Western news and the Libby times. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1920-1933, 1933-03-30
Orr Goperuneut
How 1t Operates
BY William BrHckarf
OUR POSTAL SERVICE

TT is possible that you felt you had
1 some complaint to make last July
when you had to place three-cent
stamp on your letters instead OF the
red two-center that suiliced prior TO
that time. but | will wager you did
not make much noise about 1t AFTER
all. | think that | can tell you the
reasons why you complained so little
about that Increase of one-third In
the postal rates: there is nothing that
gives you 80 much for so little as
does the postal service. ~
Had the landlord increased your
rent by third, you would have moved
right out had the grocer raised any
price that much, you would have gone
Immediately to his competitor. and
had you been told by your bank that
the interest rate you we're paying was
to be raised 33h per cent, you would
have sworn vengeance.
have wondered since that rate
increase went into effect whether pos
sbly 1t was not good thing from
the standpoint of patrons OF the post
al service ms well as assuring to the
federal government something near
the amount of funds 1t has to have to
pay operating expenses. The fact that
there was nm increase In rates. espe-
clally on letters. brought to the at
tention of all OF us the benefits we
had been enjoying through years and
years OF that service which we ac-
cept as a matter OF course.
It costs between 00.00O000 and
100000 900 to operate that farfung
system known as the postal service
each IL months. The principle was In
cu1cated In our governmental struc-
ture when the nation was formed
that this service should be self-sus-
tanning. though 1t Is run by the fed
eral government. It never has been
quite able to pay its own way, but
at the same time 1t never has been
much OF charge on the government
Itself
The reason postal rates meyer have
quite succeeded In producing sufficient
revenue to pay all expenses OF the
great organization that serves, Is that
fundamental belief that 1t should
not be an agency for profit. In other
words. congress always has clung to
the idea of having the postal service
do its Job just as cheaply flor the
people} as IT can and that II Is better
for 1t to fail Just little short OF
making expenses than to take from
those who use that service more than
Is needed. IT there Is deficit Mt the
end of the year, as there nearly al
ways has been. congress has been
willing to take care of 1t with an APP
preparation from funds received by
general taxation.
But In the last several years when
the volume /. letters fell Off as 1t
always does when there Is not much
business, the amount OF the deficit
grew to size which congress de-
cided was a little too large. So It
turned to the Increase In the postage
rate on letters to make up part of the
loss. That one-eent increase probably
will not be enough to offset the an
ticIpated deficit completely. but 1t will
reduce the difference between the In
come and the expenses to compare
lively small sum. If there had been
no rate increase, I am told that the
deficit from last July to the end OF
next June would have approached
5000, 100000.
And that brings another thought.
As people. Americans have al
ways stood against the government
engaging In business. OF course. there
are exceptions. yet that has been our
general conception. We have always
said as a people that government was
not created for any other purpose
than to govern. 1t was not busi-
ness institution as we know business.
Yet, there are not many greater busi-
nesses than the postal service and
1t Is not an agency that governs our
conduct or our relations with our
| neighbors except indirectly. Why.
then, should not private capital and
private industry perform the service
and enjoy the profits therefrom7
The answer Is simple. The reason
Is that those who conceived our form
OF government and envisioned the
magnitude of our nation. at the same
time. saw the necessity for uniform
system of handling Its written com.
munications.
Those men recognized more than
! century and half ago that the in
dividual states must not. be allowed
stn control the means OF communIca-
tI0all that when letter was once
started oa2 l 81 1t must go on,
and that only III III .c771s could he
made responsible II snccs2 IA aT5.to
be attained. s4ss,tt. +
The post master general occupies
the post of head of the post office
department. Embodied In 1t are dozens
of supervisory agencies, filled for the
most part by men and women who
have moved up through the ranks
of workers who gained appointment in
the service only after meeting civil
service tests. They were promoted on