146 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



COULD POSTAGE STAMPS BE USED IN 

 TRANSPORTATION OP PERSONS? 



So many more letters are sent to places 

 near at hand than to the remoter parts of 

 the country that an average rate of post- 

 age very slightly in excess of the cost for 

 short distances pays for the deficit on the 

 longer routes. Now, the thought that I 

 would like to put into your minds is this : 

 Why could not the postage stamp princi- 

 ple be applied to the transportation of 

 persons and goods? Why should it not 

 be possible to charge an average rate for 

 transportation instead of a rate increas- 

 ing with the distance traveled? 



We have already begun to apply this 

 principle in municipalities. We no longer 

 charge by distance in our large cities, and 

 a five-cent fare will carry you anywhere 

 you want to go within the limits of the 

 municipality involved. As a consequence 

 we find in these cities the poorer people 

 abandoning tenement houses and going 

 out into the country to live, where their 

 children have room to grow. This relief 

 of congestion pervades all classes of the 

 community, and you see homes springing 

 up everywhere in the suburbs of our 

 great cities. 



The benefits resulting from a uniform 

 rate of transportation increase in geo- 

 metrical proportion to the distance trav- 

 eled, and the possible radius of travel 

 should therefore be extended to the great- 

 est practicable degree. 



It may well be doubted whether it will 

 ever be possible to buy a ticket for any- 

 where in the United States at an average 



rate ; but it might be practicable to apply 

 the principle to some at least of the 

 smaller States. A citizen of Rhode 

 Island, for example, might for a very 

 small amount be enabled to travel any- 

 where within the limits of that State. 



It would certainly be advisable to re- 

 duce our charges for transportation to 

 the minimum amount possible. This can 

 be done, first, by adopting the principle 

 of an average rate, and, secondly, by re- 

 ducing the actual cost of the transporta- 

 tion itself. 



WIEE AERIAL LOCOMOTION SOLVE THE 

 ROAD QUESTION ? 



Now, it is noteworthy that the main 

 element of cost resides not so much in 

 the vehicles and locomotives employed as 

 in the cost of the roads on which they 

 have to run ; it is this element that in- 

 creases with the distance. 



The railroads, for example, have to ex- 

 pend millions of dollars in the construc- 

 tion of railroad tracks ; and what would 

 the automobile be worth without a good 

 road on which to travel? Water trans- 

 portation is much cheaper than railroad 

 transportation, chiefly because we do not 

 have to build roads in the sea for our 

 ships. 



I will conclude with this thought : that 

 a possible solution of the problem over 

 land may lie in the development of aerial 

 locomotion. However much money we 

 may invest in the construction of huge 

 aerial machines carrying many passen- 

 gers, we don't have to build a road. 



