Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1912-11-21

Hitchcock, one can but wonder at the
vast amount Of effort required to secure
such needed utility. We have as .
nation become very conservative. It
it no longer question of America
leading the world. but of limping
along at the tail end Of the procession.
Spain alone Of the European countries
has kept US company. And Of late.
months it has been . matter Of specu-
lation as to whether or not the young
est republic in Asia would not have a
parcels post before the oldest republic
in America.
In seeking the cause Of our hardness
in establishing this postal service, one
is again impressed with the truth that
it is not the tyrant that Expresses the
people. but the ignorance and cupidity
Of the people themselves. Though the
express companies have opposed this
reform, and for years have maintained
lobby in Washington, the effective
sum and substance of their opposition.
has been supplied by the small country
merchants. The maii-order business is
the ogre with which they frightened
each other. They saw in the growth
of the mail-order business, not re-
Election on their own antiquated meth
DDS, but only loss of immediate profits;
and, true to their bourbon instincts,
they set about arousing the protective
spirit. On the one hand they bulldozed
the rural press into supporting their
cause, while on the other hand they
frightened the city wholesalers into
joining them. If the mail-order houses
had cheap postage they would drive out
the rural merchant, the country paper
would be deprived Of advertising, and
the wholesaler would lose his customer.
And so all three fell upon any Congress-
man who dared to entertain the idea of
parcel post.
In the struggle to secure this much
needed Governmental service, it would
have been comparatively easy to over
come the opposition of the express
companies alone; but when it came to
running counter to the wishes of the
country merchant, backed by the coun-
try press and the city jobbers, Con-
gressmen paused and calculated the
chances of reelection. And once they
sat about finding excuses for opposing
the parcel post, it is surprising what
multitude of reasons they found. One
unaffected with the protective spirit
might have supposed that the main
essential Is to secure the most economi-
cal exchange of goods between the far
mer and the manufacturer. Whatever
part middlemen have in this should be
such only as makes the exchange
cheaper than it would be without them.
But that was not the view of the
middleman. The question with them
was, not the cheapest service rendered
the farmer and the manufacturer. but
the highest toll that could be exacted
by the middlemen. Suppose, " argued
the rural editor, ''the farmer can buy
a necktie or curry-comb cheaper of q
mail order house, what does the mail
order house buy of the farmer? What
taxes does it pay in his community?
What charities doesi it support? Go to,
we'll keep our money at home. !" The
editor supported the merchant because
the merchant patronized the editor:
and both together made the farmer
think they supported him. It was the
old, old story of protection, under q
different guise And like the older
theory Of protection it had in the farm
| er a docile victim.
Even now that the parcel post has
been brought to an issue, it has about
it the air of one intent upon robbing
/ his neighbours hen roost. The House
bill went only. to the extent OF permit
ting parcels on rural routes, and at q
Erate of five cents for the first pound,
with one cent for, each additional
pound. The plain purpose of this was
to permit the rural merchant to do q
mail-order business. while shutting out
the city merchant; and incidentally, tc
turn the Post Office Department into 9
country errand boy for the express
companies. But once breach wal
made in the protective wall, Others
rushed in Even the Postmaster Gen
eral has mustered up sufficient courag'
to come out for general parcel pos
before Congress had time to act upor
his original suggestion Of a rural parce
post. The Bourne bill adds to this fiv
cent rate for city and rural delivery
the following rates for varying dis
tances, or zones: In the 50-mile zone
six cents for the first pound and tw
, cents for each additional pound; zoo
mile zone, seven and three cents; 500
mile zone, eight and four cents; 1000
mile zone. eleven and seven cents
2. O00-mile zone, twelve and ten cents
all above 1000 miles. twelve cents 70
, the first pound and twelve cents fC
1 each additional pound. The limit Q
J weight is eleven pounds.
That these rates are unnecessaril
e high win doubtless be proven in pra.
oil tice; but the main thing is to make
d beginning. Once the principle is estal
d lished it win be comparatively easy