Still, we must not be over-confident about what Mr. Hitchcock may or may not do. Regardless of what he said or may have said before the Hughes Commission at its recent session, it would appear that he is still gunning for those independent magazines which have been guilty of _telling the truth_ about both official and private corruptionists and corruption and also guilty of turning the sandblast of publicity on the veneer and varnish under which has been hiding much nastiness--political, financial and other--in this country. I say it appears that Mr. Hitchcock is still after those magazines. If such is not the fact, then why does he and the orators and exhorters of his department go junketing about the country lecturing and hectoring postmasters, instead of staying at home and attending to department affairs? If he is not on the same trail he “caught up” last March, why are he and his assistants trying so hard to work up sentiment favorable to an increase in second-class mail rates and a decrease of fifty per cent in first-class rates? Has any considerable number of our people been complaining about the first-class or letter postage rate? If there has been such complaints The Man on the Ladder has not heard of them. On the other hand, it is a known fact that _millions_ of our people have protested and are still protesting against any raise in the second-class mail rate. Why, then, in face of these facts, is Mr. Hitchcock working so hard, so industriously and so adroitly, if not, indeed, _craftily_, to get the vast personnel of his department,--carriers, rural routers, star routers, railway mail clerks and postmasters--postmasters, from Hiram Hairpin at Crackerville, Ga., all the way up--fourth, third, second class postmasters to the first-class postmasters in our larger cities--why, I ask, is Mr. Hitchcock working so strenuously to get the vast _political machine_ of his department lined up against the protest of millions of our people, unless he is still after those pestiferous, independent magazines? Why, again, it may be asked, are he and his assistants coaching the 220,000 clerks of his department and the 60,000 postmasters, assistant postmasters, etc., on his “staff” to put up a _promotion_ talk for a one-cent rate on first-class (letter or sealed) matter? It _should be_ a one-cent rate. Nobody at all informed as to mail service rates and revenues will question that. But it is equally true that, up to a recent date, there have been, comparatively speaking (the comparison being with the millions protesting against an increase in the second-class rate) but few complaints and complainants against the present rate of two cents for carrying and handling a letter. Why, then, I ask, is Mr. Hitchcock so actively cranking up his departmental political machine to make neighborhood runs and do some hill climbing in advocacy of that one-cent rate for first-class matter? Yes, why?