Postal Riders and Raiders

Now, that is real fetching. Especially before so vast a gathering of farmers as heard it!

But a Missouri “farmer” present wanted to be shown. So he fired a question at Mr. Lever. The farmer from Missouri wears the name of Caulfield. He likewise wears an abiding distrust of the parcels post. Following is his question:

There is real intellectual magneto and lamp equipment for you. Note, too, the shrewdness of this Missouri “farmer” in wording his question—the mail order houses may not be the only ones who favor the parcels post, but they are about the only ones who “really favor” it!

Well, there are over 40,000,000 residents of the country—villages and towns in this country—among them, too, are twenty millions of real farmers. These are pretty firmly of opinion that they “are really in favor of the parcels post.” There are, also, not less than 30,000,000 more residents of incorporated cities, small and large, who at least think they favor a parcels post service which will permit “mother” to send a pair of pants to her boy ten miles away as cheaply as the laird of Skibo Castle, Scotland, can send two pairs of kilts to a son of his friend’s Aunt Billy who lives in Los Angeles, California.

Of course, the people may only think they think and are sitting up nights with the windows open and their ears spread to hear their representatives tell ’em they are wrong. If so, Mr. Caulfield and Mr. Lever will probably hear from them. It takes the people some time to recognize or properly to appreciate how wise some of their representatives are—what a vast amount of charges-prepaid wisdom they have. But the people finally catch on and then—well, then there will not be so many “farmers” of the Mr. Lever variety in Congress.

But I want to give Mr. Lever another show. He’s entitled to it “under the rules.” He should have several of them—not to show his profound knowledge of the value and dangers of an efficient, cheap parcels post, but to show that a man need not spend a cent in Congress to advertise the fact that he is a “practical politician.” All he needs do is make a few hired or ignorant remarks on some subject about which the people of the country have been thinking.

Here is Mr. Lever’s answer to Mr. Caulfield’s question, as previously quoted:

Now, candidly, how could a “friend” of a parcels post service show his friendship more nicely than that? Especially if he is a “farmer?” Or even if he is not, and merely desires the farmers to think he is their friend?

Why, Mr. Lever has Mr. Caulfield shoved clear over the ropes in that answer. Mr. Caulfield, of Missouri, may have full magneto and lamp equipment, but Mr. Lever, when it comes to a friendly, high-speed spurt for a parcels post service, shows all the latest improvements. No, sirs, Mr. Lever is not merely a last year’s model. He’s bang up-to-date—axles, drawn steel; forged crank shaft with eight cams integral; continuous bearings and bearings all ground; two water-cooled, four-cylinder motors with sliding gear; “built-in” steel frame, and running on a “wheel-base” of 106 inches. Mr. Lever shows all the other “latest,” necessarily belonging to the “best seller” class among late models.

However, I have probably mentioned enough to make it clear to my readers, if not to his constituents, that Mr. Lever is fully equipped to act the part of the farmer’s “friend,” a friend of the parcels post, or of any other old thing. Some may think he carries a little too much weight for a good hill-climber. It should be remembered, however, that some sorts of “friends” do not climb hills. They skip around the hills and get what they are after while we are climbing. When farmers and others of our producing classes wise-up to the brand of vocal friendship I am “insinuatin’ about,” such representatives as Mr. Lever will last about as long as it would take a one-armed, wooden-legged man to fall off the top of the Flat Iron Building flag pole.

PARCELS POST “TESTS.”

It may as well be said here as elsewhere that such “tests” of the feasibility and desirability of a good parcels post service as Mr. Hitchcock proposes to make are but procrastinating foolery. Great Britain and every continental country of Europe has an efficient parcels post service in operation.

Postmaster Generals and railroad and express company raiders know that. The countries indicated have made all the “tests” we need have of people-serving parcels post, and every one of them derive more or less revenue from that service, there being no deficits.

Postmaster Generals and our railroad and express company raiders know all that. So, also, do our Senators and Congressmen know that. Even alleged “farmer” Congressmen know it.

