These vigorous and oft-repeated recommendations of successive Postmasters-General, though not resulting in legislation, at length achieved a result in the appointment in 1906 of a joint Commission of Congress on second-class mail matter. The Commission held meetings in New York, and took evidence from the Post Office department and from representatives of each national organization of publishers in the United States. Their report, presented in January 1907, was in no sense conclusive. Their chief difficulties had arisen from the impossibility of obtaining from the department any statistics as to the cost of mail matter class by class--a difficulty which is inherent in Post Offices conducted on the modern system of accounting for postage of all classes by postage labels of the same type, and handling all classes of matter promiscuously; and their chief recommendations were that the department should take fresh statistics with regard to all mail matter,[341] and make an analysis of operating expenses with a view to apportionment between the various classes of mail matter. The Commission was so dissatisfied with the department's position with regard to the ascertainment of a proper division of the total expenses, that they recommended the appointment of a further Commission to examine thoroughly "the whole business system" of the Post Office, and particularly to determine, if possible, firstly, the actual cost of all the postal services; secondly, the proper apportionment of that cost between the various classes of mail matter; and thirdly, what modifications of the system of bookkeeping and accounting were desirable.[342] By a statute of the 2nd March 1907, Congress authorized the appointment of a joint Commission "to make an investigation into the business system of the Post Office and postal service." The same gentlemen who had composed the Commission of 1906 were appointed to the new Commission, but its labours led to no practical result.