Red Lodge daily news combined with Carbon County news., 1933-03-29
Our Government
How 1t Operates
BY William Bruckars
OUR POSTAL SERVICE

TT is possible that you felt you had
L some complaint to make last July
when you had to place a three-cent
stamp on your letters instead of
the red two-center that sufflced prior
to that time, but | will wager you
did not make much noise about 1t
after all. | think that | a 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 so much for
so little as does the postal service.
Had the landlord increased your
rent a 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 were pay
ing a to be raised 1915 per cent,
you would have sworn vengeance.
have wondered since that rate
Increase went into effect whether
possibly 1t was not q good thing from
the standpoint of patrons of the
postal service as we'll as assuring
to the federal government some
thing near the amount of funds 1t
has to have to pay operating ex-
penses. The fact that there was
an Increase In rates, especially on
letters, brought to the attention Of
all of us the benefits we had been
enjoying through years and years Of
that service which we accept as a
matter of course.
II costs between s600,000.0 900 and
S700.000,0 900 to operate that farfiung
system known rs the postal service
each IL months The principle was
inculcated In u governmental
structure when the nation was
formed that this service should be
self-sustaining, though 1t Is run by
the federal government. IL never
has been quite able to pay its own
way.
The reason postal rates never
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
cheapay flor the people) as 1t can,
and that 1t lie better for 1t to fall
Just q little short of making ex-
penses than to take from those who
use that service more than Is need
ed. II there is a deficit at the end
of the year, as there nearly always
has been. congress has been willing
to take care of 1t with an appropria-
ton from funds received by gen.
eral taxation.
But In the last several years when
the volume of letters fell Off as 1t
always does when there Is not much
business, the amount of the deficit
grew to a size which congress de-
cided was a little too large. SO II
turned to the increase In the post
age rate on letters to make up part
of the loss. That one-cent increase
probably will not be enough to off
set the anticipated deficit complete.
ly, but 1t will reduce the difference
between the income and the ex'
penses to a comparatively small
sum-. If there had been no rate In.
crease, | 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 a people, Americans have al
ways stood against the government
engaging in business. OF course
there are exceptions, yet that has
been our general conception. VIZ
have always said that government
was not created for any other pur
pose than to govern. 1t was no