Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1912-12-18
REDUCE COST OF LIVING.
Parcels Post viii Revolution.ze the
transportation of Merchandise
in Small Packages.

iourned, congress decreed that the
United States should have a parcels
post. 1t also said that the innova-
ton should go into effect on January
1, 1913, says C. NJ. Cogswell in the
Des Moines Capital.
People accepted the announcement
with the same resignation that has
characterized their acceptance of a
thousand and one other things that
congress has done and promptly for
got all about it.
! 1t was not until about month ago
that people began to poke around to
find out what it all is about. Only a
few now know of the wonderful
things promised the country by the
advocates of the parcels post. Only
a few appreciate the enormity of the
undertaking. Only few understand
that millions of dollars will be saved
merchants and private citizens of the
country, and that it is hoped by its
promoters that parcels post will have
its effect on the cost of living in this
country.
Among the many people who do
|, not understand all there is to know
about the parcels post are the post
Office officials into whose hands the
working out of the theme has been
: placed. AS yet the instructions they
have had from the government have
: been meagre. The average person
: who has read the newspapers of late
. knows almost as much about the
: working of the system as the postal
! officials themselves.
: If the scheme works as well in the
: United States as it does in foreign
t countries where it has been tried, ii
: will be possible to send baby which
does not weigh more than eleven
!, pounds through the mails. 1t will be
t possible for college boys to send their
: soiled linen home to mother to wash
: In short, anything you can think Of
n that does not weigh more than clever
/ pounds and can be confined to the
n space prescribed by the government
|, and can be handled without endang
S ering postal employees or other mai
l. matter can be sent by parcels post
) The system has been in vogue il
England for the last twenty-five o.
" more years. A score of foreign coun
/ tries operate a parcels post. The
: system in vogue in Switzerland pro
e vides that packages weighing no
S more than 10 pounds may be Sen
L., by parcels post. In Belgium thu
d weight limit is 1872 pounds. Not onl!
IS does the government transport thes'
packages but it delivers them at tn,
door and at price that makes Amer
lean express companies look like rob
n bers. Farmers mail their products
:. to their patrons and completely ig
0 more the commission man.
# This is what may happen when the
D agricultural post is in vogue in the
h United States:
: You write to Mr.. Farmer and ash
h him to supply you regularly with
: strawberries. Each morning while
\ they are in season you receive your
, shipment of berries delivered by Tn
\ Gle Sam and they cost you perhaps
2 6 cents per quart Under the pres
, ent system the farmer gets 3 cents
| per quart for his berries, the express
companies get 8 cents per box for
> transportation, the commission mer-
chants profit is 2 cents, the smaller
jobber gets l cent out of each box
and the retailer must have his profit,
which amounts to about 3 cents per
box Under the present system you
pay IL cents quart for the berries
and get them after they are about
two days old.
There is no other revolution pos
sible that will make such a differ
ence in the cost of living, according
to the advocates of the parcels post.
The parcels post has received its
greatest opposition from the small
dealers. They argue that the cata-
logue houses, by reason of the low
postal rates, will be able to get the