New Britain herald., 1916-05-22
LOCAL POSTAL RATE
 l MAY BE REDUCED
Majority in Congress Said to
 Favor One Cent Rate
Especial to the Herald

Ol1
 bean war has been considered yet by
 congress there is considerable assur- X ance that a special bill may be re- N ported providing for a reduction of # the postage rate on local deliverey
 etters from two cents to one cent.
 t is understood that a majority of B BSthesymembers of the House Postal Fl committee are inclined to give the H matter early consideration. Some # time ago subcommittee conducted # hearings on the subject. The in & formation submitted at that time is N regarded as most interesting. A dis 8 position seems evident among the & members of the whole committee to Fl take some definite action on whether N or not a bill should be favorably re- Il ported al this session of congress. 6 Majority Favor Bill.
 A prominent member of the com mittee said today that if such bill is reported out for the consideration A of the house there will be no doubt about it's passage by a substantial majority. In making this statement I he said that he had not found any I member who seemed to be opposed to the proposition. Tremendous pres I sure seems to have been brought on 8 the members of both houses by con- T. stituents in behalf of drop letters. Fl The movement for this legislation Il seems to be thoroughly national in k scope as the appeals for action are coming from every section of the Il country.
 Representatives Moon, of Tennes- II seS chairman of the House Postal committee says: that many hun H dreds of thousands of letters have
 been received by the committee, and a in the last five or six years petitions ! on which names aggregating more than three millions of voters in the United States are signed urging this { reduction in postage. I cannot speak I for the committee, because the com mittee has not voted on the question, but. for myself will say I am very anxious to see postage at one cent instead of two cents on letters" It seems that certain opponents of the proposition have been circulating the idea that the mail order houses are to be the principal benefactors should a bill pass creating a rate of l one cent on local delivery letters. The ]. sponsors of the drop letter bills stEongly deny this by declaring that the conditions are just the opposite. Instead the mail order people are re- ported to be leading a hard fight to have a flat rate fixed for all parcel post matter, With a fiat rate on par eel post the small merchant would soon find himself in direct competi-
 tion with the great mail order houses or the country.
 Will Help Business.
 Representative James J. Britt, of North Carolina, former Assistant
 Postmaster General and now a mem Der of the House Postal committee says that the proposed rate will much more than pay the cost of all
 local delivery letters and the passage \ of such a bill will be a powerful stimulus to urban business and local correspondence"
 In the senate the agitation for the passage of such a bill seems to be 3 just as strong as in the house. A few days ago Senator Gore, of Oklahoma. went tep further and introduced a joint resolution authorizing the post master general to ascertain, by ex- pertinent what effect one cent local delivery letters would have on the postal receipts and upon the volume of first-class mail matter.
 Sometime ago Senator Weeks of Massachusetts, prominently mentioned for the presidency by the republicans, Fsid considering what it costs the
 Government to handle local delivery letters the rate of postage is much too
 high, Should the rate be reduced from two cents to one cent l believe it
 will be of great benefit to business
 The increase in the volume of mail as
 result of the lower rate would prob
 Q 1xr Icn
 tRe revenues. Cheaper postage on To-
 cal delivery letters would aid small
 and large business alike. This alone
 would amply justify the government in
 taking this step. And in all other ways
 the government should be helpful in
 business affairs, not coercive and re-
 pressive."
 About sixty bills have been intro
 duced in the two houses of congress
 proposing a reduction in the rate of
 postage on drop letters in one form or
 another. None of the members who
 have introduced bills seem to think
 that the proposed rate will have any
 serious effect on the revenues. In fact
 they seem almost unanimous in con-
 tending that the loss in revenue will
 be amply taken care of by the in
 ceased volume of mail. Many mem
 bers active in the fight take the stand
 that the post office department was
 never intended to be a money making
 institution but to give the people the
 very best possible service at actual
 cost.
 Among the members of congress
 who have introduced bills and been ac- tive in the agitation for a lower rate "A Of postage on drop letters, are: Rep
 resentatives Walsh, of Mass, and Til