!4 
THE NATIONAL NUKSERYHAN 
]i(‘ll) tluMii k(H*]) this kind of stock off the tax dupli¬ 
cate. 
I am not denyiiii*’ that this may be of advantai>'e to 
all the nurserymen, nor that we all ought to help in 
this matter. Itnt I have always been a firm believer 
in reciprocity, and it does not look just light to mo 
for one branch of the trade to unite to obtain legisla¬ 
tion beneticial to themselves and detrimental to the 
vast majority of the nurserymen of the country, and 
then turn around and ask all to assist in a matter that 
is again of mneh greater benefit to them but whicdi 
may be of benetit to the entire trade. 
It seems to lie a noted butt that they did not ask 
tlie aid of the general nursery trade when they were 
tighting the pai'cels ])ost rate on nursery stock. 
lint this is not the ])roper view to take of the mat¬ 
ter, and it is not the view that I like to take of it. 
Instead, we ought all to be broad enough, all 
classes of the trade, to stand together and work for 
the interests of the greater nmnber, overlooking 
some ]) 0 ssil)le jiersonal matter, and to work for all 
measures beneticial, and for the defeat of all meas¬ 
ures detrimental to the nursery trade in general. 
lint to return to the subject once more, would the 
admission of nursery jirodncts to the iiarcels ])ost be 
beneficial to the majoilty of the imrserymen of the 
country? Personally I am fully convinced that it 
conld not but helj) be beneticial to the vast majority 
and I can hardly see why it is not bound to be bene¬ 
ficial to all, even to tliose wlio are op})osing it because 
they think it would not. 
And 1 find that that seems to be the oi)inion of ail 
nurserymen to whom I have talked on the subject. 
And I am even ho])eful, that with the changes that 
have taken place in the system during the i)ast year, 
which Ave must remember is the first year, that those 
Avho formerly o})posed the system are at least i)artial- 
1 a' coiiAmrted to our AvaA^ of thinking. 
^\nd as improAuunents are being made every Aveek 
in the system there is no (piestion but that it Avill ul¬ 
timately be of greater benefit than it is at the present 
time. 
Noav let us see Avhat the difference in rates is on 
nursery stock and other merchandise Avhen sent as 
l)a reels post. 
If you had a sack of sugar Aveighiug 20 ])ounds 
Avhich you wished to send to a country customer, ten 
miles out in the country on an R. E. 1). route you 
could send it for 15 cents. That is certainly i-easoir 
ahle. Von could not send it by ex])ress at any ])i-ice. 
Hut if it Avere 20 ])ounds of nursery stock it Avould 
cost you 1 cent for each 2 ounces or .j^l.OO to send it to 
the same man. And if you Avished you could send it 
clear to San Francisco and lun^e it deliAUu-ed on an R. 
F. 1). route there for the same ])rice. 
Or to draAv tin* distinction still finer if you Avished 
to send a sack of corn Aveighing 50 jumnds out to this 
man to be used as cbicken feed you could send it for 
2)0 cents. Hut if the coni Avere to be planted, it must 
be classed as seeds, and it Avould cost you $4. Would 
not that be a rank discrimination ? 
AVe find that up to the sixth zone that the parcels 
post rate on merchandise is loAver than the old flat 
rate on seials, etc. That, in the (ith zone it is prac¬ 
tically the same. And that the only places where the 
old flat rate is loAver are in the 7th and 8th zones. 
For this section of the country the first six zones 
include all the United States to the east, north and 
south and all the Avest except 7 states on the Pacific 
slojie. (To one located) in Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, 
etc., the first six zones Avould include jiractically the 
entire U. S. 
()f course to one situated iu the extreme east or 
Avest of the country, AAdiile the six zones Avould gWe 
him as many miles in all directions it Avould include 
a less ])ortion of the country, than to one more cen¬ 
trally located. 
The first five zones include all the country within a 
radius of 1000 miles. The 6th zone includes all with¬ 
in a radius of 1400 miles. 
IloAV much of the nursery business, AAdiich might 
otherAvise go by parcels post, if Ave had the rate, 
Avould go beyond the 1400 mile limit? I Amnture to 
say that oAun- 00 i)er cent, would be Avithin this limit, 
and conseciuently Avould go cheaper by parcels post 
than by the old fiat rate. And I Amnture to say that 
much more than one-half of the business would be 
Avithin the limits of the 2nd zone of 150 miles and 
Avithin Avhicli limits you can noAV send a parcel weigh¬ 
ing 50 pounds. 
Therefore it cannot now be claimed with reason, as 
it was at first, that the old fiat rate is lower in 
the aggregate than the parcels ])ost rate. The aggre 
gate for the Avhole country could not be lower and 
the aggregate for an indiAudual firm could not be 
lower ex('ei)t in the case of a firm tlie great bulk of 
Avhose Imsiuess Avas done beyond the limits of the 6th 
zone or at a distance greater than 1400 miles and if 
tliat firm Avere located anyAvhere near the Alissipiii 
Audley the 6th zone Avould include the entire United 
States or at least nearly all. 
Hut there are those who say, “ Yes, but the ex¬ 
press conpiauies gWe a lower rate sometimes.” That 
may be true and Avhere they do I say most heartily 
give them the business. If there is eA^er a case where 
an ex])ress com])auy Avill carry a parcel cheaper than 
anyone else it must be the result of some mistake and 
they deserve to liaA^e it. 
No one is conpielled to use the ])areels post against 
his will. 
Hut Ave lind uiioii investigation that Avithin the 
limits of the second zone or Avithin a radius of 150 
miles, that ou all small ])ackages uj) to 30 pounds 
that the ])arcels ])ost rate is lower than the express 
rate. xVnd that on parcels betAveen 30 and 50 pounds 
that the ex])ress rate is usually loAver. And that prob- 
