5P0at ©ffirp ippartmpttl PARCEL POST INFORMATION. [The numbered sections mentioned in this pamphlet refer to the parcel post regulations, a copy of which may be consulted at any post office.] The act of Congress authorizing the establishment of a parcel post system provides that on and after January 1, 1913, fourth class mail matter shall embrace all other matter, including farm and factory products, not now embraced by law in either the first, second, or third class, not exceeding 11 pounds in weight nor greater in size than 72 inches in length and girth combined, nor in form or kind likely to injure the person of any postal employee or damage the mail equipment or other mail matter, and not of a character perishable within a period reasonably required for transportation and delivery. Table of rates. Weight. First zone. Second zone, 50 to 150 miles. Third zone, 150 to 300 miles. Fourth zone, 300 to 600 miles. Fifth zone, 600 to 1,000 miles. Sixth zone, 1,000 to 1,400 miles. Sev¬ enth zone, 1,400 to 1,800 miles. Eighth zone, all over 1,800 miles. Local rate. Zone rate, 50 miles. 1 pound. $0.05 $0.05 $0.06 $0.07 $0.08 $0.09 $0.10 $0.11 $0.12 2 pounds. .06 .08 .10 .12 .14 .16 .19 .21 .24 3 poimds. .07 .11 .14 .17 .20 .23 .28 .31 .36 4 pounds. .08 .14 .18 .22 .26 .30 .37 .41 .48 5 pounds. .09 .17 .22 .27 .32 .37 .46 .51 .60 6 pounds. .10 .20 .26 .32 .38 .44 .55 .61 .72 7 pounds. .11 .23 .30 .37 .44 .51 .64 .71 .84 8 pounds. .12 .26 .34 .42 .50 .58 .73 .81 .96 9 poimds. .13 .29 .38 .47 .56 .65 .82 .91 1.08 10 pounds. .14 .32 .42 .52 .62 .72 .91 1.01 1.20 11 pounds. .15 .35 .46 .57 .68 .79 1.00 1.11 1.32 The local rate is applicable to parcels intended for delivery at the office of mailing or on a rural route starting therefrom. 70997°—12 2 DISTINCTIVE STAMPS. The law requires that on and after January 1, 1913, the postage on all matter of the fourth class must be prepaid by distinctive parcel post stamps affixed (see sec. 3). Postmasters can not receive for mailing parcels that do not bear such stamps. Parcel post stamps are not valid for the payment of postage on matter of the first, second, and third classes, and, when used for that purpose, the matter to which they are affixed shall be treated as ‘^Held for postage,” as prescribed in section 9. PREPARATION FOR MAILING. Parcels must be prepared for mailing in such manner that the contents can be easily examined. (See secs. 19 to 37, inclusive.) A parcel must not be accepted for mailing unless it bears the name and address of the sender, preceded by the word ‘^From.” Postmasters will refuse to receive for mailing parcels not properly indorsed or packed for safe shipment. WHERE MAILABLE. Parcels must be mailed at a post office, branch post office, named or lettered station, or such numbered stations as may be designated by the postmaster, or delivered to a rural or other carrier duly author¬ ized to receive such matter. Parcels collected on star routes must be deposited in the next post office at which the carrier arrives and postage charged at the rate from that office. INSURANCE ON PARCELS. A mailable parcel on which the postage is fully prepaid may be in¬ sured against loss in an amount equivalent to its actual value, but not to exceed $50, on payment of a fee of 10 cents in parcel post stamps, such stamps to be affixed. UNMAILABLE MATTER. The following matter is declared nonmailable by law (see secs. 211, 212 and 217 of the Criminal Code of the United States, approved Mar. 4, 1909): 3 1. Matter manifestly obscene, lewd, or lascivious; articles intended for preventing conception or for procuring abortion; articles intended for indecent or immoral purposes; all matter otherwise mailable by law, the outside cover or wrapper of which bears any delineations or language of a libelous, scurrilous, defamatory, or threatening character. Sphituous, vinous, malted, fermented, or other intoxicating liquors of any kind; poisons of every kind, and articles and composi¬ tions containing poison (except as prescribed in sec. 19); poisonous animals, insects and reptiles; explosives of every kind; inflammable materials (which are held to include matches, kerosene oil, gasoline, naphtha, benzine, turpentine, denatured alcohol, etc.); infernal machines, and mechanical, chemical, or other devices or compositions which may ignite or explode; disease germs or scabs (except as pre¬ scribed in sec. 36); and other natural or artificial articles, composi¬ tions, or materials of whatever kind which may kill or in any wise injure another or damage the mail or other property. Pistols or revolvers, whether in detached parts or otherwise; live or dead (and not stuffed) animals, birds, or poultry (except as pre¬ scribed in secs. 29 and 34); raw hides or pelts, guano, or any article having a bad odor shall not be admitted to the mails. A parcel post map and guide for determiiiing postage rates may be obtained by remitting 75 cents by money order to the chief clerk, Post Office Department, Wash¬ ington, D. C. Be careful to specify the city or town where the map is to be used. Further information may be obtained at any post office. o WASHINGTON : GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1912 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2018 with funding from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Alternates https://archive.org/details/datarelativetoprOOunit )Oth Cong 1st Session SENATE. (Document ) No. 366. >ATA KELATIVE TO PROPOSED EXTENSION OF PAR¬ CEL POST. Mr. Burnham presented the following )ATA RELATIVE TO THE PROPOSED EXTENSION OF THE PARCEL POST. March 6, 1908.—Referred to the Committee ou Post-Offices and Post-Roads and ordered to be printed. Office of the Postmaster-General, Washington, D. C., March 1908, My Dear Senator: It affords me great pleasure, in compliance [with your request, to place at your disposal the data which are avail- :able relative to the proposed extension of the parcel post. It does not appear to be generally appreciated that a comprehensive [system of parcel post is already in satisfactory operation in most I foreign countries. Exhibit No. 1 gives detailed information on this ;subject. I show here the limit of weight which has been fixed in a [number of instances: Italy Pounds. 11 Npw Zpalanrl Pounds. 11 110 22 Austria Rpilginni . . 110 ia2 11 The Netherlands 11 11 Cuba 11 The rates in the countries mentioned are much lower than those [shown in Exhibit No. 2, which have been recommended for the general parcel post in the United States. The present rate on the general parcel post is 16 cents a pound for people in our owm country, the limit of weight being 4 pounds, while the rate from the United States to 29 foreign countries is 12 cents a pound and the limit of weight to 24 of these countries is 11 pounds. In other words, our own people must pay 4 cents a pound more for |the privilege of dispatching packages to each other than when destined to residents of a foreign country. I have therefore urged a rate of 12 cents a pound for packages forwarded through the mails to post- offices in the United States and its possessions, subject to the same regulations as exist at the present time, with the exception of increas¬ ing the weight limit to 11 pounds. The service can be rendered at a cost well within the rates recommended. 2 PROPOSED EXTENSION OF PARCEL POST. According to the Report of the Record of Weight of Second-class Mail Matter, transmitted by the Post-Office Department to the House of Representatives under date of February 1,1907, the average haul of all second-class matter was 540 miles. Of the total receipts of the Post-Office Department, 69 per cent are expended for labor and supplies, and 7 per cent for conversance charges other than those paid the railroads for transporting the mail. A general rate for parcel post of 12 cents a pound would produce a revenue of $240 a ton. Even on the basis of a 540-mile average haul, I find the debit and credit sides of 1 ton of parcel post to be as follows: By postage___,$240. 