Postal Rates

Last spring (TIME, Mar. 9) Congressmen decided to increase the pay of postal employes an aggregate of $68,000,000 a year. Congress was then in a nice quandary. How could it increase revenues that amount without offending everyone concerned? It patched up some kind of law and passed it, promising that it was only tentative and would be revised at the next session.

Last week a special committee which is to draft the revised measure opened meetings in Washington. To see how the tentative increases in postal rates had worked out, it summoned Postmaster General New to testify.

He told them plainly that he did not know how the new rates would work out. They have not done well so far. He hopes they will do better. On the basis of recent figures, he guessed there would be a deficit of $40,000,000 in receipts (TIME, July 20, THE CABINET).

But he did give a few specific facts. In May, the receipts from second-class mail fell off 4.68% from May of the year previous. This class of mail (newspapers and periodicals) had been the largest burden (loss) to the Post Office. But publishers howled so bitterly in protest against a raise of rate, and the politicians were so afraid of them, that second-class rates, although juggled a bit, were not really increased --as the above result shows.

The rate on private post cards had been doubled (from Ic. to 2c.) with the result that many people used Government post cards or letters--and revenue from that source fell off 22.5%.

Money order fees increased under higher rates.

Higher rates on registry, insurance, special delivery, C. O. D. mail, etc., brought an increase of 14%.

Third class mail showed an increase. Fourth class mail showed a decrease. The result was a net monthly revenue only $4,131 better than a year earlier. Mr. New shrugged his shoulders. Meanwhile, the American Farm Bureau, smarting under the 2c service charge imposed on parcels post--which many farmers use--suggested solving the problem by applying "Coolidge economy" to the Post Office, specifically suggested charging other Government Departments with the $7,000,000 annual cost of Government mail sent out free under frank.