Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-15

letters and kilograms from the country merchants in
his district State protesting that such project
would be the runation of their business.
However, the investigation developed and dis
cussion of the plan widened the smaller merchants be-
gan that the big mail order houses such centers
New York and Chicago could not undersell them, be-
cause, in addition to the prices charged by the big
houses there would be the expense of the parcel post
That is say the difference between the prices
of the country merchant and of the mail order house
the articles generally charged by country store
would be slight make difference the small
stores trade.
Chairman Sharp of the postofice committee said to
country merchant during of the sessions:
MY friend If cannot compete with mail order
house your line of goods when the bigger house
has to pay the parcel post rate what sort of business
yOu?'
This enigmatic settled that mans doubts, and
described his position we'll that of most of the
rest in regard to the proposition.
On the other hand, the parcel post will be great
shopping agent for the farmer and the farmers wife.
There many articles desired by people living in
the country and not carried regular stock by country
merchants that the parcel post system will be benevo
lent supplement to the country store This is an age
when the farmer is almost invariably we'll to do or
wealthy and when this is the the needs and tastes
of himself and his family require bigger shipping
center, bigger line of goods to select from than the
stock which the country merchant thinks he is safe
in taking a chance
ONE of the greatest instances of the with which
the parcel post system is being put into effect is
the conviction of the Postmaster General Senator ona
than Bourne and all others connected with the matter
that the Government will not lose by its opera
ton. When you realize that the authorities have had
to figure on the cost an ounce mile of transporting,
handling and delivering each parcel whether 1t be
red fifty miles eighteen hundred miles, from Wash
ington to Baltimore, from New York to San Fran
cisco, it is brought home that the computations and
calculations must have been intricate to the farthest
degree Another proof of Uncle Sans confidence that
he will not lose his newest big business venture is
the fact that Congress appropriated only threequar
tiers of million dollars to start it. No such undertake
ing could be promoted by private corporation
such meager capital.
This brings up another problem that be solved
only after the system has been operation for some
time How many more electric vans will be needed for
the delivery of parcels in the cities? Will the rural
in the thickly populated and wealthy sections of
the country discard his horse his horse and buggy
for a wagon a gasoene car? And how will he
approximate to the OF the old DAYS when the
mails We're carried by stagecoach?
1t is considered certain that the system will benefit
the people of cities well those in the country for
any institution that promotes the spending of money
another adds to the wealth and prosperity of all the
people
There should be explanation of why the zone svs-
TEN of charging postage adopted instead of the
fiat rate plan. The flat what is now used for
the transmission of letters For two YOU send
your letter from section to another part Of the
city to foreign countries But in the carriage
of parcels the zone system adopted the principle
that each person should nearly possible exactly
the cost of hauling the parcel That is, the fiat
rate would have put burden upon the person sending
package fifty miles and would have given undue bene-
fit to sending parcel two thousand miles. The
salness of the cost of sending letter practically pro-
hibts any difference in the charge but in hauling and
delivering bulky packages there is a vast difference
which b.. and has been, reduced to dollars and
cents
One phase of the system that deserves special com