Our public servants know even more than that. They know that under the International Postal Union agreements our government has entered into, our postal service today handles these foreign countries’ parcels, of either United States or of foreign origin, weighing up to eleven pounds. They also know our own postal service now won’t permit our own people to send by mail, packages weighing more than four pounds. They also know that for carrying a four-pound parcel by his own mail service the American must pay 64 cents if the parcel is for delivery in any of the foreign countries covered by Postal Union agreement,[17] but if sent by some one in any of those countries for delivery in this, the sender may make up a parcel weighing as much as eleven pounds and for its delivery will have to pay only 48 cents.

I say that our mail carriers and public officials know these things. The facts as stated must be known of the Postal Union agreements. On request, the Postoffice Department does not hesitate to give this information to anyone. The following is a paragraph taken from a department communication. It was sent in response to a request made by Mr. Alfred L. Sewell, who wrote a most informative communication that appeared in the Chicago Daily News of date November 6, 1911. I take the quotation from Mr. Sewell’s article.

Then why prattle about a “test” as to the desirability and practicability of a good, cheap parcels post service in this country; one that will serve our own people?

Especially why prattle about such a parcels post service on a few selected rural routes? It is not only foolishly silly, but it looks suggestively wrong—as if there was some ulterior motive back of any suggestion of such a test. “Why?”

Well, if such test is made under regulations suggested by the Postmaster General, the only parcels that service, or “test” service, is designed to carry, are such as originate on a selected rural route and are for delivery on the same route or on a route immediately connected with it. That is, as I understand Mr. Hitchcock’s recommended regulations, any farmer or villager along the selected “test” rural route may send a package (weight and rate of carriage yet to be decided upon) to any other farmer or villager on the same route or connected route, or to a resident of the town or city at which such route originates or starts.

If such a farce can be seriously thought of as a “test” of what use and economic value a nation-wide parcels post service would be to our people, even to the people residing on the test routes, it will take some graduate of a foolery school or foreman in a joke foundry to so think of it.

Let’s see. A farmer may send a jar of butter, box of eggs, crate of fruit or vegetables, etc., to the village storekeeper and get his pay for the consignment, “in trade” usually. By writing the storekeeper an order, postal card or letter, the farmer may get on the next round of the carrier what he desires. That is, he will get what he has asked for if the storekeeper has it in stock. The farmer, or the farmer’s wife, may do the same thing in the event that the consignment of their products, presuming that the “regulations” will permit the carrier to handle perishable goods, goes no farther away than the county seat or other town or city from which the rural route starts. They can also send such parcels to any railroad station on the route for shipment to any more distant point. In such case, however, the farmer must pay an express carriage charge from the local railroad station to the destination of his shipment.

But enough of this local application of the proposed “test” regulations. It will readily be seen that if the farmer or villager on a selected test route desires to send a parcel, not above the regulation weight—whatever that may be—to any point not on the same route, he will have an express charge to pay—whatever that charge may be. And if he orders something, inside the regulation weight, from some factory or city not on his carrier’s route, he must also pay an express charge for its carriage to his local railroad station. If he wants the article or goods delivered at his home by the rural carrier, he must pay an additional charge—the postal carriage charge, whatever that may be.

As a “test” of the service value of a parcels post, could anything be more absurd? If so, it would be difficult to frame it up. Such a “test,” however, will still leave the raiding express companies in position to hold up the selected “home circle,” rural-route residents on all shipments, which go to or come from any city or point outside the home circle—and that is about what, if not just what, the proposed “test” is designed or intended to do, or so it appears from the ladder top.

In this connection it should be noted that the rural-route delivery enactment, or the department regulations under which it was to be applied, carried an express protecting “joker.” If not, why was the rural route carrier required to furnish a cart or other carrying vehicle of only twenty-five pounds capacity? Was it valid for ulterior reasons which named so small a weight? Would it have cost the government any more money for rural carrier service if a maximum weight of 500, or even of 1,000 pounds, had been named for the carrying vehicle?

The reader may answer. To The Man on the Ladder, though, that 25-pound requirement looks to be of doubtful mail-service value, if, indeed, not suspiciously queer.

It was carefully figured in 1900 that our rural, or non-railroad, communities alone lost $90,000,000 a year in excessive express charges and delays in delivery by reason of the criminal apathy of their government in the matter of furnishing even a reasonably adequate domestic parcels post service, such, for instance, as that furnished by the German government. The German government carries an 11-pound package anywhere in the German empire or in Austria-Hungary for 12 cents.

