Bisbee daily review. [volume] (Bisbee, Ariz.) 1901-1971, 1913-04-12
ONE CENT LsTTER POSTAGE.


General Albert S. Burleson, involyin,
the appointment Of a commission Il
investigate the actual financial, ply
steal and working conditions of tn
postal service" is regarded by business
men all over The country as the initia
step toward one cent letter postage.
Postmaster General Burleson indl
Gates that there have been so many
conflicting reports as to the gesara
conditions of the department that he
has decided to have a full and com
pIete investigation made with a view
to determining the exact status Of
affairs.
The commission is composed OF
Ilanicl C. ROPER. Joseph Stewart. 4.
NJ. Dockery and James L Blackslee.
first, second, third and fourth assist
ant postmasters general respectively.
and Merit o. Chance, chief clerk of
the department. These are the new Of
ficials just appointed under the Wilson
administration to conduct the affairs
OF the post Office department
Now that the parcels post is in 'ac-
tual operation and bids fair to be ex-
tended during the next few years, it
is claimed by business men general
ly that their demand for a one cent
letter rate should be needed. They
point to the fact that the post Office
department is now realizing An enor-
nous surplus, something like s65,00O.'
goo per year, from the letter mail Al
though letter mail constitutes but
fourteen per cent of the revenue OF.
the department il pays about seventy.
five per cent of the revenue received
from all classes, and it is evident that
this is a decided discrimination
against users of first class or letter
mail
One of the interesting features OF
the post Office department which will
be investigated is the so-calIed blue
tag system. In September. 1911,
the plan was inaugurated It covers
that section of the United States L.
ing between Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Chi
eago, st. Louis and Kansas City and
provides that within this section, sec
ond class mail, particularly heavy
magazine mail, shall be hauled in
freight cars. A report froJl Postmas-
ter Childs OF Kansas City indicates
that the system has been a great sue
cess so far as it has been worked out.
Reports furnished by Postmaster
Childs indicate that the saving on the
small part of the whole mail that this
portion covered for term of seven
teen months was sS64,9S5.5o.
Former Postmaster General Hitch
cock, VINO recently retired from OF
fee. was firm in the belief that an
immense saving could be effected
throughout the country il this plan
were followed, and all large eastern
magazine publishers required to dis
tribute their product in th's manner.
The Curtis Publishing Co, of Phila-
delphia. probably the largest periodi
cal publishers in the world, ship out
OF philadelphia by regular mail ser
vice every day, from TO 10 iully
loaded cars stacked TO the roof with
magazines. These are carried at the
rate Of one cent per pound or $40 per
tor. When shipped in this way thsy
may be carried for that ridiculous
sum. all the way from Philadelphia
to California.
Letter mail. on the other hand, costs
its orieinaoors an average rate Of over
SIC per pound, because there are in
the negHibcrhood -of{45 pioees, ineIua-
ing some postal cards, 20 the ipoaHd 4
This means a cost Of $3.50 per ton
ton to the originator of letter mail,
as against $40 per ton for The big mag
ezinss published in the cas-. some Of