Postal Riders and Raiders

by W. H. Gantz

To a few of my readers the foregoing may appear to be a digression from my subject. It is not intended as such. It is intended to call the reader’s attention to some powers and authority Mr. Hitchcock seeks in his recommended legislation, legislation which should not be enacted. Let us look at a few of those recommendations. If space permitted, I would take pleasure in commenting on several more of them.

On page 10 of his report, Mr. Hitchcock repeats a recommendation of his 1909 report. He repeats it “earnestly.” He also expresses the opinion that “as soon as the postal savings system is thoroughly organized, the Postoffice Department should be prepared to establish throughout the country a general parcels post.” As a “preliminary step” to such establishment of a parcels post Mr. Hitchcock seeks authority from Congress to initiate a “limited parcels post service on rural routes.” On page 26 of his report, Mr. Hitchcock suggests the substantials of the legislation he believes necessary to enable him to establish his contemplated “limited parcels post service on rural routes,” as an experimental test.

As evidence that he wants the power and authority to make this “experiment” on his own lines and judgment and pursuant of his own purposes I shall here quote the form of his advised legislation. To anyone who has made study of parcels post service it is needless to say that among the civilized nations of the earth the United States is so far in arrears in such service as to be generally recognized as an international joke. It is quite needless to say to such that Mr. Hitchcock’s prattle of a “limited” parcels post and of trying it on certain selected rural routes (with no privileges of service beyond the geographical limits of such routes), as an “experiment,” is more than a mere joke.

Informed people know that any such restricted test of a parcels post service is no test at all. Informed men also know that our Federal Postoffice Department needs make no “experiments” on the parcels post service, “limited” or other. Every other civilized nation, and even provinces such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand and others, have made the “experiments,” likewise the successful demonstrations. The experiments of these other nations and provinces, as well as the results of them, are ours for the asking. Not alone that, but informed men know, and know positively, that our Federal Postoffice Department is in possession of—or was in possession of—all this information gathered from the experiences and trials and tests of a parcels post service in these other countries.

So, I repeat that Mr. Hitchcock’s talk about making an experimental test of the general value of a parcels post service by putting it in operation on a few selected rural routes is a joke, or else it is an evasion in order to delay the installation of a service which every citizen wants, save, of course, the few individuals who now own and control our railroads, which individuals also own, to a controlling extent at least, our express companies.

But I must quote Mr. Hitchcock’s advised legislation in order to show the reader that Mr. Hitchcock desires that the resulting powers and authority center in him, or in his successors:

In order that the recommendation on page 10 of this report for the introduction of a limited parcels post service on rural routes may be promptly carried into effect, it is suggested that legislation substantially as follows be enacted:

For one year, beginning April 1, 1911, the Postmaster General may, under such regulations as he shall prescribe, authorize postmasters and carriers on such rural routes as he shall select to accept for delivery by carrier on the route on which mailed or on any other route starting at the postoffice, branch postoffice or station which is the distributing point for that route, or for delivery through any postoffice, branch postoffice, or station on any of the said routes, at such rates of postage as he shall determine, packages not exceeding 11 pounds in weight containing no mail matter of the first class and no matter that is declared by law to be unmailable, and he shall report to Congress at its next session the results of this experiment (Page 26, 1910 Report.)

The italics are mine. They make all the comment that is necessary in proof of my charge that Mr. Hitchcock seeks powers and authority which should not be delegated to any bureau head.

As a companion piece to the foregoing Mr. Hitchcock asks the following legislation—legislation which, if granted or enacted, must look to any man who has given even a cursory study to the subject of parcels post service, as merely a “stall,” a bit of dilatory play to delay effective and efficient action to install a serviceable parcels post until the express company interests pull down two or three hundred millions more of unearned profits.