The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1911-06-22
Movement to Secure Penny
Postage Delayed on Account
of Big Expense to Dept.
TRANSPORTATION COST LARGE
Franking Privilege Causes the Govern
melt no End of Trouble in Working
c-5 the Future of the Postofice De-
partment.
Penny postage is not in sight.

Penny postage is not in sight.
| Postmaster General Hitchcock hopes
to be able to show on the last day of
June, the end Of the fiscal year, that
it is possible to make the postotfice de
partment paying institution, and he
would be very glad to introduce penny
postage during his incumbency, if it
could be done.
1t may be that an effort will be made
to have the rate fixed at / cent, but the
probability is that several other ques-
tions relating to the postal service will
have to be answered before the country
gets penny postage.
Apparently the demand just now is
stronger for parcels post than for pen
NY postage. Members of congress very
generally agree that it would probably
would be unwise to introduce penny
postage and parcels post system at
the same time. So the question would
seem to be whether the country prefers
a parcels post or penny postage. If
members of congress are correctly in
formed, their constituents are not max
ing much of demand for penny post
age, while they are very generally ask
ing for legislation providing for the
establishment of a parcels post.
To Keep Track of Mail.
The postmaster generals plan for
dealing with the franking privilege is
to supply through the agencies of the
postal service special official envelopes
and stamps for the free mail of the
government, all such envelopes and
stamps to be used on requisition to
the various branches>~of the federal
service requiring them, and such rec
ords to be kept of official stamp sup
plies as will enable the postoffice de
partment to maintain proper postage
account covering the entire volume OF
free government mail
| The postofice general believes that
if the department could have check
of this sort on free mail, abuse Of the
franking privilege would cease. The
abuse of the franking privilege has
been notorious for years, but persons
who understand how difficult it is to
stop an abuse of this sort are willing
to go on record as saying that if penny
postage is not to come until the frank
ing privilege abuse has been stopped,
tit will be a long time before 1-cent
stamp will carry a sealed letter.
Cost of Transportation.
| The cost Of railway mail transporta-
tion is also likely to be thoroughly
thrashed out by congress before any
consideration is given to penny post
age proposition. The democratic house
of representatives is eager for an in
vestigation of this subject, and the
committee on postofice and post roads
plans to take it up next winter.
For a year and half Postmaster
general Hitchcock has been giving the
subject much attention. During the
latter part of 1909, he asked every rail
road company that has a contract for
transporting the mail to report to him
in detail on the business done. Since
July l., 1910, he has had a special
force of temporary clerks checking,
verifying, arranging and tabulating the
data sent in by the railroads. This
work is now practically complete. The
data will enable the house committee
on postofice and post roads to com
pare the amount of service of each
class performed by railroad as repre-
sented by the car-foot miles, with the
operating expenses assigned and appor-
toned to it, and thus to obtain a com
parison of the cost of three classes of
service performed by the railroad on
an ascertained unit basis.
This work of compiling information
that will be absolutely accurate and
viii enable congress to ascertain, if it
desires to do so, whether the railroads
are properly paid for carrying the mails,
has been retarded by the failure of
many companies to follow carefully the
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