Beautiful “argument,” this prattle about deficits in the postal revenues, is it not?
Why, it is humorous enough to make empty headed fools laugh and sensible men use language which postal regulations bar from the mails.
Think of the tons upon tons of official reports, of the bound volumes of the Congressional Record, of copies of the Supreme Courts rulings and other printed books and pamphlets distributed by the Departments of War, Navy, Agriculture, Interior and others.
All these fall into the third-class, or 8-cent-a-pound rate.
Think of the tons upon tons of seeds--farm, garden and flower--sent by Congressmen to their constituents--to thousands of constituents who do not need the seeds, in fact, who can make no possible use of them; of the tons upon tons of clothing, suitings, household bric-a-brac, etc., franked by Senators and Congressmen to their homes, to their wives, children, sweethearts or friends.
Investigations in the past have shown that hundreds of typewriters, office desks, even articles of household furniture, were sent home under frank.
It was also shown in several instances, if I remember rightly, that some of the typewriters, etc., were never franked back to government possession. However that may be, all such mailings are of the fourth class and fall into the 16-cent a pound rate for carriage and handling.
Let us here foot up the amount of the raidings on the postal funds, so far as we have gone.
First,--There is the free-in-county second-class--$600,000 to $800,000.
Second,--There is the free second-class franked and penalty matter. Third Assistant Postmaster General Britt “estimates” it at $510,000, figured at the present one-cent rate. I have shown the weakness of Mr. Britt’s _basis_ of estimate. In my judgment the tonnage of franked and penalty second-class mail is nearer 75,000,000 pounds than his estimate of 51,000,000 pounds. But to take Mr. Britt’s figures, there is another raid of $510,000 on the service revenues of the Postoffice Department.
Next, we have the free _first_, _third_ and _fourth_ class matter which the postal service handles under franking or penalty regulations.
How much does this raid total? How much has and _does_ this raid contribute toward the creation of that “deficit” which has so long, so continuously and so _brazenly_ been used to bubble the people in politico-postal oratory and writing?