To Mr. Walker’s question, Mr. Wanamaker made this reply:
“It is true that parcels could be carried at about one-twelfth their present cost by the Postoffice Department, but you do not seem to be aware that there are four insuperable obstacles to carrying parcels by the United States Postoffice Department. The first of these is the Adams Express Company; the second is the American Express Company; the third is the Wells-Fargo Express Company; and the fourth, the Southern Express Company.”
Of course there are several more “insuperable obstacles” to an improvement in our parcels post service. There is the previously mentioned “big six” obstacles with the railroads, now as when Mr. Wanamaker spoke, owning or controlling them all.
The reader may know—no need of guessing—that those insuperable obstacles are stoking the engines which are “yarding” public opinion—and much honest, but superficial or careless, private opinion—where it will yield unearned revenues to the stokers. Any man who argues against cheapening our parcels post rates is merely a hired angler for suckers or a sharer in the spoils which railroad and express raiders are looting from the people.
I recently heard one of those patriotic hired “cappers” talk to his job. Among his forceful points were the following:
“The big express companies employ nearly 100,000 men.
“Their payroll (officials included), is nearly $50,000,000 a year.
“Roosevelt added 99,000 names to the federal pay roll during his seven years in office.
“There are about 70,000 postoffices in the United States and an improved parcels post service would require an additional clerk in each. Therefore 70,000 more tax-eaters would be added to the federal payrolls.
“There was a deficit of $6,000,000 piled up in the Postoffice Department last year. To what appalling figures would that deficit mount if a parcels post were established?”