00 To railroad transportatiou, 540 miles, at 51 cents_$29. 70 Other transportation charges.._ 16. 80 Labor and supplies_^__ 1 _! 165.'60 Total cost_1_ 212.10 Profit _ 27.90 A local parcel post confined to rural delivery routes is also advo¬ cated at the rates given in Exhibit No. 3. The Department favors the establishment of this special service because of its ability to ren¬ der it with great advantage to the farmer, the country merchant, and other patrons of the routes, as the necessary machinery (over 38,000 routes noAV regularly covered by rural carriers) is in operation. There are some 15,000,000 people living on these routes, which shows the vast possibilities of the rural service. It has been estimated that if but three packages of the maximum Aveight were handled each trip on the rural routes now established the resulting revenue, even at the low rates given, would more than wipe out the postal deficit. The increased cancellations Avould automatically adA^ance the salaries of postmasters of the fourth class, and the remaining revenue, Avhich Avould be clear gain, would be of great assistance in making the rural serAuce self-sustaining. The rural service will, in all probability, cost the Government this year $34,000,000, an increase of $10,000,000 over last year. The history and adA^antages of the rural deliA^ery should be under¬ stood by our people. There is a feeling in many quarters that it is an extravagance and an unnecessary drain upon the postal revenues. The first rural route was established in the latter part of 1896, $14,840 being expended for rural deliA^ery during that fiscal year. At that time the postal deficit was $ll,4li,779. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 1907, the expenditures for rural delivery aggregated $26,- 671,699, AAdiile the postal deficit shoAved a decrease, as compared Avith 1897, of $4,800,000, the deficit amounting to $6,653,282. This Avould seem to show that Avdiile the expense incurred for maintain¬ ing rural deliA^ery is great, yet the rural delivery has been instru¬ mental in increasing the general postal receipts. HoweA^er, its bene¬ fits to our people can not be measured in dollars and cents. That a local parcel post Avould be of material advantage to the retail merchant in competition-Avith mail-order houses is seen at once AAben it is pointed out that the latter, at the proposed general parcel post rate of 12 cents a pound, would be obliged to pay $1.32 for PROPOSED EXTENSION OF PARCEL POST. 3 ^ sending an 11-ponnd package to a rural route patron, a difference in favor of the local storekeeper of about 10 cents a pound, or $1.07 on Clan 11-pound package. Letters and petitions for the extension of the parcel post are being received from all sections of the country. Many commercial bodies formerly opposed to any action of this kind are on record as being heartily in favor of it. On the other hand, objections have been raised to the measures the Department is advocating. Although no sound argument has been advanced in opposition, the contentions which have been made are not without interest. I mention the more important of them, at the same time giving the replies which the^ have elicited: It has been stated that the Department is not equipped to deliver 11-pound parcels received in the general mails. The present postal regulations provide that where a package is of undue size or weight a formal notice shall be sent the addressee requesting him to call for it. This practice would continue were the weight limit increased to 11 pounds, in the case of offices having free delivery. Nor would it work a hardship, for under the present limit of 4 pounds the aver¬ age weight of parcels sent through the mails is but one-third of a pound. Increasing the weight limit would not have nearly as great an effect on the average Aveight of parcels mailed as seems to be com¬ monly supposed. Where packages were addressed to persons living on rural routes they would, of course, be delivered to the boxes of the patrons by rural carriers, who Avould not thereby be inconvenienced. The claim that the special local rate recommended for the parcel post on rural routes Avould eA^entually be extended to include the entire postal ser\dce has been given considerable publicity. The im¬ possibility of this becomes apparent Avhen attention is directed to the cost of railroad transportation, which has no part in the former ser\^- ice. About $45,000,000 were paid last year for mail transportation and $6,000,000 for postal cars. Others have said that large mail-order houses would, under the proposed law, utilize the special parcel post or rural routes through agents to the great disadvantage of the country merchant, first assem¬ bling their orders and dispatching them by express or freight to suit¬ able distributing points. The Department has recommended pro¬ visions which will prevent any such use of the routes. It should be remembered, too, that eA^en in the absence of a specific prohibition of this nature, any systematic attempt upon the part of a mail-order house to thus distribute its Avares Avould necessitate the employment of many thousands of local representati\"es. The catalogues of these concerns indicate in no uncertain Avay that they attribute their suc¬ cess, in large measure, to their Ioav selling expense, and that the ab¬ sence of any sort of agents is the principal feature of their argument in accounting for the supposedly Ioav prices of their goods. The cry of “ class legislation ” has been raised. There is, of course, no discrimination involved, for all Avho can be reached by rural car¬ riers Avill be accommodated. It would be as reasonable to decry the laws which permit the delivery of mail to patrons living on rural routes, Avhile persons differently situated are obliged to make a trip to a near-by post-office to obtain their letters. 30147 PROPOSED EXTENSION OF PARCEL POST. Those who claim that an increase in the weight limit would work an injury to country merchants appear to have the impression that mail-order houses now deliver their goods extensively through the postal service, and that this practice would largely increase if the recommendations which have been made become law. Upon a mo¬ ment’s reflection it will be perceived that the present rate of 16 cents a pound ($16 per hundredweight), as well as the proposed rate of 12 cents a pound ($12 per hundredweight), are alike prohibitive on practically all lines of merchandise. Mail-order houses make their shipments usually by freight or express and would continue to do so. Antagonism to the proposed measures, when analyzed and found not to be the result of selfish motives, appears to be based upon in¬ accurate or insufficient information. In illustration, I desire to invite attention to a communication of the Richmond Commercial Club, of Richmond, Ind., which appeared in the Congressional Record of January 4, 1908. In this letter the statement was made that a cer¬ tain mail-order house would save $40,000 a year on the mailing of catalogues alone. Catalogues are rated as third-class matter, where¬ as the Department’s recommendations with respect to parcel post relate to fourth-class matter only. Catalogues are now mailable at 1 cent for 2 ounces, or 8 cents a pound, 4 cents a pound less than the rate proposed for the general parcel post. The mail- order house re¬ ferred to, therefore, would gain nothing under the proposed law in the mailing of its catalogues. With the adoption of new conveniences of life by urban residents, and the ever-increasing attractions of the city, especially potent in their influence upon the,younger generation, the importance of afford¬ ing farmers and ruralites generally every legitimate advantage be¬ comes more and more apparent. The free rural delivery has improved materially and intellectually the life of great numbers or these people. Is it too much to ask that the Department shall make