Note 176 — I THE RATE FOR LETTERS (continued 2)

"There is now, and has been for many years, an insistent demand for the reduction of letter postage. The advocates of that reduction argue that the volume of business naturally resulting therefrom would offset the temporary loss in revenue. They insist that the charge for first-class matter is out of all proportion to the cost of its handling and transportation."—Annual Report of the Postmaster-General, 1906, p. xlvi.