The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-02-09

THE AGE,
parcel post matter, SHAH embrace ali
that matter not now embraced by law,
including farm and factory products. not
already in the first second, or third class
with the following limitations: The weight
must not exceed II pounds nor the size
z inches in length and girth combined.
The country is divided into units of about
80 miles square. each postoffice belonging
within certain unit These units are
permanent and are each given number.
We have eight zones which are formed
by circles from each town, and the posi-
ton of any town is ascertained from a
book and map furnished to all postmas-
ters. By simply looking up the map and
finding what zone a unit is in we can
determine the rate at once, knowing the
weight. l wish to call your attention to
map here showing the zones with the
book giving every postoffice in the United
States and opposite which we have in
serted in our work book the zone for
each town. This shows at a glance how
a package may be rated out from Bir-
mingham. There will probably be more
or less change in the rates as the post
office department gets the necessary ex-
perience The law allows the Postmaster
General considerable latitude, which is
fortunate, because it saves going to Con-
gress for every little change which may
become necessary. If there are any ques-
tions in regard TO the zone system which
you desire to have answered l shall be
pleased to do what l can towards an
swering them.
Produce Shipments Increasing
''The reason that a distinctive stamp
is used is in order to find out the cost
of this system. We still have lot of
packages ON hand with ordinary stanEs
on instead of the parcel post stamps, for
which we have found no owners. For the
present there will be no registration Of
parcel post packages, although they may
be insured up to value of $50 at
cost of 10 cents. which answers all the
purposes Of registration. The parcel post
also has no special delivery. But all
these things will follow later on. The
general regulations governing parcel post
matter are the same as those covering
fourth class mail heretofore. In other
words, il you wish to ship quart of
syrup in a glass bottle, with a piece or
paper for stopper, and place it In a
thin pasteboard box, you will not be ex-
actly complying with the regulations. This
happened to us a few days ago, and the
result was that about 1900 letters were
covered with lot of can syrup. About
a week ago someone shipped small
bottle of formaldehyde which broke in
the office in handling and nearly half
the clerks had to yacate until the odor
was gotten rid of. All fragile articles
should be marked fragile and If perish
able should be so marked. OF course
eggs are neither fragile nor perishable.
therefore the instructions are to mark
them eggs Quite a number of packages
of eggs are going through now, and l
am able to say that the shipments of
butter from the country are largely in
creasing. There seems to be lack of
knowledge among country people, as to
packing fragile and pershable articles,
like eggs, etc. If ii were generally known
that cartons, etc, for the handling OF
such articles could be procured here in
Birmingham, and that they could be used
over and over again, l believe that a
good many more eggs could be dtstrfbu-
ted. If some simple arrangement were
made for the handling of butter a great
deal more butter could come to town.
This parcel post business is going to be
a great boon to the country people, for
it will enable them to communicate with
the outside world from their own doors,
and it will be boon to the good house,
wife for it is bound to reduce the price
of foodstuffs and thereby lessen the cost
of living. 1t brings to the children Of
the farmer a knowledge of the world
direct, for 1t enables them to dispose of
many little things that are now wasted
1t brings the city and the country nearer
together than ever before.
City Not Doing It's Duty
Just at present we are handling from
1000 to $4,000 packages per MONTH but |
do not think Birmingham Is doing its
duty toward the parcel post business yet
We ought to do three times as much bus
mess as we are doing. However. our
merchants are beginning to wake UP to
the situation, and we are now able to
report that more parcels are going out
to the country than are coming in from
other places. There is very little bust
ness at our suburban stations in COM
parson with what there should be.
must confess | do not understand the
reason why. This is too much of a re-
tail town and in order to expand and
sources it will be necessary for us to
branch out into wholesale business
Our, railroad and mineral interests are
largely discounted, and If the town is
to continLe to grow it must branch out
into other lines.
Some of the articles that have gone
through the mail areas follows: Stove
pipe. eggs. bread Sneat, turnip greens,
fresh ham, syrup. fresh tomatoes,
dressed chickens, coal scoops, garden
spades. ladies' hats, mems clothing,
shirts, all sorts of millinery goods,
samples of hundreds of different kinds
of machinery, etc. and cotton seed or
Quite little country produce is being
shipped 1t seems to me that what we
need most is the exchange of commod-
tiles between the country and the town
or city. especially things in the nature
of foodstuffs. The newspapers announce
that during the first month over 40,-
900 900 packages were handled in the
United States.
THE parcel post business is exclu-
sively a domestic one. There is for
eign parcel post, but 1t is governed by
different rules and regulations and
takes ordinary postage stamps instead
of the parcel post stamps, because all
of the regulations in reference to this
matter are subjects OF treaty between
the United States and foreign coun-
tries.
Appeal for Educsti0n
I'm conclusion l would like to inter-
cede for the poor suffering men of
Alabama. One man out of every n'ne
in the state of Alabama is unable to
read and write and in all seriousness
I beg you to consider this and to re-
member that before equal suffrage is
given ii seems to me that the question
of educating and uplifting the ignor-
ant should have attention for it goes
hand in hand with suffrage and a
knowledge and an education sufficient
to qualify the voter should first be had