The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1911-02-03
Retail Merchants Convention.

Of the retail merchants OF the South il
Nashville Feb. IS, Mar l, 2 and 8 70
the specific purpose Of entering pro
test, as strong as possible, against tn
proposed parcels post bill which ha
been recommended to Congress b,
President Taft aud the Postmaster Gen
eraI and Endorsed by few members s.
far.
The Commercial has had a great dea
to say about the parcels post Perhaps
there are number who do not ye
know what it is. The United State,
mails now carry packages of merchan
disc known as fourth class, at the rate
OF one cent for each ounce or fraction
thereof. AT present no package weigh,
ing over four pounds can be sent by
mail. rhe parcels post provides for an
extension Of this system to include all
merchandise and mailable matter UP tc
the limit of eleven pounds that is, any
package of merchandise or mailable
matter weighing eleven pounds or less
can be sent as fourth class mail. The
parcels post further provides for re-
duction in the pound rates of fourth
class matter to twelve cents.
At a glance this does not seem to be
very radical change, but it is or there
would be no demand for it. This de-
mand, however, originates with the
Postmaster General and Republican
sources which have heretofore catered
more or less TO the special interests.
With the agitation Of the parcels post
also comes a castigation Of the express
companies, which would Of course re-
gard with dspleasure the innovation OF
the government acting as competitor
IN the transportation of merchandise.
There are many, many reasons why
the parcels post would be unjust and
unfair. In the first place, the very ar
gument which charges the express trust
with undue pressure against the parcels
post i lost altogether il the weight Of
argument which might be easily adj
duced to show the graft the combined
railroad system Of the country would
have upon the governmental IN con-
tract for the parcels post. The rail-
roads, of course, would be asked to
carry the merchandise contemplated in
the parcels post for the government IN
stead OF carrying it for the express COM
panes, and any man with good eye
can see at once that the chances are far
more hattering for nice plum out of
the public treasury than they are from
the express trust.
Now, in regard to the political phase
OF the question we will quote and edito-
rial from this paper published Deem
Der 8. The National Monthly, Nor
man Mack paper, like the Nashville
Tennessean, has been now and then
making some one-sided stalls for the
parcels post, and from the suggestions
offered we took our text as follows:
John Wanamaker found, when POST
master General, four reasons why we
did not have the parcels post--the Amer
lean, the Wells-Fargo, the Adams and
the United States express, The National
Monthly says there is only one reason
now-the express trust John Wanna
maker had several reasons why we
should have the parcels post and about
one hundred per cent Of these were his
big retail stores The National Monthly 3
has some reasons, but they do not seem
to be altogether moved by an unselfish
and disinterested patriotism. 4
Wouldn't it be more consistent if the {
National Monthly and other interests {
which have been Dining the public ,
ears with this parcels post clamor, after
all these years trying to diseredit the
Nebraska statesman, should acknowl-
edge that they were the false prophets |
and Bryan the sage Of Democracy {
II the parcels post theory is demo- @
cratic then government ownership or |
control is democratic, eminently so. II I
the government should make contract {
with the railroads for the proposed par :
cells post then the government to that |
extent becomes common carrier and G
assumes control Of the transportation a
y merchandise up to the eleven-pound h
INIT. The government has already a
function in carrying four {
pounds Of merchandise not strictly in I
keeping with the letter Of our organic !