I. The present postal deficit would be increased rather than diminished. A. The cost of the increased service would not be covered by the increased traffic. 1. The government cannot compete successfully with the express companies. 2. There would be a continual demand for more and better equipment. 3. Government undertakings are always more costly than those under private management. B. The inconsistencies between our present foreign and domestic rates are not as great as has been claimed. II. The general public would not be benefitted by it. A. It would have little influence on express rates. B. It would increase the centralization of wealth, population, and manufactures. C. The demand for it has been artificially created. III. Rural communities would be injured by it. A. Retailers and local dealers would suffer. 1. Orders would be sent direct to manufacturing centers. 2. Mail-order houses would obtain most of the trade. B. Rural towns and villages would be injured. 1. Trade would be drawn to the larger cities and population would follow. C. The farmer would not be benefitted. 1. He would not use it nearly as much as has been claimed. 2. The market for his products would be largely destroyed by the removal of population to large cities. 3. The rural parcels post alone would be merely an entering wedge. IV. Legislation for a parcels post would be discriminating and unnecessary. A. Dealers, wholesalers and jobbers in heavy merchandise could not use it. B. Mail-order houses and department stores would benefit at the expense of the retailers and consumers. C. The Interstate Commerce Commission already has the power to correct excessive express rates. D. The rural post alone would increase the business of the express companies. V. That the parcels post is in operation in foreign countries at very low rates and high weight-limits is no argument for its extension in the United States. A. Conditions vary so widely. 1. Distances are greater in the United States. 2. The population is more scattered. 3. The railroads are privately owned, and the government must pay heavy rates for service. B. It is claimed that the system is run at a loss in England and Germany. BIBLIOGRAPHY An asterisk (*) preceding a reference indicates that the entire article or a part of it has been reprinted in this volume. BIBLIOGRAPHIES Kansas. State University. Extension Division. Bulletin. Vol. XI. No. 10. July, 1910. Kansas High School Debating League, Announcements, 1910-1911. pp. 26-8. United States. Library of Congress--Division of Bibliography. Select List of References on the Parcels Post. 5p. Typewritten. 15c. Supt. of Doc.