Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1913-01-14
BY THEODORE E. BURTON.

Without doub- the time has arrived
when the people of the United States
are entitled to one cent letter pos
age.
The present two cent rate has been
in existence since 1888, and no I'M
portant changes have been made since
that date, despite the fact that the
population of the country has increas-
ed immensely, and there has been an
astonishing increase in the amount
of letter communication between our
people.
The most important reason, how
ever, why the citizens of the United
States are entitled to one cent let er
postage is the fact that although we
are charged two cents for the car
riage of letters, it actually costs less
than one cent each for the govern
ment TO handle them. This results
in the accumulation of a surplus of
over $62,000,000 each year on first
class letter mail
The postoffice department was new
err intended TO be other than self-sup-
( porting The government is entitled
/ to sufflcinet compensation for the &C
+ tual cost involved in carrying first
/ class postage, but any rate which
rolls up so enormous a surplus, is
little less than a tax upon the users
o. postage stamps throughout this
I great country.
/ In 1S43, the rate Of postage or a let
/ ter weighing one-haIf ounce or a frac
/ lion thereof, carried from the city
OF New York TO Buffa.O, a distance
of less than 500 mile, was 25 cents.
BY successive and frequent reductions,
this rate was lowered, un-il Oct l,
1888. the two cent rate became opera
! tive on letters. weighing half an ounce
or a fraction thereof. This rate, with
Sigh changes, has existed for 30
Years. The weight has been raised
-om one-half ounce TO one ounce,
II no other change of any moment
- been made since 1883.
IN the meantime, the correspond
ence of the country has increased
enormously; transportation facili 'ieA
have improved in proportion.
& have introduced in congress, 4
bill providing for the Inauguration Of
the one cent letter rate on July l,
mex This / have done upon the in
people of all classes throughout the
entire country. An organization
known as the National One Cent lie
ter Postage association, with head
quarters at Cleveland, Ohio, has been
formed to support the movement.
The immense profits made on first
class letters are a direct tax on every
person who writes a letter. Tha- this
view of the situation is reasonable.
no one can doubt. In no other depart
ment of the government does such a
ST uation exist-the reaping of an alb
normal profit from a public service
which is supposed to be merely self
supporting Although all letters pay
two cents apiece, only a very small!
portion weigh the full ounce permitted.
This Is a. the rate Of about $3.50
per ton, which is an unwarranted
charge for transportation in these
days of easy communication between
cities, states and continent First
class mail supplies only IA per cent
OF the total tonnage of the mail. yet
il pays the present time, 75 per
cent of the total revenue.
Hon. John Wannamaker. former
postmaster general. and the merchant
king OF Philadelphia and New York.
is firm believer in one cent letter
pcs age. and thinks that the govern
; ment would derive a larger revenue
from it than from two cent postage,