a further use of this important system; a use Avhich, while adding ap¬ preciably to the postal revenues, wdll directly and vitally benefit every man, woman, and child within reach of a rural route ? The country¬ man would have the necessities of life delivered at his gate at an average cost of 2 cents a pound, thereby facilitating and increasing consumption. This would mean augmentation of the trade of thou- 1 sands of country merchants. The commercial traveler should ap¬ preciate the advantages of this system; it would increase his orders pecause the country merchant buys from the jobber or the wholesaler. Every component part of our commercial system would feel the ef¬ fects of an increased prosperity. It would inevitably tend toward the improvement of the roads. Better roads and improved postal facilities in the rural districts would result in increased values of farm lands. The rural service as now organized has accomplished something in this direction; its en¬ largement will add to the good attained. Believe me, faithfully yours, G. V. L. Meyer. Hon. Henry E. Burnham, United States Senate^ Washington. PROPOSED EXTENSION OP PARCEL POST. 5 Exhibit 1. PARCEL POST RATES IN THE DOMESTIC SERVICE OF THE COUNTRIES NAMED. Great Britain. —Postage rates for the first pound, 3 pence (6 cents), and for each additional pound, 1 penny (2 cents) ; maximum weight, 11 pounds; great¬ est length, 3 feet 6 inches; greatest length and girth combined, 6 feet. ^ew Zealand and the States Composing the Commonwealth for Australia .— Limits of weight and size, same as in Great Britain. Postage rates, 6 pence (12 cents) for the first pound, and 3 pence (6 cents) for each additional pound. Germany. —Greatest weight, 50 kilograms (about 110 pounds) ; no limit of size. Postage rates: For all parcels conveyed not more than 10 geographic miles, 25 pfennig (6 cents), and 50 pfennig (13 cents) for greater distance; if a parcel weighs more than 5 kilograms (11 pounds av.), it is charged for each additional kilogram (2 pounds) carried 10 miles, 5 pfennig (1 cent) ; 20 miles, 10 pfennig (3 cents) ; 50 miles, 20 pfennig (5 cents) ; 100 miles, 30 pfennig (8 cents) ; 150 miles, 40 pfennig (10 cents) ; and more than 150 miles, 50 pfennig (13 cents). Unwieldy parcels are charged in addition 50 per cent of the above rates. Austria. —Greatest weight, 50 kilograms (110 pounds) ; except that parcels containing gold or silver coin may weigh up to 65 kilograms (143 pounds). Postage rates: Parcels up to 5 kilograms (11 pounds) in weight are charged 30 heller (6 cents) for the first 10 miles, and 60 heller (12 cents) for greater distances. A parcel weighing more than 5 kilograms (11 pounds) is charged for each kilogram (2 poundsG in addition to the above rates, for the first 10 miles, 6 heller (1 cent) ; 20 miles, 12 heller (2 cents) ; 50 miles, 24 heller (5 cents) ; 100 miles, 36 heller (7 cents) ; 150 miles, 48 heller (10 cents), and more than 150 miles, 60 heller (12 cents). France. —Greatest weight 10 kilograms (about 22 pounds) ; no limit of size. Postage rates: Up to 3 kilograms (7 pounds), 60 centimes (12 cents) delivered at the railway station, and 85 centimes (17 cents) delivered at a residence; from 3 to 5 kilograms (7 to 11 pounds), 80 centimes (16 cents) at a station, and 1 franc 5 centimes (21 cents) at residence; from 5 to 10 kilograms (11 to 22 pounds), 1 franc 25 centimes (25 cents) at a station, and 1 franc 50 cen¬ times (30 cents) at a residence. Belgium. —Greatest weight 60 kilograms (about 132 pounds) ; no limit of size, but unwieldy parcels are charged 50 per cent in addition to the foilow- ing rates for any distance: Parcels up to 5 kilograms (11 pounds), 50 centimes (10 cents)—or if by express trains, 80 centimes (16 cents) ; up to 10 kilograms (22 pounds), 60 centimes (12 cents)—or if by express trains, 1 franc (20 cents) ; for each additional 10 kilograms (22 pounds), 10 centimes (2 cents)—or if sent by express trains, 50 centimes (10 cents) additional. Fee for delivering at residences, 30 centimes (6 cents). Italy .—Greatest weight, 5 kilograms (11 pounds). For ordinary parcels, greatest size in any direction, 60 centimeters (2 feet), except rolls which may measure 1 meter (40 inches—3 feet 4 inches) in length by 20 centimeters (8 inches) in thickness. Postage rates for a parcel not exceeding 3 kilograms (7 pounds), 60 centimes (12 cents) ; and 1 franc (20 cents) for a parcel exceed¬ ing that weight. A parcel which exceeds 60 centimeters (2 feet) in any direc¬ tion, but does not exceed IJ meters (5 feet), is admitted to the mails as an “ un¬ wieldy ” parcel and is charged, in addition to the above rates, .30 centimes (6 cents) if it does not weigh more than 3 kilograms (7 pounds), and 50 cen¬ times (10 cents) if it exceeds that weight. The Netherlands. —Greatest weight, 5 kilograms -(11 pounds) ; greatest size, 25 cubic decimeters (1,.525 cubic inches), or 1 meter (3 feet 4 inches) in any direction. Postage rates: 15 (6) cents (Dutch) up to 1 kilogram (2 pounds) ; 20 (8) cents from 1 to 3 kilograms (2 to 7 pounds) ; 25 cents (10) from 3 to 5 kilograms (7 to 11 pounds). Chile. —Greatest weight, 5 kilograms (11 pounds) ; must not measure more than 60 centimeters (2 feet) in any direction. Postage rates: 30 centavos (10 cents) if a parcel does not weigh more than 3 kilograms (7 pounds) ; 50 cen¬ tavos (17 cenis) if it weighs more. Cuba. —Greatest weight, 11 pounds; greatest size, 3 feet 6 inches in length by 2 feet 6 incnes in width. Postage rates: 10 centavos (10 cents) a pound up to 5 pounds; and 6 centavos (6 cents) for each additional pound. 6 PROPOSED EXTEInSION OF PARCEL POST. Exhibit 2. • Rates recommended by the Postmaster-General in his annual report (year ended June 30, 1907) for packages forwarded through the mails to post-offices in the United States and its possessions, subject to the regulations which exist at the present time, with the exception of increasing the weight limit to 11 pounds. Cents. One ounce_ 1 Over 1 ounce and not exceeding 3 ounces_^_ 2 Over 3 ounces and not exceeding 4 ounces_ 3 Over 4 ounces and not exceeding 5 ounces_ 4 Over 5 ounces and not exceeding 6 ounces_ ,5 Over 6 ounces and not exceeding 8 ounces_i_ 6 Over 8 ounces and not exceeding 12 ounces_,_ 9 Over 12 ounces and not exceeding 16 ounces_ -12 Exhibit 3. Rates recommended by the Postmaster-General in his annual report (fiscal year ended June 30, 1907) for packages covered by the special local parcel post on rural delivery routes. Cents. For the first pound_ For each additional pound, up to 11 pounds For fractional parts of a pound: Two ounces or less_ Over 2 ounces and up to 4 ounces_ Over 4 and up to 8 ounces_ Over 8 and up to 12 ounces_ Over 12 ounces and up to 1 pound_ 5 2 1 2 3 4 Exhibit 4. In the Senate of the United States February 10, 1908, Mr. Kean introduced the following bill, which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Post- Offices and Post-Roads: [S. 5115, Sixtieth Congress, first session.] A Bill to increase the limit of weight of fourth-class mail matter, to amend the postage rates chargeable thereon, and for other purposes. Be it enacted, etc., That parcels of merchandise or other matter not embraced in the first, second, or third class of mail matter, and not exceeding eleven pounds in weight, shall, subject to the provisions of existing law governing matter of the fourth class, except as hereby amended, be admitted to the mails as such matter at the following rates of postage: One ounce, one cent; over one ounce and not exceeding three ounces, two cents; over three ounces and not exceeding four ounces, three cents; over four ounces and not exceeding five ounces, four cents; over five ounces and not exceeding six ounces, five cents; over six ounces and not exceeding eight ounces, six cents; over eight ounces and not exceeding twelve ounces, nine cents; and over twelve ounces and not exceeding sixteen ounces, twelve cents. Exhibit 5. In the Senate of the