El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-07-29

government should be a model employer;
that it should demand the highest quail
ity of service from its employees anc
should care for them properly in return.
The Parcels Post and the Rural Delivery.
what do you think of the parcels
post in connection with the rural de-
livery? Will it Gomez
Eyes, in time, although congress has
not given us an appropriation to expert
ment with as vet. The postoffice de-
partment would like to see it tested.
1t would certainly increase the useful
ness of the postal service, and a system
might be established for the carriage of
merchandise at such rates as would be
a fair compensation for the service per
formed. and would materially increase
our revenues. The people want to send
small packages of merchandise by mail
through the rural delivery, but they will
not pay the fourth class rate. Such
service could be organized for the local
merchants and the rural delivery to
customers of any one section without
injuring or competing with any service.
We have the machinery for it in opera
ton, and it would materially increase
the income of the department. By this
means a special reduced rate of postage
could be made upon merchandise carried
only by rural carriers. / have no doubt
of its practicability. IF every one of
our rural delivery carriers would take on
an average of three packages day at
a cost of 25 cents each there would be
a return of S16,000,000 from that bust
ness alone. We are now running the
department without deficit, but that
SIG, 900 900 would be added to the sur
plus, for it would not cost us any more
than the amount we are now spending.
ga few years ago | recommended that
the delivery by rural carriers to COM
munities remote from postoffices be sup
plemented by a parcels post delivery at
a special rate of postage of cents for
the first pound and of 2 cents for each
additional pound or fraction thereof up
to II pounds; provided that the goods
were mailed at the distributing post of
flee of the rural Route upon which the
customers live. | have no doubt some
be made which would be of great con-
venience to the people and to the coun-
try merchants"
Cheap Postage for Foreigners.
"As it is now Mr.. De Graw. mer-
chant living in London or Berlin can
send goods through our mails more
cheaply than though he had branch
office in New York and sent his goods
from there, can he not?"
THAT is true, was the reply. "Ac-
cording to the present arrangements all
fourth class matter posted at any one
place in the United States to any
other place therein costs I cent an
ounce or 16 cents a pound ana the
limit of weight is four pounds. The
New York agent of the London firm,
if he sent the goods by mail from
New York. would have 70 divide them
up into four pound packages, and II
they were full weight pay Ga cents for
each such package. and should he wish
to ship II pounds, he would have to
put them into three different pack
ages, one of which might be three |
pounds and the whole II pounds would
cost him $1.76 On the other hand. |
suppose the London merchant shipped |
direct from his house in London. He |
could then put the II pounds in one |
provided that package was |
not more than three feet six inches |
long, and could send 1t for II cents |
pound, orfor s1.31. For this sum he |
could mail 1t to San Francisco, Los |
Angeles or any part of the United |
states. If he sent a four pound pack |
lge from London instead of 1t costing |
lim "a cents it would cost him As /
.ents. and II two pounds, "a cents in /
stead OF 32E cents which would be the |
ate IL mailed in the United States. |
Similar rates prevail for the shipment |
# articles from here to foreign coun-
ries. 1t being much cheaper to send |
he same article from Chicago to /
Cairo or Calcutta than from Chicago |
o New York In the one case the |
merchandise goes by the international |
parcels post rate at II cents a pound
md in the other at our domestic rate,
which is 16 cents a pound
rhe Rural Delivery and the News
papers.
What has the rural delivery done
or the press of the United States?"
asked.
1T has increased the circulation of