes.
"After 40 years of waiting and depriva.
tion," Mr. Lewis declared, "the people
ought not to be given lemon in the
parcels post schemes at s or IL cents a
pound, when, egregious as they are, the
average express charges are less than 3
cents pound. This subj ct calls for the
real craftsmanship of the country. 1t is
SO bound up with the vital interests of
producer and consumer that longer delay
in providing real and adequate articula-
ton Of the country with the centres OF
population is little less than a crime
against the prosperity of the nation
"Other governments have recognized
and long since supplied this need Ger
many articulates the railways with the
farm by her parcels post half century
old. She has two kinds of express lone
all passenger train, for which the charge
is four times the freight rate; the other
fast service consists of passenger train
service on branches to the trunk lines,
where the shipment goes as fast freight
and the charge for it is only double the
freight rate. We have neither of these
services in the United States, but instead
we have the express companies. which do
not reach beyond the railway or into the
country, and moreover, exact rates so
high as to reduce the traffic one third of
| its normal volume.
AN investigation of the express and
freight rates in the nine countries of
Europe reporting these facts shows the
express charge to be 81. IL ton. In the
United States it is $3I. 20 ton. In these
countries it costs only FIVE times as much
to ship ton of express as ton of freight
In the United States it costs 10 times as
much. The unnatural charges in the
United States serve toprohibit the largest
part of normal express traffic. AS a
matter of fact the express business
amounts to only SO pounds per capita
here, while in those other countries it
runs up to 500 pounds. although in the
United States the freight per capita is
tons, as against 5H tons abroad.
''The express company here is an eco
nomic parasite. It performs no service
that does not belong either to he railway
or to the postofices. and can only exist
at terrific cost to both. Although the
express company profits amount to more
than 100 per cent of the investment in
express equipment, only per cent of
the rate is net profit. The public would
thank the Inter State Commerce Commits
sion for 10 per cent. cut in the rates,
and such cut would wipe out the 100
per cent. profit.
This transportation parasite cannot be
regulated. II must be eliminated as a
positive hindrance aud obstacle to trans
portation.
I'VE cannot have an efficient parcels
post without the express railway con-
tracts The Government cannot conduct
it on mail railway transportation rates at
over cents pound in competition with
the express companies, paying but three
fourths of cent pound, excluding the
weight of equipment in both cases, which
enables the express corporations to pay
100 per cent on its investment, although
rendering no service to the farmers and
points off the railways
The express company service does not
reach beyond the railways. but the post
Office does with its rural free delivery,
which is waiting with empty wagons to
receive the express packages aud take
them to the country stores aud the
farmers, and carry back to the towns and
cities the produce OF the farms aud truck
gardens for the people 10 eat at living
prices"