To aid the reader, I give, following, a table covering the data essential to a fair understanding both of the excessive pay for a service which our government should render for a tenth of the money and, also, of why our express service is inconvenient—is wasteful and expensive—by reason of the distance the express offices are from the people ordering. This last is clearly shown by comparing their number with the larger number of postoffices in the several states named.

THE WORM UNCOVERED.

Had I the space at command I would print the figures for the whole United States. However, it will be seen that the states I have taken are fairly representative of the whole country—the populous with the sparsely settled.

The figures as to number of express and postoffices are from the United States census for 1900.[18] The estimates are made on the parcel weight of 11 pounds. Eleven pounds is the English domestic parcels weight that is carried anywhere in the United Kingdom for 24 cents or, by international postal agreement, to any point in this country for 48 cents. In passing, it might be noted that for the year 1900 the British postoffice turned into its national treasury over $18,000,000 profit. It might also be well to notice that English merchants imported nearly five and a half million dollars value by parcels post and exported nearly twenty and a half million dollars of value by means of the same service.

But to get back to our 11-pound parcel.

Germany carries it anywhere in her empire or in Austria-Hungary for 12 cents.

Switzerland carries it for eight cents, and several other countries are now trying to reach the German weight-rate for domestic delivery.

So we will take as our package of eleven pounds and figure its delivery at any postoffice in the United States for twelve cents.

One more point about this table.

The reader must keep in mind that we now deliver packages up to eleven pounds from any person—merchant, manufacturer or other—living in England, Germany or Mexico. It is delivered for the English shipper (by our mails) to any United States postoffice for 48 cents; for the German shipper for 58 cents or for the Mexican shipper for 66 cents.

The three right-hand columns of the table show how much cheaper the English, German or Mexican merchant, or other shipper, can have his eleven pounds of merchandise carried to Rabbit Hash, Ky., Springtown, Mo., Gold Button, Cal.—to any postoffice in the United States—than the New York merchant can send his 11-pound parcel to the express office “nearest” the customer ordering.

The express charges given are the carefully figured averages for the states named for carriage from New York City. The third column gives the average express charge (at rates ruling in 1900) from New York City to the states named. The fourth column gives the savings to the purchaser—the merchant or the consumer—if the 11-pound parcel were carried, as it should be carried, in the mails for 12 cents. The first two columns give the number of express offices and postoffices in the several states named and are intended as conclusive proof that millions of our people are much nearer to a postoffice than to an express office.

With this preliminary, let us now comment on the table. Don’t side-step it because it’s figures—unless, of course, you’re some hired man of the express or railroad companies.

The total of express companies in the footing is that given in the census report for 1900. There are probably several hundred more now. The corresponding total given for the number of postoffices is correct for July 1, 1910. There are fewer postoffices now than in 1900, the establishment of rural route delivery having reduced the number greatly. The reader must keep in mind that the figures named in headings of the three right-hand columns cover a “delivery” charge in addition to the home-rate mailing rate for the countries named. This delivery charge was covered in the international agreements.

If the reader will study that table a little he will learn several things.

If we have one hundred millions of people in this country, there is an express office for about each 5,000 of them, while there is a postoffice for about each 1,666 of them.

There is an express office to about every 175 square miles of our territory, while there is a postoffice for about each 60 square miles of our territory.

The reader will have no trouble to see by the table that, if he ordered an 11-pound lot of hose and shirts or phonograph records, photograph films or other goods from New York City for delivery in Chicago, he would get the goods by a properly served parcels post for just 97 cents less carriage charge than he now pays the express companies. If he live in Los Angeles, Cal., he would get the goods from New York for $3.04 less. Even if he lived in Buffalo, N. Y., he would get those eleven pounds of goods from the metropolis of his state for 48 cents less than he now pays the express companies.

Be sure, however, to notice those three right-hand columns.

You will observe that the Right Honorable John Bovine, an exporting merchant of London—or a manufacturer, if you please, of Manchester or Leeds, England—can send that 11-pound package to you in Chicago, Hot Springs, Fargo or elsewhere in the United States—send it by mail, which no American merchant or manufacturer can do—at from 90 cents to $3.00 less carriage cost than the New York merchant can send it to you by express—the only means our present laws and methods permit him to use.

