Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1912-08-09
THE EXPRESS COMPANIES

many years, says the Springfield Re-
publican. %@'
The Taft administration came out for
a. parcels post, and in the Chicago and
Baltimore platforms, adopted by the
republican and democratic parties re-
SspeetiYely,; are 4p1anks declaring IN
rssaryHdly for.the establishment OF a
reels spost: serylee: blythe federal gov.
eminent. Last winter there was a
strong movement in Congress TO push
parcels post legislation; 1T supslded,
but the obvious cause was the growing
prospect that though the egnlatlon OF
the express companies bysthe INTERSTATE
commerce commlssiou under powers
recently acquired by that BODY, the 90,
jects aimed Ut by g parcels post coula
be" attained in another Way. The flour
reasons =. suddenly grew humble; they.
climbed, down. They agreed to many OF
the reforms: ia their ht1s1ness suggested
by the Interstate clnmerce COMMISSION
and. in. general Withdrew opposition 10
such q transformation Of the express
business as would save the 4te OF tAe
private companies. >::*
The important report by the COM
mission on its investigator OF the ex'
press companies and their operations
published this week states the scope
in express rates which the commission
Of the reforms agreed upon and an
nounces also the sweeping reductions
has decided are reasonable These re-
auctions in rates, averaging: approx
mately, Is per cent throughout the
country, are contested by, the com
panies and hearings will be held by the
commission before the order for them
to 60 into effect will be issued. Some
time in the autumn, however, the
charges will be completed and the ex-
press business will begin a new era on
a radically altered basis.
The new principle to be applied will
be that express companies are public
utility, are more or less a natural
monopoly, like the railroads, and
especially in their small package bust
ness are so much akin to the pOst-office
that the public interest compels gov
eminent regulation of their affairs. It
has been easy for Commissioner Lane,
who directed the investigation, to
prove that the express business Of
the United States has become "a FAM
ily affair." in the sense that the lead
ing companies are interlocked and in
tertwined inextricably, and are in turn
allied with the great railroad systems
the net result being a monopolistic
control from which the public have had
no sufficient protection. Rate making
has for many wears proceeded on the
principle of CHARGING what the traffic
would bear-modifed only bv such
office on the one hand and the railroad
freight train on the other.
Between these two extremes, the ex-
press business has been DEVELOPED on
extortionate lines. particularly in the
business of carving packages weigh
ing less than 50 pounds. Rates, too. are
in many Instances the same for 50
pounds as for 100 pounds between the
same points; in some instances. The
old system of rate making d;scr;minates
AGAINST the householder. or consumer. in
favor Of the mjldlcman an7 iohher. for
tie householder often paws as much in
ev,,re,s charres for = 1O-no11n1 packane
AS = dealer would nav for a o5-pounl
,ar]1arr and three or four times as
mach as tn, dealer would paw for 10
hounds Included in a 1nO-pound ship
rIcnt. il the chance ,,rorose,l in the
v>tcm Of rate n,a!irr should, as Com
missioner Lano believes, tend to dimin-
iSh tlr cost of liyirr for the AVERAGE
family Wv BRINGING the producer and
tEc consumer L,ar.r torpt her. the nene
=, vg,.1 Nc ,crl3, ) ,f.rv considerable
nt a WON'T = ut roW presses heavily ID.
r,, ~, p,>- hn,,ophnll
The iutrn,Ivrtion Of the block system
of rate making shon,,! lie an important
rctorn in the direction of sinplifca-
tipn. Under the old system there are
more than GOO ,ono.ooO express rates be-
tvrrn the $4,000 EXPRESS stations
in this country. The block system pro
vi,,es for the division of the United
States into $50 blocks each approxi-
1natclv 50 miles square; and every town
or city in a particular block will have
he same express rate from any given
,oiut in any OTHER block. Thus the ex-
1rcss rate will be stated between blocks !
u. read Of lytvc, y cities or towns. A
lrcctorv of express stations will show
within what block each station is To-
@tol. "Tl;x method of stating rates
v;l| avoid the GREAT body of comnlaints