The Oakley herald. [volume] (Oakley, Idaho) 1908-1961, 1911-02-24
-et Us Have a Parcels Post
IN THREE PARTS-PART /.
(Hampton's Magazine)

when shown a curious electrical
machine by which the human
voice could be transmitted many
miles, and was told that its in
venter had decided to call it a
telephone" displayed consider
able interest in the scientific curl
ousity, but observed: "V Very
striking, indeed, but w h o on
earth do you imagine is going to
use such contrivance?'
Like wise, the legend is brought
down to us when a charter was
sought for the first railroad in
New England, from Boston to
Quincy, our New England for
ears protested vigorously
against running lot of noisy,
smoking. steaming iron demons
up and down the landscape. The
thoughtful Puritans declared
that existing transportation fa-
cilitles were ample, and that
these locomotive monsters would
scare the COWS and hens so badly
that they would decline, respec-
lively, to give milk and to lay
eggs!
Those things seem merely hum
orous to us low. What would
the world think of the American
people If sucn arguments had
prevailed, and throughout the
last eighty years the people OF
the United States had refused to
allow railroads to be built while
every other country built them
by hundreds of thousands of
miles, and decade after decade
derived from them the tremen-
dous commercial and social ad-
vantages which every body now
recognizes.
Ofcourse. you reply that such
a thing is absurd. Yet it is ex-
actly what the people OF the Uni
ted States have done in the mat
ter of transporting light parcels.
While all other nations have
supplied their people with the
best, cheapest, and most effici-
ent facilities for handling this
kind OF freight. through parcels
posts established and operated
by governments, t he United
States has persistently denied it's
people the advantages of this
system.
1t is commonly said that we
have no parcels post because the
express companies, controlling
for private profit the package
freight business, will not permit
Congress to give the public the
facilities it wants and ought to
have. In too large part this is
true; and it is unjust and scan
dalous as if the owners of toll
roads and stugecoach lines of a
century ago had been permitted
to prevent this great country
evuipping itself with railroads.
There would be some shadow
Of excuse for refusing to accept
SO great a convenience as the
parcels post if, in accepting 1t,
we would destroy a large invest
mept in the business of the ex
press companies. But, in fact,
we would not destroy any legi-
tlmate values in these companies.
They own practically nothing
on which they would lose a dol
lar. Most OF their money is not
In the business of transporting
freight, but in banking and in
vtstment enterprises. T h c
would not b e interfered with.
Their tangible property actually
used in transportation would be
required. a n d undoubtedly be
taken over at good figures by
the government, when it estab-
lished a parcels post business.
Their investments in s. k
bonds a n d banking business
would b C undistributed. The
express companies would lose
nothing except their graft-the
privilege of charging outrageous
rates for the service they render.
In morals and equitp that ought
to be ended as soon as possible.
The truth is that it is not the
political and financial influence
of the express companies which
keeps Congress from giving this
nation parcels post. 1t is the
pathetic and benighted ignor-
anoe of considerable section of
our own people, who have been
led to believe that the parcels
post would injure them. 1t is
wellSnigh impossible to believe
that there can still be millions
OF intelligent Americans who
doubt that national prosperity
must be promoted by every in
crease of the facilities and cheap