United States February 10, 1908, Mr. Burnham intro¬ duced the following bill, which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Post-Offices and Post-Roads: [S. 5122, Sixtieth Congress, first session.] A Bill to provide a rural delivery parcel post for merchandise and other articles mailed on rural delivery routes, and for other purposes. Be it enacted, etc.. That the Postmaster-General is authorized, under such regulations as he may prescribe, to establish a domestic rural parcel post at PROPOSED EXTENSION OF PARCEL POST. 7 special rates of postage, for the delivery on rural delivery routes, of foodstuffs (including groceries, provisions, meats, fruits, and vegetables), dry goods, drugs, books, and other merchandise, unless the same shall be unmailable under this act or any other act as hereby amended. Sec. 2. That such special rates of postage on such parcels of merchandise shall be five cents for the first pound and two cents for each additional pound or fractional part thereof, and on parcels weighing less than one pound as fol¬ lows ; Two ounces or less, one cent; over two ounces and not exceeding four ounces, two cents; over four ounces and not exceeding eight ounces, three cents; over eight ounces and not exceeding twelve ounces, four cents; and over twelve ounces and not exceeding one pound, five cents; Provided, That such postage shall be prepaid by ordinary postage stamps affixed to such parcels, and that the character of such matter shall be indicated by the words “ Rural Parcel Post,” stamped on each of such parcels by the postmaster or rural car¬ rier receiving it; Provided further, That the establishment of such rural par¬ cel post and special postage rates shall not in any wise affect the mailing of or postage rate on packages of third and fourth class matter, except within the limitations stated : Provided further. That nothing herein contained shall be taken as authorizing the acceptance or delivery at the special rates of postage herein provided of any parcel offered by any person acting as agent or repre¬ sentative, upon commission or otherwise, for any person or company not resi¬ dent on such rural delivery route: And p7'ovided further. That only such par¬ cels shall be received for delivery at the special rates of postage herein provided as are offered by bona fide merchants or dealers whose regular places of busi¬ ness are on rural delivery routes covered by this Act, in the ordinary and regular course of their business, and by residents on such routes in their indi¬ vidual capacity. Sec. 3. That parcels covered by said special postage rates and deliverable by said rural parcel post under this Act shall not exceed eleven pounds in weight, three feet six inches in length, or six feet in length and girth combined, and such parcels shall conform to the Postal Laws and Regulations concerning mailability, except as they are modified by this Act and regulations promul¬ gated in pursuance thereof. Sec. 4. That perishable articles of food submitted for mailing under said rural parcel post shall not be accepted by postmasters or rural delivery carriers more than three hours before the departure of the mail, and then only at the risk of the sender, and the postmaster or rural carrier shall stamp or note on any such parcels the time of acceptance and of transmittal, and the words “At the sender’s risk.” Sec. 5. That'the provisions of this Act shall apply only to parcels mailed on and addressed to rural delivery routes, as follows: (1) From the post-oflice or station from which one or more rural delivery routes emanate to any intermediate post-office or to any patron on any of said routes emanating from said post-office or station and supplied by rural carrier. (2) From any intermediate post-office on any rural delivery route to the post- offlce or station from which said route emanates, or to any intermediate post- office, or to any patron on that or any other rural route emanating from said post-office or station and supplied by rural carrier. (3) From any patron on any rural delivery route to the post-office or station from which said route emanates, or to any patron or intermediate post-office on that or any other rural delivery route emanating from said post-office or station and supplied by rural carrier: Provided, That in all cases where, under this Act, parcels are mailed at a post-office on a rural route which emanates from a station of such post-office, such parcels shall be offered for mailing at such station; and in all cases where parcels mailed under this Act are ad¬ dressed to a post-office on a rural route terminating at a station of such post- office, such parcels shall be delivered to addressees at such station, and in the latter case addressees shall call or send for such parcels. Sec. 6. That the proviso in the Act of April twenty-eighth, nineteen hundred and four, chapter seventeen hundred and fifty-nine (Thirty-third Statutes, page four hundred and forty), relative to the transportation of merchandise by rural carriers for patrons, is hereby repealed. Sec. 7. That seeds, cuttings, bulbs, roots, scions, and plants, when mailed under this Act, shall be chargeable with the postage rates and subject to the limit of weight herein provided. Sec. 8. That all provisions of law applicable to the third and fourth classes of mail matter, and all provisions of law applicable generally to mail matter, and not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, are hereby extended and 8 PROPOSED EXTENSION OF PARCEL POST. made applicable to matter of like character mailable under this Act: Provided, That matter so mailable shall be subject to the rates of postage and the limita¬ tion of weight herein provided. Exhibit 6. From The Boston Herald. MEYER WILL WAGE ACTIVE CAMPAIGN FOR PARCELS POST—HAS STARTED MACHINERY FOR HIS REFORM AND WILL MAKE GREAT EFFORT TO AROUSE AND EDUCATE PUBLIC SENTIMENT IN ITS FAVOR BEFORE CONGRESS CONVENES—AMERICA SHOULD CATCH UP WITH PROCESSION—TALKS ABOUT PLANS FOR THE HERALD—Rf:SUM6 OF THE OPERATION OF SYSTEM IN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES, THE COST OF TRANSPORTATION, AND BENEFITS WHICH ACCRUE. [By Ernest G. Walker.] Washington, D. C., October 13, 1907. Postmaster-General George v. L. Meyer, in his speech at Boston Satur¬ day upon his plan for a parcels post, has started the machinery for his reform with all the acumen of an old campaigner. He is going to put the matter squarely up to the people before Congress comes on the scene. Quick and cheap transport for more of the innumerable small packages that Americans have to exchange is to be the dominant issue of a good business administration of the Post-Office Department. By and by Mr. Meyer is going out to make more speeches at places where they will do the most good for the cause. He wants to arouse and educate public sentiment. The parcels post is not an exceedingly attractive subject to everybody. Prob¬ ably hundreds of thousands of people who patronize the United States mails have never thought seriously about what a parcels post is, although it enters tremendously into the domestic, commercial, and industrial economics of the world. It is a vehicle for the carriage of billions of dollars of values annually. Admittedly the United States is far behind the procession. And yet the readi¬ ness with which a few pounds of a given article can be moved from Washington to Boston, or from town to town between the two great oceans, means a vast deal to the convenience as well as to the pocketbooks of a great number of people. European countries employ the machinery of the posts in this herculean task. Many years ago they went far beyond the transmission of information through the mails, and utilized the service for the transmission of materials. The United States has been doing the same thing since 1863, but only to a limited degree. Mr. Meyer now wants this country to catch up a little. WILL HAVE BILL DRAWN. That is why he is trying to