Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 84, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 April 1910 — WHAT IS THE ANSWER? [ARTICLE]

WHAT IS THE ANSWER?

There Are Fonr Reason* for Oppoai- - ■ tion to Parcel* Post. What is the answer? There isn't any one answer; but the parcels post is one of several answers, Collier’s says. Everybody Knows now the old story. When John Wanamaker was postmaster-general, some one asked him why he didn’t have a parcels post like every other civilized pountry? He said there are four reasons: The first is the Wells-Fargo Express Company, the second is the American Express Company, the third is the Adams Express Company, the fourth' Is the Unit-' ed States Express Company. Every once in a while our consuls in Europe write to our government telling how the parcels post works in Europe. In Senator Platt’s day (Senator Platt was once the president of the United States Express - Company) he used to Save such reports withdrawn from the public. Here is a recent one from H. S. Culver, United States consul at Cork, Ireland. This report was printed in the “Rural -New- Yorker’’; “Farmers, merchants and manufacturers patronize extensively these means of communication between the markets and the isolated Individual customer. The rates by parcels-post are 6 cents for one pound or less, 8 cents from one to two pounds, and 2 cents additional for each pound up to eleven —the weight limfhnf parcels The length of parcel allowed is three feet six inches, and the greatest length and girth combined is six feet. For example, a parcel measuring three feet six inches in its longest dimension may measure two feet sir Inches in

girtn. Eggs, fish, meat, fruit, vege? tallies, glass, crockery, liquids, butter, cheese, etc., may be transported by percels-post.” If we had the parcels-post in this country the farmer could ship one or five or ten pounds of butter, or a few dozen eggs, or a peck of potatoes, or a basket of apples, to his individual customer in the city, and avoid the middleman. Fishermen d® the north of Scotland send fresh fish to the London market this way. Also, if we had the parcels-post system in this country, the express companies would quickly reduce their rates and stop paying 800 per cent dividends. *