The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1912-05-31
URGES FREE EXPRESS
SERVICE IN MANKAT0

Important matters were taken up
| by the advisory board of the Man
kato Commercial club yesterday after
noon.
Further correspondence with the
| Standard Gypsum company of Rapid
City, S. d. in regard to locating a
plant in this city to manufacture
| building material out of gypsum was
read. The company will later on
send representative to the city to
take the matter up.
A communication from the Inter
national Seal and Lock company of
| Hastings, Mich, was read. The COM
pany desires to interest the business
| interests to place large orders with
| it, and thus take advantage of re-
auctions in price for large lots.
A letter was received from
Thomas Yapp, assistant secretary of
| the Minnesota railway and ware
! house commission, in answer to one
sent it by the secretary of the club,
asking as to the jurisdiction of the
commission over the express compan-
| les as regards the territory for free
delivery of parcels. Mr.. Yapp wrote
that the commission has jurisdiction
| over express companies in the state
| Continuing, he said:
Relating to the free delivery of
| express packages, will say that all
of the express companies operating
| in this state prescribe certain limits
| within which they will make such
| free delivery. In the larger cities
| there are regular defined boundaries
| by streets, and in some OF the small
er towns the free delivery is restrict
ed to the business centers. In other
| small towns, no delivery is made by
| the express companies. There is
| nothing at the present time in the
published tariffs of the company
which defines limits for free dellV-
cry in any of the small towns, but
| this matter at the present time Is
| before the interstate commerce COM
| mission. which body has requested
! the express companies to furnish
| tariffs or books showing the free
delivery limit in each town. Some
time ago, this commission made
request for similar information, and
we have been asked by the express
companies to wait until after a rul-
ing has been made by the inter-
state commerce commission, which
will be rendered very shortly, so as to
get uniformity in the state and in
terstate rules.
"If the people of Mankato are not
satisfied with the service rendered
by the express companies, it would
be in order for them to make a
formal complaint to the commission.
Took Matter Up With Companies.
The secretary reported that at the
suggestion of President Crandall ne
had taken the matter up with the
companies doing business III Man
} kato. to see whether they would not
voluntarily extend the territory With
| in which they make free deliveries.
| The secretarys letter to the TWO com
panies was, in part, as follows: IL
seems that a year or more ago the
companies doing business in this CITY
| entered into some agreement where
| by the extent of the territory cover
ed bv the delivery wagons was re-
duced, cutting out important resi-
| dence sections that had heretofore
enioyed this service. The territory
cut out was not portions OF the city
on the bluffs or other places dlfflcult
to reach, but on level streets, III
| thickly populated sections. The action
of the companies has resulted In
great deal of complaint on the part
of residents who are not served,
and there seems to be no good ana
sufficient reason why tehy were de-
prived of the privileges that they
formerly enjoyed.
"The Commercial club would like
to see the principal residence sec
lions of the city served by your ue-
| livery wagons, where the streets are
level and well kept and easily
reached"
The local agents desire to inform
| their companies what territory the
club would like to have served, anu
the advisory board considered thls
matter and decided that the sectloh
from the slough to Madison avenue
and from Sixth street to the river
ought to be served by free delivery
|. The Sazer Seed Company.
The secretary reported having
, written to the John ]. Salzer Seed
company of La Crosse, Wis, inviting
them to remove their plant TO Man
| kato if it was contemplating leaving
| Wisconsin, as reported in the pa
pers. He had received the follow
| ing reply: =,
1--WE have your favor OF May I
and carefully note contents OF your
letter. The rumor, however OF our
leaving Wisconsin, is rather prema-
ture. 1t is true we have been Sc
verely handicapped this spring as the
result of a new labor law, but we
look for some redress at the next
legislative session. We issue onto a
million catalogues a year and during
the busy months employ in the
neighborhood of 500 people. we
doubt very much whether Mankato
could furnish the help necessary for
three or four of the spring months,
as we find difficulty in securing SUI
ficient help during these months here
in La Crosse We will, however,
keep your letter on file for future
reference"
A request from w. O. Chamberlain
of Minneapolis for another fire pre-
vention meeting in this city in the
near future was considered, but it
was thought that it would be hard to
| 80. - h