The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1915-04-01
of these cities is. of course, the expla-
nation of this condition.

OF these cities IS, of course, the eXpla-
nation of this condition.
A table shows that the total number
of offices where the postmaster gave
farm products as in whole or in part re-
sponsible for the excess of outgoing
mail was forty-eight, and it will be OBJ
served that in the forty-eight offices
where farm products are mentioned as
in whole or in part responsible for the
excess parcel post business the total
number of parcels mailed was but Z, 225,
while there were 126 offices that men
toned mail order merchandise as re.
sponslble for the excess, and the total
outgoing business 1872 from these Is
offices aggregated So. 1856, 1872 packages,
an excess of As, 224, 300. In addition to
this must be considered the excess for
books and catalogues, the greater part
OF which, according to the reports, was
the catalogues of the mail order con-
Germs. Combining the two shows an
excess mail order business aggregating
"a 1888, 645 parcels, while excess farm
products business was, 1925.
A further examination of this table
shows that the total excess of SO, $685.
905 parcels of outgoing business from
the sos Offices, IA, 783.645 parcels origi-
mated IN the offices where the mail order
business prevailed, showing that over
seven eighths of the excess business
was due to merchant mail order busi-
ness, or that the mail order houses,
so far as this excess business is con-
cerned, are doing over seven times as
much of the business as all other indus
tries combined.
The failure of the parcel post thus
far to justify the predictions made for
1t as means of direct transportation
from the farm to the consumer of farm
products is, in fact, clearly indicated by
the reports from New York City and
/ Chicago showing the great disparity
between incoming and outgoing fourth
class mail, and also by the amount of
business done by the offices located in
the farming communities throughout
the Nation. Of the 81, 745 reporting,
but 419 of them were first class, while
1896 were of the second, third and
fourth classes. The 4l9 first-class Of
fees dispatched in round numbers TO-
900, 900 packages, while the entire ST.
1926 of the other grades dispatched only
100000
But this is further forcibly illustrated
by comparison of the outgoing parcel
post mail of the first, second and third
class post offices with that of the fourth
class offices. OF the 81, 745 offices re-
porting, 1892 were of the presidential
grade, comprising the first, second and
third classes, and 80, 753 were of the
fourth class, the smaller offices. From
the 6, 1892 presidential offices there were
dispatched during the period Of the
count 1857, 1872 packages of fourth
class mail, while from the 30, 1853 fourth
class offices there were dispatched but
1,841, 629. showing that the outgoing
parcel post from the small offices is in
significant as compared to that out of
the large cities.
From Ine foregoing it will be seen
that, as | have repeatedly claimed,
marketing by mail, the purchase OF
goods from the farm by city consumers,
is rank failure, or worse, a case of
false pretense intended to cloak the
fact that parcel post such as we have is
the rankest sort of class legislation, the
prostitution of what should be the
Governments cleanest function, for
the advantage of favored class.