Show POSTAL SEME SHOWS A first time the in history according to report of cabinet officer RAISE IN RATES IS FAVORED president concur concurs in recommend tion of commission en cn second clau vasa mall mattor matter again sug bests adoption of parcel pot post system washington feb 22 for tile first time in the history of the poow service that depart department met bt 61 the government bowed showed a profit for the fiscal year ending june 30 1911 according to the annual report of postmaster general It transmitted to congress to day accompanying the document was the report of the commission on second class mall matter appointed by joint resolution of coc cor cress on march I 4 of last year and a brief message of the president in which be he called at to the principal features of the two reports would increase second class rates the report of the commis commission on second clase class mall matter mayes makes the following recommendations 1 the rate of 2 cents a pound on copies 1 ples mailed by publishers to subscriber subscribers bers to news agents and aa as sarn pie copies and by news agents to their subscribe subscribes s or to other news agents 2 the rate of 1 cent for tor each 4 ounces for copies mailed by other than publishers and news agents that Is the present transient rate 3 the present free in county privilege retained but not extended the commission also recommended that the centa cent copy a rate for pers other than weeklies and for pe not exceeding 3 2 ounces in weight and the cent 2 copy a rate for periodicals exco exceeding eding 2 ounces in weight when mailed at a city letter carrier domce for local delivery be abolished As an to the effect and adequacy of the proposed increase of I 1 cent a pound in postage the commission says such an increase will not in tho opinion of tho the commission bring dis tress upon the publishers of pers and periodicals or seriously interfere with the dissemination of useful news or information A reasonable timo should be allowed after the rate Is to fixed bufore before it Is put into effect while the new now rate will be very tar far from compensating the government for the carriage and bat handling tilling of sec see ond class mattar it will to some ex tent relieve the existing burden and result in a more adjustment of rates doth both the president and the ter general concur in the recommends recommend a eions and regarding the proposed increase in newspaper postage the preat dent says the proposed increase of I 1 cent a pound in the second class postage rate I 1 believe to be most reasonable and it sufficient time Is in al owed lowed before the change goes into ef feet it should work little serious in jury to the business of the periodical publish publishers eis while equalizing at least in a measure the burdens of postal taxation rates should be more equal commenting further on the proposed increase the president says saya the postal service Is now for the first time in years operated upon a belf elf sustaining basis and in my judg meat ment this la in a wise policy but it should not be carried out at the ex at pense of certain classes of mall mat ter that pay revenue largely in ex cess case of their cost it Is not just that some classes of mall should be ex orbit antly taxed to meet a deficiency caused by other classes the revenue from which Is rauch touch below their cost cf of handling and carriage where such inequalities colit they should be removed as earl earli as practicable the business buil nesa of the publishers of periodicals period icIs ils however have been bull up ur oa j the basis of the present second isaie r as rate and therefore it would be manifestly unfair to put into luto immediate effect a large increase in pa postage stage that newspapers and maga sines tines have ben been potent agencies tor for the dissemination of public intelligence and have consequently borne barns a worthy part in the development of the country all must admit but it Is to like i wise true that the original purpose of congress in providing for them a subvention by way of noi nominal ninal postal chaegas in consideration ot of their value as mediums ot of public information ought not to prevent an increase because they are now not only duca lional but highly profitable there Is no warrant tor for the great disparity between existing postage rates on periodicals and the cost of the service the government performs for them the aggregate postal revenues for the fiscal year 1911 were 79 CO go derived mainly from the postage col cot looted on tho the four classes of mall matter it Is carefully estimated by the post postoffice office department that the revenue derived from mall matter of the first class Is IN approximately one on and one half times the cost of handling and carriage that the returns from third and fourth class matter are slightly in excess of their coel cost of handling aud and carriage and that atile second class mauer matter embrace embraces over 66 65 per cent of the entire weight of all the th mall carried carriedo it yields little more than 6 per cent cont of the postal revenue reve the tb commission 00 second i f A aa mall consisted of lion ilon charlei charles a Il associate justice of the supreme court of the united sta t en president Preil dent A lawrence lowell of liar ilar vard rard university and mr nir harry A NN b heeler am bier president ot of the association of commerce erce of the tb city of chicago in commenting on their findings the president says a the report discloses a moat most ex haust lve ard critical inquiry into the subject of second class mall matter after adequate notice to all ail the parties in interest extensive bearing hearings were are held by the commission at nt which the postmaster general and the second and third assistant postmasters general appeared and submitted for mat statements presenting the various contentions of the poet post office depart a ment together with nil all the relevant official data and evidence relating to the post cost of handling and transporting second class mall matter certain of the leading magazines were mr resent ed by counsel while various other publications b licati ons appeared by representative represent atiT the findings of the commission confirm the view that the coet cost of handling and transporting trane porting second class mall matter Is greatly in excess of the postage paid and that an in crease in the rate Is to not t ily justified justl fled by the fact facts but Is desirable cost inquired into the commission report reports that the evidence submitted for its cons con eldera tion ID 18 sufficient to warrant a finding of the approximate cost of handling and tran transporting transport inc the several classes of second class mall known aa as paid at the pound rate free breein in county and transient mutter matter in so far as a relates to ott tl v services of transportation post office omee cars railway distribution rural delivery and certain other item items of cost but that it Is to without adequate data to determine the cost of the general post om o service and also what portion of the cost of 0 certain other aggregate sen ice ces Is I 1 properly property assignable to second class malt mall matter it finds hat that in the fiscal year 1908 the pe lod for which the statistics for the post office Rep artmont were compiled the cost of handling and transporting second class mail in the items alten of transportation postoffice poet post office car cars rail way distribution erdl delivery and certain miscellaneous charge charges was at approximately 6 cents a pound for paid at the matter and for tree free in county and transient matter each approximately 5 cent a it pound and that upon this bast basis as modified by br subsequent reduction reductions in the cost of railroad transportation the cost of paid attebe at the pound rate matter for the services 1 mentioned ned Is now approximately 5 cenac a pound while the cost of free ln in county and transient matter remains as formerly famoly nai nol each at approximately 5 cente cents a pound the commission suggests that the department maintain an adequate cost system so that the effect of the new rates may be closely and a proper basis may be secured for the consideration of any future proposals president taft again concur concurs in the recommendation of the postmaster general for the adoption of a parcel post system sug suggesting geetIng the In inauguration augurs of such a service on rural routes and I 1 in n the city delivery service first ownership of telegraph opposed recommendation for government onera ownership bip of the jet telegraph a lines under the supervision of the postal service is to not approved of 0 by br the president Re regarding garling this be he say says there Is only one recommendation in which I 1 can not agree that Is to one which recommends that the telex telegraph raph lines in the united states should be made a part of the postal system and operated in conjunction with the mall system this presents a question of government ovner ownership ship of nt public cutill ties which are now beng being conducted b by 7 private enterprise under franchises es from the government I 1 believe that the true principle Is that private en an temprice ter price prime should be permitted ted to carry on such public uti lillee lides under adte regulation as to rates by proper authority rather than that the gov emment should itself conduct them this principle I 1 favor because I 1 do not think it in accordance with the best public pol icy thus greatly to increase the body of public servants of course if it it could be shown that tole telegraph graph service could be furnished to the th public at a less price than it Is now furril furnished shed to 1 the public by telegraph companies and with equal efficiency the argument might be a strong one in favor of the adoption of the proposition hut but t am not satisfied from any evidence int it these properties were alien taken over by br the government they could be managed any more or any amy inore mote efficiently or that this would enable the governments govern mento furnish ice fee at any smaller rate than the pub lie lic are now required to pay by private compan companies fee the report of the postmaster gen erl eral la in full of statements of changes in the organization and methods of the postal service made since the I 1 last as t an null report and of tentative drafts of legislation embodying certain becom mend atlon of the department need legislation to carry them out it also calls attention to the fact that the revenues revens for the foscal year ended jooe june SO 20 1911 amounted to 0 and that the expenditures amounted to 48 making a surplus of 12 the report shows that abo tb postal savings system was begun tally in january lilt 1911 and that it has ha ow been extended so as to include 1600 presidential post offices which includes practically all of the post office offices of that class are also being made to establish tha tb sya vs lei tor at abolt 40 fourth class offices the tb deposits in it 11 month here reached a total low of niO distri buttil among 2 national and ad tate bank |