Evening star., 1934-01-15

A service to the public is credited to
Postmaster General Farley in his order
to letter carriers to remove unmalled
circulars from private letter boxes and
to hold them for postage. Comments
indicate a belief that the action is In
the interest of householders as well as
of the Post once Department. 1t Is
pointed out that use of messengers for
distribution of statements of various
kinds was increased by adoption OF 3-
cent postage, and that the return to 2
cent local postage failed to halt the
practice.
The handbill is the poacher in Uncle
Sans domain" according to the Cleve-
land News. which declares that the OIL
cial ruling lis as much in the interest
OF the harassed householder as OF the
oyerburdened mail man" The News
continues: 1T is a familiar sight when
letter boxes or letter slots in the doors
of homes are crowded with every con-
ceivable form Of cheap advertising mat
ter The handbill constitutes a nuisance
from which the householder would glad
ly be delivered. Often it is necessary
for the letter carrier to dig through a
mass of circulars in order to find room
for legitimate mail: this wastes his
time. costs the Government money: And
almost every day the householder Is
compelled to sort out letters from an
accumulation of printed trash, carrying
the latter to garbage can or furnace
unless he wants odds and ends of paper
blowing about his yard"
The hope that "the order against
mail-box stufiing will be more successful
than the law against ballot-box stuff
fing" is expressed by the Jersey City
journal. which recognizes that the
thing has reached the stage where many
home owners and tenants are kicking
about having boxes stuffed with SO
much Junk that the mail man cannot
get the personal mail into them" The
Journal offers the explanation: THE
Scent postal rate. 1t was found. caused
many large concerns which mail out
hundreds and thousands OF bills month
ly to use their own messenger service
to deliver the bills. This evasion OF the
use of postal facilities caused consid-
cradle drop in revenue. The Postmaster
General then ordered the return to the
2.cent rate for mattr mailed within any
city limit. Still, this inducement did
not cause many concerns to abandon
the mail-box stuff1ng practice"
I'VE like the idea of the Postmaster
General, of instructing carriers to re-
move the trash and tote it to the post
office to be held for postage" says the
Akron Beacon journal, with the belief
that lit might prove effective" That
paper holds that the practice of using
the boxes has grown to the proportions
of a national nuisance" 1t agrees with
Mr.. Farley that private mail recepta-
cles should be used only to facilitate
the delivery of mail" The Port Huron
Times-Herald. however. offers the criti-
cism: "One wonders how the letter car
riers are going about it to remove such
matter from private mail boxes legally
whether locked or not, and especially
how they are going behind the letter
slots in doors of homes The Pasa-
dena Post remarks that IF the Post
master General can stop the Jamming
| of unstamped matter into mail boxes,
he scars out of politics into the realm
of genius"
"If Mr.. Farley can stop the littering
of porches, vestibules and shrubbery
with advertising matter that nobody
reads" thinks the Asbury Park Evening
Press. che will have done his good turn
| for 1884," That paper reviews the pro-
ceedings with the statement: For
months the Post ONCE Department has
been In q huddle over the increasing
use Of private messengers for the deliv-
cry of monthly statements, especially by
public utilities, a practice which became
quite general when the letter rate was
raised to 3 cents. The post ONCE wants
this business back without buying 1t
back with a postal rate reduction. Thus
the scheme, after months Of thought.
to exercise the Governments presumed
| Jurisdiction over the privately-owned
mail box"
Another proof that the 3-cent post
ase rate turned away business for the