Baron Von Stopper, an exporter of Berlin, likewise has a large advantage over the New York merchant in supplying your parcel demands. Even Senor Greaser of the City of Mexico, can ship—by mail—eleven pounds of kippered tamales or sombreros to any point in the country, save ten states within short-haul range of New York City, and have an edge of 30 cents to $3.23 over his New York City competitor in supplying your parcel order wants.

Great, is it not? Fine system, is it not, to “protect home industries?” To build up “foreign trade?”

But, it is not quite so bad as it looks for the very reason that our “postal agreements” recognize the “tariff wall” that is built around certain “infants” in this country. Your goods from England, Germany or Mexico must be of our “free list” kind, otherwise they must pay a rake-off to the government. As that is pretty stiff, you don’t order many parcels from abroad. You buy home products—thus paying the tariff rake-off to the protected “infant” instead of the Government.

Does it not appear that we American citizens are an easily “worked” bunch?

In connection with the tabulation just presented, should be noted the fact that millions of our people live in non-railroad communities—live, often, many miles from any express office, while a postoffice may be near. If these people have pressing need for any article of merchandise weighing over four pounds it cannot reach them, under existing law, by mail. They must order it sent by express and make the long drive to the nearest express office to get it.

The article may be one needed for the health of the family or it may be a rod, a gear wheel or other part of some machine that has broken in a critical hour of need—any one of a hundred needs, delay in supplying which costs money.

It was carefully figured in 1900 that our rural, non-railroad communities alone lost $90,000,000 a year in excessive express charges and delays in delivery by reason of the peculiar if not studied apathy of their government in the matter of furnishing even a reasonably adequate domestic parcels post service.

The hypothetical rate (1 cent a pound or $20.00 per ton), for parcels carriage and delivery by post is low—maybe a little too low. If so, it is only a very little, if it is figured to have the rate cover only the actual cost of the service. A nation-wide parcels post service, if properly organized and directed, would, it must be remembered, handle all the short as well as the long haul business. It would not, as now, permit a collusive raiding arrangement between the railroads and the express companies by which the latter get most of the short-haul shipments and leave most of the long-haul parcels to be handled by the mail service.

I see by a local press item, that the Senate Committee on Postoffices and Postroads is going to propose in the bill it is drafting that parcels of eleven pounds in weight be carried by the mail service for 50 cents—10 cents for the first pound and 4 cents for each additional pound or fraction thereof, up to the maximum of 11 pounds. Of course, a rate of 50 cents for the carriage of 11-pound parcels would be a great betterment over the present rate and weight regulations. But a rate of 50 cents for an 11-pound package is away too high, figuring on short and long haul parcels, unless it is intended to make the service a revenue producer, which it should not be. The committee, I gather from the news item, has recognized the fact that a 50-cent rate is too high on short-haul matter and are considering the recommendation of a lower rate for it—a distance scale or schedule of rates. It is to be hoped that, if the proposed bill becomes law, it will carry such a provision.

It is said the committee decided upon the weight and rate limits after an “exhaustive investigation of all the parcels post systems of the world,” and it was pointed out that this investigation disclosed the fact that only “five powers” reported deficits in their postal services in 1909—Luxemburg, Chili, Greece, Mexico and Austria—the deficits ranging from $7,437 in Luxemburg to $1,693,157 in Austria. Of these, it will be noted, all save Austria are small or only partially developed countries. None of them have rail or other transportation facilities at all comparable to those of this country. Yet our government, with its excessive parcels rate and ridiculously low maximum weight limit on parcels reported a deficit of $17,441,719.82 in its postal revenues for 1908-9, and $6,000,000 in 1910.

Whatever the action that may be taken by the present or a future Congress looking to the betterment and to a cheapening of the nation’s parcels post service, one thing must be done if such action be made effective—if it yield the results it is alleged are expected of it. Such action must carry provisions that will effectively break up the present collusive understandings and arrangements between the railroads and the express company interests, which arrangement has for years been raiding the postal revenues on the one hand and, by greatly excessive rail and express rates for carrying parcel freight, has been looting the people on the other.