awaken the people to what he wants. He expects to speak in Philadelphia, Chicago, and other cities about the parcels posts, and by the time Congress is here will have a bill drawn. It will be introduced early in December, and will cover the changes the Postmaster-General intends recommending in his annual report. These wdll be the admission to the mails of parcels of a maximum weight of 11 pounds at 12 cents a pound (4 pounds is now the maximum at 16 cents a pound) ; and a local service on rural deliv¬ ery routes at 5 cents a pound, with 2 cents for every additional pound u]) to 11. This local service wdll be confined to each rural route, and can not be ex¬ tended beyond it. Mr. Meyer believes this, if adopted, will make the rural delivery of mail self-sustaining, and the postal service as a whole would prob¬ ably yield a surplus. Postmaster-General Wanamaker first actively urged the establishment of a parcels post on a large scale. He summed up the situation epigrammatically in his 100 reasons for it and only 4 reasons against it—those 4 being the express companies. Others after him, especially the late Postmaster-General Bissell, made like recommendations. But Mr. Meyer now has an advantage in his campaign w’'hich none of his predecessors had in the rural delivery routes. Every one of the many thousands of routes would be a little parcels service in itself, aside from being a line of communication, by which small packages could be conveyed from all parts of the country or to any part of the country. Mr. Meyer is building much upon that fact. The local service at cheaper rates will also protect the local storekeepers, to which the big department stores and mail-order establishments are bogeys. PEOPOSED EXTENSION OF PARCEL POST. 9 ASKS NO RADICAL STEP. If he can carry his recommendations through and persuade Congress to en¬ act them into law it may be that he will have effected a greater advantage to the country than is likely to follow from any other transportation statute of the last decade. Parcels post enthusiasts at least think so, drawing their conclusions from observations of the service in Europe. “ I shall not urge any radical step,” said the Postmaster-General recently, in explaining his plans. “ I only want the present service extended toward such a domestic parcels post as we already have by postal treaties with a num¬ ber of foreign countries. A service that the Government gives its own people with those abroad is none too good for us at home. “ The extension proposed would enable the Department to ascertain how far we can safely go, and also to adapt itself gradually to new requirements. It is a large business proposition. We do not know how much additional equipment would be needed eventually. Probably the equipment on the rural routes would be nearly adequate for the local and general parcels service. In the cities it might be otherwise. But by making a comparatively small exten¬ sion of the service, we could determine whether it would be advisable to go farther. I shall only indicate in my annual report a belief that the establish¬ ment of a local parcels service in the big cities would be advisable, but shall not urge the incorporation of that feature into law at present. “ I anticipate opposition to this improvement of the postal service, but I be¬ lieve it will not be influential after the details have been explained. I regard the apprehensions of the small storekeepers as without foundation. That has been the case in European countries, where the same kind of opposition has shown itself at times. The local service on the rural routes at lower rates will give the local dealers an advantage.” SEEKS experts’ VIEWS. Postmaster-General Meyer is taking pains to collect the opinions of postal experts on his recommendations. He will have the views of a large number of postmasters long before Congress convenes. They are being invited to present whatever objections they may see and also to offer practical suggestions. Ever since he announced his intention of urging a better pracels post service for the United States, the Postmaster-General has been the recipient of many letters. These come from various classes of people. Most of them commend his plan, but the retail associations, such as the associations of hardware men and grocers, come out in bold opposition. It is such people as these that the Postmaster-General hopes to convert when they are brought to understand the details of what he wants to do. Some of these critics, besides claiming that the legislation would favor the catalogue houses, argue that the Government should not go into a general freight business and that if the express companies are charging exorbitant rates, the Interstate Commerce Commission, which now has authority over them, should step in and require that the rates be lowered. The operations of parcels post in other countries make a very interesting transportation chapter. They are conducted on a gigantic scale and, apart from what J. Henniker Heaton, long an English member of Parliament from Can¬ terbury, and a great advocate of postal reforms, calls “ grandmotherly regula¬ tions,” have worked with practically world-wide success. Shopping by mail is made easy, whether one in the country would trade with the local draper or the big metropolitan merchant. FACILITATED BY TELEPHONES. An extension of parcels posts in the United States would be enormously facili¬ tated, as the matter is viewed at the Post-Office Department, by the prevalence of telephones. Farmers and culturists now have them the country over. Tele¬ phone wires have followed in the wake of the rural free delivery wagon. The postage is now too expensive and the limit of the package too small. But in¬ stead of a 4-pound package for 16 cents, let there be a 11-pound package for 25 cents and the rural routes will do a rushing business. Rural patrons will tele¬ phone to town for half the things they want—for hardware, groceries, and dry goods—and in turn will be sending to town butter, cheese, eggs, and vegetables. A great saving of time in many branches of industry will be possible under the general extension that Mr. Meyer wants. It would be a boon to manufacturers of a great variety of small articles. The Postmaster-General refuses to con- 10 PROPOSED EXTENSION OF PARCEL POST. sider whether this would injure the express companies. He approaches the matter purely as a parcels post extension that should give postal patrons a quicker and cheaper service. Great Britain’s conservative enactments will likely be a model for any ex¬ tension of the parcels post service by Congress. The service is almost twenty- five years old over there. It has become one of the most important and highly appreciated postal features. Its growth has been continuous and phenomenal. The scope has frequently been broadened. There was an early clanlor for an agricultural parcels post. The owners of small farms in remote localities wanted it. The growers of spring flowers in Kerry said it would enable them to compete with the south of France and the Scilly Isles. Eventually the agri¬ cultural parcels post was authorized and also spacious dimensions for pack¬ ages. Flower growers can now send full length orchid spikes and long-stemmed roses by post, where formerly only simple blooms were admissible. SEND FISH, EGGS, AND FRUIT. The produce of the culturists goes forward to London and other big English cities in tremendous volume. Fresh fish, dispatched from seaport towns to the large hotels, are delivered with celerity. Meats, cheese, fruits, vegetables, and freshly laid eggs in mail packages under the 11-pound limit form a very consid¬ erable factor in the commerce of the Kingdom. The general rates are low. A 1-pound parcel takes a threepenny stamp. That is 6 cents in our money. For 2 pounds an 8-cent stamp is required; for 3 pounds, a 10-cent stamp; for 5 pounds, 12 cents; for 7 pounds, 14 cents; 8 pounds, 16 cents; 9 pounds, 18 cents; 10 pounds, 20 cents, and 11 pounds, 22 cents. Four-pound parcels cost as much as 5 pounds, and 6 pounds cost as much as 7 pounds. For inland parcels 3 feet 6 inches is the maximum length; 6 feet the maximum measurement for length and girth. These have been adopted as standard dimensions in the services of numerous other countries. Parcels should not be posted at a letter box, but presented at the counter of a post- ofllce. The Government virtually guarantees the sender against loss up to $10. Payment of a registry fee of 4 cents, in addition to the regular postage, insures the parcel for $25; a 25-cent registry stamp carries an insurance of $1,000. There have been demands, not yet conceded, for the cash on delivery system that several European countries have adopted. The big retail stores of London avail themselves extensively of the parcels service for delivery of goods. The rates, ranging from 6 to 22 cents, are not prohibitive. In many cases the Government service is cheaper and quicker. Laundries return washing by parcels post. In Germany, where the rates are even cheaper, lads away at school send their soiled linen home by mail to be washed, and it is returned to them by the same conveyance. POSTED LIVE BABY. Many curiosities, as well as staple articles of trade and foodstuffs, are car¬ ried in British parcels. A live baby, it is said, was posted in London not long ago and promptly delivered at its destination. A mouse was brought all the way from India, where the parcels post has been developed much more than in England. Several kinds of live animals, including bees, are accepted, if “ prop¬ erly packed.” Sydney Buxton, the postmaster-general of Great Britain, in his last report, statistically demonstrates the continuous growth, and consequently the popu¬ larity, of the parcels post in the United Kingdom. The number of parcels de¬ livered in the country districts of England and Wales in 1896-97 was 41,512,000, and increased annually by from 3 to 6 per cent, till in 1905-6 the number was 66,277,000. In the London district for the same ten-year period the increase was from 11,229,000 parcels to 18,167,000. A similar increase was shown for Scotland from 6,802,000 to 10,725,000 parcels, and for Ireland, where the in¬ crease was from 4,172,000 in 1896-97 to 6,513,000 in 1905-6. The gross amount of revenue the Government collected increased from £1,445,126 for 63,715,000 parcels in the United Kingdom the first year of the decade to £2,138,673 for 101,682,000 parcels in the last year of the decade. The post-office’s share of these collections increased from £763,307 to £1,142,224. The average postage per parcel decreased during the period from about 11 cents to 10 cents. The postmaster-general undertakes to deliver both letters and parcels at every house in the Kingdom. They are delivered by the same postman, except in the large towns, wffiere there is a special staff for parcel work. PROPOSED EXTENSION OF PARCEL POST. 11 CALL SWISS SERVICE BEST. Because of competition from private agencies, that have charges graduated on a basis of distance, there is a tendency for an unduly high proportion of long-distance parcels and parcels for delivery in rural districts, which are the least remunerative. The post-office has met this competition by establishing, for comparatively short distances, a large number of horse and motor parcel van services, as road conveyance for these distances makes possible an economy as compared with conveyance by railway at the charge of 55 per cent of the receipts. The Swiss service is cited much as one of the most efficient and satisfactory in Europe. The mountain villages and resorts of that industrious little country receive a large portion of their supplies by post, as a maximum weight of 110 pounds is carried within a radius of 62 miles. The conditions there are some¬ what the same as with the dwellers in the Appalachian and Blue Ridge moun¬ tains, to whom it has been declared that a parcels post would be a great boon because there is no prospect that either the railroads or the express companies will ever approach their hamlets and villages. This Swiss law includes an agricultural parcels post and likewise a passenger post, agitation for both of which has generally followed the establishment of parcels post in most countries. The passenger post of Switzerland is something like the mail coaches in the United States before the coming of railroads, ex¬ cept that the coaches are owned by the State and the fees are prescribed by the same authority. A very large business is done in sending parcels through the mails. A treasury official, who was traveling in Switzerland during the past summer, saw at one railroad station several enormous baskets filled with hams and provisions. They were samples of mail parcels under the 110-pound limit. CASH ON DELIVERY PLAN. The general rates are more liberal than in any other country. A parcel weighing 1 pound is carried anywhere within the boundaries of the Federation for 3 cents, a 5-pound parcel for 5 cents, a 11-ponnd parcel for 8 cents, a 22- pound parcel for 17 cents, a 33-pound parcel for 23 cents, and a 44-pound parcel for 33 cents. Parcels weighing as much as 110 pounds are carried within a radius of 62 miles for 60 cents, which enables many of the peasants to market much of their light produce by mail. The rates are so adjustable that house¬ wives can secure anything by post from a paper of pins to a bag of flour. The V. P., or value payable, system is a part of the Swiss postal arrangements, so that the purchaser can pay for his goods on delivery, and there is but one financial transaction connected with the purchase as far as he is concerned. A provision for delivery makes the service all the more attractive. Belgium’s parcel post has even a higher weight limit than Switzerland, for it accepts articles of 62 kilograms, or about 132 pounds, in one package, and puts no limit upon the size, except that unwieldy packages are subject to an extra charge of 50 per cent. But up to five kilograms, which is the conven¬ tional 11-pound limit of a majority of the parcels post countries, the charge is 50 centimes, or 10 cents; for 10 kilograms 12 cents, and two cents extra for every additional 10 kilograms (22 pounds). A higher charge is made in Bel¬ gium, as in several other European countries, if the parcel is to be carried on an express train. It amounts to six cents for five kilograms. The fee for deliver¬ ing at residence is six cents additional. Germany and Austria maintain the 50-kilogram limit. The first named country enforces the 50 per cent extra charge for unwieldy articles. It also has what is called the zone system. For conveyance 10 geographic miles the charge is six cents (25 pfennigs), and 13 cents (50 pfennigs) for greater dis¬ tances. If the parcel weighs more than 11 pounds there is a charge of one cent (five pfennigs) for each additional kilogram carried 10 miles, 10 pfennigs for 20 miles, 20 pfennigs for 50 miles, 30 pfennigs for 100 miles, 40 pfennigs for 150 miles, and 50 pfennigs, approximately 13 cents, for more than 150 miles. The same rate of charges applies in Austria. A TABLE OF CHARGES. The French parcels post law requires presentation at the railroad station. Some other European countries, like Great Britain, require it to be delivered at the postoflice. The French maximum weight is 10 kilograms (22 pounds) with- 12 PROPOSED EXTENSION OF PARCEL POST. out any restriction as to size. The postage rates are 12 cents up to 3 kilo¬ grams; 16 cents up to 5 kilograms, and 30 cents up to 10 kilograms. These rates hre for delivery at a railroad station. An extra fee of 25 centimes (5 cents) is charged for delivering the parcel at the residence of the addressee. A table of the parcels post charges of several countries follows. It shows the maximum weight carried, the minimum charge collected, and also the charge for an 11-pound package, the limit for many of the parcels post countries. Maximum weight of parcel. Minimum charge for a parcel. Australia 11 $0.12 .06 .10 Austria_ Rplgiiim_ 110 132 Uhilp _ 11 .10 Uiiha 11 .10 France__ __ 22 . .12 ocruiiiny»-««.______ (rreat Britain 11 • UO .06 Italy__ ____ 11 .12 Switzerland 110 .03 The Netherlands_ _ __ 11 .06 United States_ 4 .01 Charge for 11 pounds. $0.72 .12 .16 .17 .46 .16 .18 .22 .20 .08 .10 1.32 Certain of the figures in the table are only approximately correct. The 11- pound rate for a Belgium parcel, for instance, is put down at 16 cents as that is the rate for carriage by express train, which perhaps more nearly compares with mail trains in the United States. By slow train 11 pounds go for 10 cents. Perhaps, also, an extra charge of 6 cents for delivery should be counted in the Belgium figures for purposes of fair compensation because much of the mail in the United States is delivered. AVERAGE DISTANCE GREATER HERE. In the figures for the United States it should be borne in mind that the mini¬ mum charge of 1 cent is for an ounce and that the rate of 16 cents a pound, which it amounts to, might be better for a comparative table; also, that it is impossible to send 11-pound parcels by mail in the United States, except when they are to go abroad to certain countries with which parcels post conventions have been concluded. In a general way the table indicates that the cost in Great Britain or the Continent for sending an 11-pound parcel is in the vicinity of 20 cents. The minimum charge is sometimes for a pound, as in the case of Great Britain, and sometimes for several pounds, as 11 pounds for 10 miles in the case of Ger¬ many; or up to 7 pounds as in the case of Italy. The great disparity in rates is apparent, as is the fact that Mr. Meyer’s proposition of a 12-cent per pound rate is comparatively very high. Certain elementary items of cost enter into the service of European countries that would not be identical with the maintenance of a similar service in the United States. In Germany a considerable mileage of the railroads is state owned. They carry certain parcels in the mails without compensation. In large sections of Europe there has never been anything like adequate service by express companies, and in the absence of business enterprises in establish¬ ing such transportation the people have been compelled to look to their govern¬ ments for relief. The cheap rates for parcels post there were originally, in some part, intended as an accommodation for the poorer classes. The distances for transportation are less and the population is denser. The United States is 225 times larger than Switzerland, 60 times larger than Eng¬ land, 17 times larger than Germany, 12 times larger than the three countries combined. In England the average distance a letter or mail package travels is 40 miles; in Germany it is 42 miles; in the United States it is said to be 542 miles. DIFFICULT TO ESTIMATE COST. No accurate information is available as to whether the European parcels posts are in reality self-supporting. They certainly are nearly so, and in some instances are regarded as profitable government ventures. Everywhere the service is characterized by prompt transmission and prompt delivery. The PROPOSED EXTENSION OF PARCEL POST. 13 percentages of loss are very small. The several national constituencies that have a parcels post system would no more relinquish such privileges than American cities would relinquish electric lights or automobiles. One European enthusiast pronounced the establishment of the parcels post “a service to man¬ kind only less splendid than that of the transmission of thought.” In England it is claimed the parcels post service would be a source of profit but for the amounts paid to the railroads for transportation, the share of 55 per cent of the receipts being regarded as exorbitant. Generally the parcels post is so joined with the rest of the mail service that its entire cost can not be counted. The international business has grown to enormous proportions. The figures collected at Berne for 1004, in connection with the Postal Union, show that the parcels mailed across the frontiers of 36 nations and colonies that year num¬ bered something like 38,000,000. The small percentage of that total, where the value was declared, showed an aggregate of about $162,000,000 worth of prop¬ erty. In that list the United States would have stood about eleventh on the showing for the fiscal year of 1906, when 264,438 parcels of an average weight of 2§ pounds were sent from this country abroad. Tunis sent more according to the figures than the United States. Germany, leading all other nations both in the dispatch and receipt of parcels in international mails, sent a total of 11,675,- 385, of w’hich 11,343,516 were classed as ‘‘ ordinary,” and 331,869 were “ with a declared value ” of $23,352,378. Austria, enjoying close postal relations with Germany, dispatched 10,659,300 parcels to other countries, of which 1,082,430 had a declared value of $68,396,578. HAS BECOME GREAT FACTOR. The totals of “ receipts ” and “ dispatches” of course balance for the 36 countries in question, but are not the same for each country represented. The rank in parcels dispatched runs; Germany, Austria, France, Hungary, Great Britain, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, Tunis, British India, Bosnia- Herzegovina, Russia, Denmark, Luxemburg, Japan, and Egypt; in parcels re¬ ceived the order is: Germany, Hungary, Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy, Great Britain, Belgium, Russia, Netherlands, Denmark, Roumania, Spain, Bos- nia-Herzegovina, Sweden, Norway, Luxemburg, Tunis, and so on. Switzerland in 1904 received across her borders 2,788,406 parcels by post, of which 2,635,090 were “ ordinary ” and 133,316 were declared of a value of $9,863,886. Of 6,352,- 360 parcels that came over the Austrian frontier, 778,380 had a declared value of $64,788,927. Germany received 7,337,404 parcels in international mails, of which 482,472 had a declared value of $35,901,435. The parcels received by post in the United States during the fiscal year 1906 from abroad were recorded as 131,064, of an average weight of 2.73 pounds. Probably the actual number was much larger, perhaps twice as large. Sufficient figures have been given to indicate what a great factor the parcels post has become in the trade of the world. The value of the merchandise thus transported can only be roughly estimated, but it will probably exceed half a billion dollars annually. This business is transacted across frontiers, causing little or no friction with customs officers. Boxes with declared value are subject to the legislation of the country of origin or destination as regards payment of stamp duties on articles exported and as regards the control of stamp and customs duties on articles imported. The stamp duties and charges for examination by customs officers involved in the importation are collected from the addressees when the articles are delivered. PROVISION FOR INSURANCE. Practically the same rules apply for all parcels post. There is provision for insurance and also for “ trade charges,” which latter term means that goods can be sent c. o. d., the maximum value being f.lOOO. The limit of weight is 5 kilograms, or 11 pounds. The cost of conveyance comprises a charge of 10 cents for each country participating in the territorial transit, a graduated distance tax for sea conveyance and extra rates for cumbersome parcels, and may be increased under certain conditions by delivery fees and, in case of declared values, by insurance fees. Weights under 2 pounds, however, are transported for a maximum of 1 franc. Special forms are provided for reg¬ istering for customs declaration, for certificate of prepayment, when that is desired, and for trade charges. 