The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-10
PARCELS POST AND
 WHY II IS OPPOSED.
c. G. Craddock of Lynch burg Presents Argu-
 ments Against It

Charles C. Craddock, the well known shoe merchant of Lynchburg, Va. writes vigorously and exhaustively against the parcels post. In letter to the editor of the Columbia, S. C., State he says In part:
 The transportation of merchandise at a fiat rate in a country like this with it's vast area of sparsely settled territory, Is unsound in theory and would be found dangerous in practice If there were as many factories in the south or west as in the central west and north, if there were as many mail order houses in the south and west as in the middle west and north, no special injustice would be done the south or west, but, as a matter of fact, the mail order houses are all located from Chi cago east and north of the Ohio and Potomac rivers, while the customers of these mail order houses are located largely in that section of the country west of the Mississippi and south of the Ohio and Potomac rivers, therefore, this legislation would benefit one sec tion while devastating another section.
 
 sideration and much thought, I have come to the conclusion that not less than s100 ,0oO, 900 is taken from the rural districts of the south annually by these mail order houses, and I contend that this constant and ever increasing drain upon the resources of the south will impoverish our rural districts and blight our villages, towns and cities.
 The advocates of an enlargement of our present parcels post system state that it will help the farmers by reduc- ing the cost of living, but they have never introduced any evidence to prove the truth of this claim. I believe that our country merchants sell merchandise to the farmers of the south as cheap as they can buy 1t from the mail order houses of the north and west, and 1 believe that an enlargement of our pres- ent parcels post system, as recommend- ed by the Postmaster General would in- jure rather than help the farmers of the south.
 If we admit that the mail order houses can sell certain merchandise light in weight and high in price and ship same through the mail at saw ing to the farmers, any one familiar with the mercantile business will see that if the farmers insist upon buying this class of merchandise from the mall order houses of the north or west the local merchants, who have been de- prived of a net profit on the merchant disc bought from the mail order houses, ola fa af.t,, orc more profit on heavy merchandise which he cannot buy from mail order houses, and which constitute the necessaries of life. Admitting that the farmers can save a few cents on every package of this light. high priced merchandise, I contend that the increased cost of this heavier merchandise. which constitutes the necessities of life, would more than offset what he saved in his purchases from the mail order houses.
 The country and small town merchant furnishes the farmer a convenient and stable market for his produce and if he is legislated out of business, to whom will the farmers sell their pro- duce? The merchants of the south, to large extent, finance the farmers Of the south. If the merchants of the south are run out of business by the mail order houses of the north and west, who will finance the farmers of South Carolina?
 This parcels post question is com paratively new one to most of us, but the great mail order houses of the north and west have been conducting an active campaign in favor of this leg islation for more than five years. The farm papers of the south are almost dependent upon the mail order houses of the north and west, due to the im- mense amount of advertising done in these papers by the mail order houses, consequently these farm papers have published column after column of mat ter favoring an enlargement of our present parcels post system. Mail or der journals published in the north and west, which have combined circula- ton of perhaps 5,000,000 in the rural districts of the south. have kept their editorial columns filled with arguments in favor of an enlargement of our present parcels post system in the in- terest of the farmer These mail order publications which carry about $10,00o.- 900 worth of mail order advertisements can well afford to use considerable space in telling the farmers of the south the many benefits which we will derive from an enlargement Of our present parcels post system at the same time that they are inducing the con- sumers of the south to send $100,000, 900 annually to these great mail order houses of the north and west.
 This is a greater question than the question of the country merchant. This is a greater question than that qu-s- tion of the future of the south. The life of the nation is involved in this question. The passage of a general par cells post bill by Congress at this time would merely mean the first step to- ward taking over the railroads and ex- press companies, and this would mean further centralization of population and wealth in our large cities. It would mean government run by the cities for the cities instead of a government of the people for the people.
 Those of us who oppose any enlarge ment of our present parcels post sys- tenn do not ask that there shall be no enlargement of our present parcels post system, but we do ask these representa- tives of the people to insist that this whole matter shall be referred to commission with ample means, time and opportunity to consider same carefully and report back to Congress before any action is taken, and as the com mercial interests of this country Is almost a unity in its opposition to any enlargement of our parcels post system, feel that the senators and congress-