Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-04-18
Weeks 10 Join
Plea for Postal
Rate Increase
By ROBERT X. WALSH

by hObEhA N. WALSH
Secretary of the Treasury
Humphrey and other admins
trative advocates Of a postal rate
increase. to help balance the
Federal budget want to disabuse
Congress of any revolutionary
idea that such a boost would be
a stamp tax.
Secretary of Commerce Weeks
was to testify today before the
House Post Office and Civil Serv-
ice Committee which yesterday
heard Secretary Humphrey warn
that failure to enact a rate
raising bill would eliminate the
prospect of a balanced budget
next year.
Prospects Dim
The prospect of early or ia
vorable action by the committee
or by the House itself neverthe-
less seemed remote. Several Re-
publican was we'll as Democratic
members of the committee indi-
Gated they were far from con-
WINGED that the administrations
request for $406 million over
all increase in postal rates was
either necessary from an adj
ministrative policy standpoint
or expedient in an election year.
Postmaster General Summer
field, who was present during
Secretary Humphreys testimony
and previously appeared before
the committee, has urged that
the first-class mail rate be raised
/ cent an ounce. from the pres
ent 3-cent rate, to bring In am
additional 1926 million a year.
The remainder Of the $406 mil
lion would come from suggested
increases in rates on second and
third class mail.
In forecasting a surplus of
about $400 million in the Fed
eral budget for the fiscal year
ending June 80, 1857, President
Eisenhower last January included
an assumption that Congress
would approve the postal rate
increase.
Tax Idea Noted
Representative Gross, Repub-
lican of Iowa, brought up the
"tax" idea he thought was i'm
piled in Mr.. Humphreys state
ment that the Post Office De-
partment-annually. running Il
deficit of about $500 million
should be put on a self-support-
ing basis.
Even if the post office is
considered as service arm of 4
the Government" the Secretary
said, ats rates should be con-
sidered to be a user tax paid in |
proportion by those who use the
service"
Mr.. Gross asked whether the
administration regarded postal
rates as a tax. Mr.. Humphrey
hastened to assure him that they
were payments for extra serv-
ices" rather than a stamp tax
or any sort of levy.
The Secretary went on to cite
q difference between use of the
mails and the use of various
Government services supported
by taxes. He maintained that
the cost of a stamp is not a tax.
But ne insisted that if the price
OF the stamps does not cover
the cost of the service the diff
ference has to be made up bylI
taxes elsewhere.
Users Role Outlined
persons who use the mail"
he explained. do so only be-
cause they wish to. with the full
knowledge of what the cost will
be. The user of the mail is in
no way comparable to the in
dividual who suddenly needs
police or f1remen in an emer-
gency over which he has no
control"
Mr.. Humphrey insisted that
the only realistic way to look
at the matter was to emphasize
the relationship between re-
peated annual deficits in the
Post Office Department and the
resultant effect on the Federal
budget, the national debt and
the burden placed on present
and future taXpayers.