This can be—and should be—done. There are two actions which may be taken by the government, either of which I believe would accomplish that most desirable and necessary result.

On previous pages (pages 227 and 228), will be found quoted a section of the law of 1845—a law for the establishing and regulation of the government mail service. On the pages 256-257 will be found a most instructive discussion of the law by Mr. Allan L. Benson. Turn back and read those pages. Mr. Benson is always worth a second reading.

That it was the intention of the legislators of that time to make the carriage, handling and delivery of letters and “packets” (small parcels or packages of any sort of mailable matter), a government monopoly, there can be no valid reason to doubt. That the express companies have operated and are operating in violation of Section 181 of that law, there can be no valid reason to doubt. That Section 181 of the enactment of 1845 is good, sound law today, there can be no valid reason to doubt. That the express companies have operated, and continue to operate, in violation of that law—in open defiance of it—and are therefore engaged in a criminal traffic, there can be no valid reason to doubt.

True, they have a very peculiar court decision to protect them in their violation of that law. I call it a “peculiar” decision. A more fitting term might be used in describing that court decision, and the use of such a term would be fully justified.

One of the two actions which Congress might take would be to amend Section 181 of its Revised Statutes so that even a yokel, as well as a Federal Judge, may clearly see that the carriage of packages and parcels, as well as of “packets,” which do not exceed the maximum regulation weight and are of mailable class and kind, is “intended” to be the exclusive privilege of the government.

Such an amendment to the law would force the express companies out of business.

The other action which could be effectively taken would be to make the parcels post rate so low and the maximum weight of parcels so liberally high that the railroads and express raiders would quit of their own accord, which they would do as soon as their present tonnage of loot is seriously cut down. Nothing would cut into that lootage deeper or quicker than would a service rated and weighted parcels post.

I have been severe in my strictures and condemnation of the express and railway raiders. In evidence that my condemnation is deserved I desire to quote two or three people—people who have made a careful, painstaking study of the game these raiders have played, and yet play, and of the practices and tricks which make it a “sure thing” for the high-finance gentlemen who play it.

Mr. Albert W. Atwood wrote a series of three most informative articles for the American Magazine under the caption, “The Great Express Monopoly.” They appeared in the American in its issues for February, March and April, 1911. I trust the publishers will not take unkindly my quoting Mr. Atwood. He presents some facts which so conclusively evidence several points that I cannot resist the appeal they make for quotation.

In evidencing the fact that the railroads own and control the express companies and also showing how that ownership and control was obtained and is maintained, Mr. Atwood writes as follows:

On the question as to whether express companies operate at a profit or not, Mr. Atwood writes as follows of this same Pacific organization:

In speaking to the same point as applied to the United States Express Company, Mr. Atwood calls attention to the fact that 55 per cent of its “stockholders” have entered suit to wind up the company’s affairs on charges of mismanagement by its dominating officers. Mr. Atwood further writes:

The cappers for railroad and express interests, keep the atmosphere agitated with talk about the “uncertainty and irregularity” of the quantity of express matter to be carried, “the excessive taxes paid,” etc. In answer to such bubble, Mr. Atwood has this to say:

In Pearson’s Magazine appeared two forcefully written articles by Mr. Allen L. Benson on the parcels post. The articles appeared in Pearson’s in February and March, 1911. In his February opening and closing Mr. Benson says some things to us and says them with a kindly bluntness which we should appreciate:

The italics in the last paragraph quoted are mine. So, too, are the sentiments of that paragraph—both the expressed and the implied. That is I believe in them—I believe in them hard and stubbornly. If my readers will think hard about them for a few minutes, I feel confident they will conclude that it is about time for them, for all of us, to act on Mr. Benson’s advice—tear off our party labels and begin “to vote for ourselves.”

In support of his charges of bad faith on the part of the government in giving the people a serviceable parcels post, Mr. Benson’s remarks are most illuminating. He makes reference to a public or semi-public document of the government, written by one Mr. Turner and proceeds as follows:

Knowing that my readers have not wearied of Mr. Benson, I shall presume to take further liberties with his articles on our subject. His handling of the point I have raised—railroad control of the express companies—is so informative and so able that I would do neither my readers nor my subject justice were I not to quote him and do it right here: