Postal service -- United States -- Second-class matter
It cost the government 18 cents, according to Mr. Hitchcock’s method of
hurdle estimating, to deliver those two magazines to Thomas’ mother.
Well, let it go at that. The government is out, then, 16 cents, the
publisher having paid in 2 cents at the present pound rate for mail
carriage and delivery.
On the other hand, those two magazines each carried four pages of school
“ads.” Those “ads” start Thomas’ mother into a canvass of the schools by
correspondence. The result of that canvass, as previously shown, turned
into the government’s treasury _a gross revenue of_ $5.21 for postage
stamps to cover the first and third-class business resulting.
The government, then, is $5.05 ahead so far as _gross_ receipts and
_gross_ revenues are concerned, and it is ahead that sum, in the specific
transaction under consideration, _solely and only because of those eight
pages of school advertisements printed in the two magazines_.
Is that not a fair--a just--statement?
As Mr. Hitchcock states that there is a large profit to the government
for the stamps sold and as that $5.21 was _all for stamps_, then those
eight pages of advertisements and Thomas’ mother must have turned into
the postal fund a handsome _net_ profit on the service rendered by the
Postoffice Department.
Now, I desire to return to our “tea.” Two other “business” actions
developed which serve to prove the statement made on a previous page,
namely: _It is the advertising pages of our periodicals which yield the
largest revenue to the government for the postal service it renders._
The first of the two postal revenue-producers came up as we sat at
luncheon. Each of the ladies had a magazine or weekly in hand. There was
as much talking as eating in progress, or more. I presume that is the
proper procedure or practice at “tea” luncheons. I am not a competent
authority on “tea” proprieties.
One of the ladies “had the floor,” so to speak, and expatiated eloquently
and at length on the merits of an electrically heated flat-iron or
sad-iron, an advertisement of which she had found in the magazine
she was scanning--a cloth smoother she had had in use for some three
months. Three of the other matrons were wired--that is, their homes
were electrically lighted. The others were getting their domiciliary
illumination from what is vulgarly designated as the “Chicago Gas Trust,”
at 85 cents per.
“Results?” Three of the assembled party desired to write for “full
particulars” about that flat-iron at once.
My boss furnished paper, envelopes, pens and ink. My assigned duty
in this business transaction was both simple and secondary. The boss
_ordered_ me to go over to the drug store, buy the stamps and mail those
three letters.
I did so.
The government got six cents postal revenue from _me_ on that sad-iron
“ad.” What further revenue was gleaned from the correspondence between
the three ladies and the flat-iron manufacturer I know not.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account