14 PROPOSED EXTENSION OF PARCEL POST. Tlie United States is not a party to this comprehensive parcels post conven¬ tion, by which a vast quantity of merchandise is carried to different parts of the world annually, but Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, Uru¬ guay, and Venezuela are among the signatories. But the United States has parcels post conventions with 33 different countries on some what different but fairly liberal terms. It keeps the postage for parcels it sends to other countries and they in turn retain the postage on parcels sent here. That saves in book¬ keeping and has been found economical, whereas the more comprehensive con¬ vention, under which most of the European and Asiatic countries operate, di¬ vide the postage receipts pro rata. The United States wull not transmit through its mails parcels en route from one foreign country to another. Among the latest parcels post conventions the President has ratified under statute author¬ ity are those with Sweden, Peru, Denmark, Ecuador, and Bermuda. CUSTOMS EASILY COLLECTED. The popularity in this country of the parcels post is well demonstrated by the great growth in the use of international facilities. The dispatches from this country for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1905, amounted to 560,228 pounds and for the year ending June 30, 1906, was 721,164 pounds, an increase of 28.73 per cent. Only one-fifth of the dispatches of the last-mentioned fiscal year went to Europe, which indicates that a good share of the parcels business was with Mexico and Central South America. Parcels for Germany, Hongkong, Japan, Norway, Belgium, Great Britain, Sweden, and Denmark are accepted only for a maximum weight of 4 pounds and 6 ounces, where the maximum weight for the other countries with which the Postofiice Department now has conventions is 11 pounds. The customs officials say that the parcels post business with foreign countries is increasing by leaps and bounds. Within recent months better facilities for the collection of customs dues have been inaugurated, with the result, it is said, that many packages which hitherto passed without being noted are now being examined and recorded. There are offices of exchange, so called, in several of the larger post-offices of the United States where customs officials are stationed to attend to the collection of duties on these parcels from abroad. In the Washington City post-office this foreign parcels post business is said to have increased 300 per cent within the last twelve months. The Treasury De¬ partment keeps about 25 customs employees now on duty at the New York City post-office to attend to the foreign parcels post business which goes through that office. Dutiable packages to minor offices are handled from exchange offices. Such mail addressed to Plymouth, Mass., for instance, would be held till the addressee had forwarded to the postmaster at Boston the amount of duty re¬ quired. INSPECTORS ON WATCH. The customs officials find no serious difficulties in the enforcement of the laws with reference to the foreign parcels post. There was at first some abuse of the privileges which the parcels conventions offered, but the obstacles that the customs inspectors encounter are minor ones, and the Treasury Department expects they will be eliminated. Many of them have already disappeared under the new regulations for “ mail importations ” which were issued last March. The inspectors are on the watch for parcels that happen to be sent from countries with which the United States has arrangements solely under the universal postal con\'ention. Commercial papers not exceeding 4 pounds and 6 ounces in weight and samples of merchandise not exceeding 12 ounces may be brought here under that convention, but parcels are tabooed, and subject the sender to a fine. Parcels from countries having parcels post conventions with the United States are inspected for dutiable articles, but fines are not imposed except for articles such as cigars and cigarettes that are put up in illegal quantities. A declaration of the dutiable articles is required with each parcel. Anything as bulky as a box containing a new spring hat can be sent to most of the American countries or colonies, ranging from Newfoundland to the Danish West Indies and Chile, under existing parcels post conventions. With a few exceptions, parcels can be sent to those American countries of a maxi¬ mum length of 3 feet and 6 inches and of a maximum length and girth com¬ bined of 6 feet. The rate is 12 cents a pound or fraction thereof. Registry costs 8 cents in addition thereto. PROPOSED EXTENSION OF PARCEL POST. 15 TO MAKE PEOPLE REALIZE. The customs officials likewise inspect another class of mail importations— those which come under existing postal conventions with Canada, Mexico, Cuba, and the Republic of Panama. No declaration of contents and value is required from those countries and everything is admitted that is allowed under the postal laws of the country where the mail originated. The legislation that Postmaster-General Meyer has in mind comes home to practically every household in the United States. There is hardly a family in all the land that would not find it a decided convenience at times. If Mr. Meyer succeeds in making the people realize this and the arguments for the improvement of the service become generally understood, no opposition can prevail against it. Congress will be quick to see the virtues of a better parcels post, and the new law will be enacted with a whoop. • Exhibit 7. [From Government for December, 1007.] Omaha, Nebr., October 25, 1901. George v. L. Meyer, Postmaster-General, Washington, D. C. My Dear Sir : Your communication of October 18 received, for which I thank you. I am sending you herewith some editorial comments, collected from a number of trade papers. These may be of interest to you. The Trade Exhibit, I am pleased to state, is the first trade paper in the United States to approve your position as to a parcel post. During the past four years I believe I have circulated more antiparcel-post literature than any other individual in the United States. All my work has been directed against the establishment of any parcel- post system that would be unfair to the retail merchants, and which might be considered a subsidy to the mail-order system of business, and by making a rate much lower than cost of transportation to the Government would tend to concentrate business in districts where the price of labor is the lowest. I inclose you a little pamphlet which I prepared two years ago. It is only one of the many like articles that I prepared for circulation, and which formed the basis of the antiparcel-post articles appearing in numerous trade journals. I also delivered many addresses before commercial bodies and merchants’ organ¬ izations in Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, and other Western States. I would still continue to oppose a widening of our parcel-post system did I believe that it would be injurious to those sections of our country which are now undergoing development. After a most careful study of the plan you propose, I can not discover a single objection that can be based upon sound economics. Rather, a parcel-post exten¬ sion, as you propose, will be helpful to enterprising retailers, and will assist in the building up of home industries in the so-called agricultural towns. Should any effort be made, when your proposition be laid before Congress, to have a lower rate instituted than that which you propose, I will use what little infiu- ence I have in opposing such a move. Assuring you what little support I can give to the plan that you propose will be given, I beg to remain, Yours, respectfully, Omaha Trade Exhibit, Per D. M. Carr, Editor. o ■ '■ : . tAf^n ■. l^^ '^♦i. r-iM>iy.,{->^r;^}. ' J'J, "’irJ'"r *^' ifJS , ^ . .; •• -.\ . ..-' ■ '"y* ^ ‘ ^ •'•’ " .:;fi '‘ ./ yf^i * *' '•-^>>' 'Vi#- TH?*. '■'■' I'- . • Y\ .>l::.:l ..•- ;n. ""'‘r-'yjrAT'’ , *■?-•*. ,3* fe • * - im ’f,-- ^ - .■. ijl • * /^-'■ •jHvr;*/. J 'r-ffl ■ ,T.rFr^ M * •*' tf ■ “ ' * '4 ■"i ‘a" aoi^c* ' ■» -'Ll * a , mV m ^4- ■•- ^1^■ V*r "r •i: