St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1912-09-18
viii Have Parcels Post


On January 1, 1918, the parcels
post law which was enacted by the
last Congress as a rider to the postal
appropriation bill will go into eff
feet. The chairman of the senate
committee having this bill in charge,
Senator Bourne of Oregon, gives the
following explanation of the law:
Amy article is mailable if not
over IL pounds in weight, nor
more than 70 inches in length and
girth combined nor likely to in
jure the mails or postal equipment
or employees. There is a fiat rate
of one cent per ounce up to four
ounces, regardless of distance;
above four ounces, for first pound,
each additional pound and IL lbs.
upward respectively; rural route
and city delivery, five, IL and Is
cents respectively; so mile zone,
five, three and SO; 800 mile zone,
seven, five and 81 cents; 900 mile
zone, eight, six and 6S cents; 1000
mile zone, nine, seven and 10 cents;
1 400 mile zone, ten cents, nine
cents and 81; 1900 mile zone, IL
cents, 10 cents and Sill; over 1, ;
500 miles, IL cents, IL cents and
$1.32. The postmaster general may
make provision for indemnity in
surance and collection on delivery
with additional charges for such ser
vice and may, with the consent of the
interstate commerce commission, af-
ter investigation, modify rates.
weights and zone distances, when ex-
perience has demonstrated the need
therefor"
We have heard much discussion
about the effect of such a law and
now We shall be able to see it's actual
effect. Just how much business will
be done between the village store
and farmers living on rural delivery
routes will depend largely upon the
extent that farmers are willing to
forego the pleasure of visiting the
village once or twice a week. The
extent that mail order houses will
cut into the business of the local
store will depend very largely on
the amount of advertising the local
merchant is willing to do. If he al
lows the mail order houses to do all
the advertising among his legitimate
customers they will cut into his bus
mess. But if he takes the pains to
keep his people informed through
their local paper of the bargains he
can give them they will soon realize
that they can get as much for their
money at home as elsewhere and find
Iif coffcfonfnrxy 70 IL
with man they know and can easily
reach in case a mistake is made in fill
ling an order.
1t will open a field 100 miles in
circumference to every enterprising
merchant in which goods can be de-
livered at a minimum rate and this
will give the local merchant an ad-
vantage over the mail order houses of
the large cities two or three hundred
miles away.
The zones or unites are formed as
follows: Each state is to be divid-
ed along. each degree of latitude and
longitude. Each of these rectangu-
lar sections will be divided into
Quarters, using the lines half way
across the side and the end, which
will be 80 minutes apart, as reck-
oned in latitude and longitude.
Each of these small quadrangles will
be termed a unit. Within any one
these units the local parcels post
rate will be five cents for the first
mound and one cent for each addi-
tionaI pound up to IL pounds. From
within one of these units to any one