THE FARMER AND THE PARCEL POST 113 



One fact, however, must be kept in view. The trans- 

 mission of very small articles, even by parcel post, is 

 necessarily more expensive from the initial outlay than 

 the transmission of large quantities of food products 

 by freight trains. The initial charge of five cents per 

 pound for the first pound in the package will always 

 be a drawback to any complete system of economy 

 where only pound packages are required. In other 

 words I may express my view in this manner, namely, 

 that the sending of a single pound by parcel post is not 

 destined to be a commercial success. 



But the outlook is quite different where a minimum, 

 say, of five pounds is ordered by each consumer. The 

 initial pound pays five cents in the first and second 

 zones, and the subsequent pounds only a cent apiece. 

 A five-pound package may, therefore, come to the con- 

 sumer at a cost of transportation of nine cents, which 

 is less than two cents a pound. In addition to this 

 the package is delivered directly to the consumer, and 

 thus the charge which the local market man and the 

 local grocery man must always make for delivery is 

 avoided. When this is taken into consideration, I 

 think it may safely be said that the cost of delivery 

 by parcel post is not very much more than that of 

 the ordinary methods of commerce now in vogue, in the 

 purchase and delivery of small packages from local 

 stores. I am inclined to believe, therefore, that the 

 cost of transportation of food products by parcel post 

 is the least important factor of the problem. 



The real difficulty is in the proper selection and pack- 

 ing of food products by the farmer in a way to please 

 the consumer. It will, therefore, be necessary to have 

 a campaign of education started among the farmers, in 

 order to teach them these fundamental principles. 



