The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1912-11-20
THE PARCELS POST.

N'N PuS ILic uCdl dSlOSS.
THE PARCELS POST.
The Spartanburg Journal again
discussing the parcels post and
advocating bat rate system. The
Journal is not as well up ON
rates as it should be If it is going
to discuss this question without leav-
ing false impression, nor is it as
jealous of protecting its own mer-
chants against the mail order houses
as 1t is of protecting mail order hous-
es against imaginary foreign compe-
tition.
Just word about rates: The Jour
nal says that "at the present rates
Eve suppose parcels post rates. a
hve pounds package sent from New
York to Spartanburg would cost twen-
ty-seven cents. That is perhaps more
than the express rates" 1t was for
tunate for the Journal that it insert
ed perhaps" in the sentence. The
express rate on five pounds from New
"a w A%nui euS, just d llllle more
than the rate to Spartanburg, is sew
enty cents. Quite a difference. OF
course this is matter of little i'm
portance in discussion of parcels
post. but to make such inaccurate
statements leaves false impression
which is apt to mislead.
Now. about this bugaboo of foreign
competition, postage rates from Ger
many to San Francisco, Kalamazoo.
South Bend etc. Comparison of these
rates with postal rates within the
United States are OF little moment
No large amount of mail of this char
acter is transported through the mails
and what is carried is only such as
ordinarily cannot be bought in the
United States, such materials as are
peculiar to foreign countries. We
could safely wager that not one per-
son who reads this paper, exchanges
included, has ever seen a single piece
OF mail of competitive nature that
has come into this country from any
point without the United States. 1t
is idle to discuss imaginary competi-
ton.
Let's get down to little real com
petition, by getting right at home. to
Spartanburg. We will compare a Phil
adelphia mail order house with a
Spartanburg mail order house Of
you please). Suppose we take A. in
Philadelphia and B IN Spartanburg.
A buys large proportion of his stock
in Philadelphia or within the imme-
date vicinity. He has at the outside
freight bill of five dollars per ton
TO pay BY buying in larger quanti-
ties. he secures his goods at a CHEAP
rate. buys his goods in Philadel-
phia and pays freight on them to
SDartanburg. He does not buy in car
load lots nor in lots large enough to
secure an edge on the price. His
freight viii! amount to about twenty
dollars per ton. difference Of around
hfteen dollars per ton. Thus B starts
of with handicap of fifteen dollars
per ton, before he begins his publicity
campaign, which is more expensive to
the small house than it is to the big
one, relatively speaking Thus with
the handicap of fifteen dollars 2 ton
for freight, the handicap of small
purchases, with the handicap of rela-
lively expensive advertising, will b,
the Spartanburg man. be able to com
pete with A when it will costa in
Philadelphia no more than it will B
In Spartanburg 10 deliver retail
goods in Woodruff?
Who is going to pay that fifteen
dollars difference in freight? The
dear people, of course.
The Journal says that the rates
were evidently made to suit the ex-
press companies Surely our South
Carolina congressman are not the
tools Of corporations. Congressman
JOHNSON favored the zone system of
parcels post and ne Is no tool of the
express companies.