University Daily Kansan
Wednesday, October 1, 1875
9
Dole bill limits mail rise
By THERESE MENDENHALL
Since the U.S. Postal Service announced in early September a rise in postage rates, opposition to the increase has been brewing. The Senate Senate Monday voices that opposition.
The bill, called the Aunt Mintie Act by its writer, Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kan., would hold rates at 10 cents a letter for every private secretary, and rates for service says, for "everyone's Aunt Mintie."
BOB DOWNEN, a legislative assistant for Dole, said yesterday Dole had received mail from people who were displeased with the postal service.
"We have just been inundated for months with letters about the quality of mail service."
He said the volume of Dole's mall was typical of that received by other members
"Congress in general is receiving a lot of mail from people throughout the country who feel the postal service is not operating as efficiently as it should," Dowden said. "I feel that Congress is going to enact some form of postal reform in this session."
THE POSTAL SERVICE announced in September that after Christmas rates for first-class mail mould increased from 16 cents to 25 cents. The postal air mail rate would be eliminated. Congressmen have been debating the question of how to finance the postal service's deficit since the passage of the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970, Downen said. He said the current deficit was $2 billion and the budget needed to cover years have caused the postal service to lose
The postal rate increases of the last five years have caused the postal service to lose ground.
"Every time the postal rates go up, the volume of mail goes down," he said. "What's happening, instead of the situation getting better, is that they're losing money."
"They have a dilemma and Sen. Dole feels that Congress and the postal service have to get together to solve it. But the solution is not to raise the rates."
ED EIFFEER, customer service representative of the Lawrence postal service, said the national postal service's first time in the postal service's history.
He said fourth-class mail had decreased nationwide because of private delivery companies. The decline in volume of fourth-class mail might be a result of the
depressed economy as well as to the increased in postal rates, he said.
Don Wetzel, assistant postmaster for Lawrence, said local mail volumes hadn't decreased because Lawrence was a rapidly growing community.
DOLE'S BILL, officially called the private Individual Postal Relief Act of 1975, or S-242, is cosponsored by Sen. Abraham Ribicoff, D-Donn., and Sen. Robert Stafford, R-Vt. would free current first-class rates for private in-
Downey said the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970 provided government subsidies for second, third, and fourth-class mail. It is often used these classes for bulk mailing.
"THE BUSINESS mail is more important to the postal service because there is more of it." Downwon said. "The postal service has never been as successful, in type of package and they don't want to lose it."
Wetzel said a letter that cost 10 cents to mail first class could be mailed for four cents at the second-class rate or 1.8 cents at the third-class rate.
He said transportation costs were different for the different classes of mail, but delivery costs were the same. The transport cost is a minor part of the total cost.
"It costs us about the same amount to deliver any品 of mail," he said.
Downen said rates for the lower classes of mail had been kept low at the expense of users of the first class rate. He said the Aunt Minie Act would shift the burden away from private individuals who use first class mail.
DOWNEEN SAID a reason for recent increases in postage rates was salary raises for postal workers. He said a contract had allowed the postmaster management and unions. The contract, Downeen said, guarantees every postal worker a set raise and six cost of living increases.
Labor costs are 85 per cent of the total postal service budget, Downen said. Wetzel said that salaries of postal employees had risen faster than salaries in
private industry but that they had started lower than salaries there.
He said postal salaries were reaching a level comparable to salary levels in industry.
Happiness is... A TRIP TO Peter Pan October 1st thru October 4th
"It (a postal job) is considered a good job now, but it hasn't always been that way," he sai1. "It used to be a substantial job with a lot of security but not well paid."
REGULAR FLAVORS
• VANILLA • PEPPERMINT
• CHOCOLATE • FUDGE RIPPLE
PREMIUM FLAVORS
• NEAPOLITAN • BUTTER BRICKLE • BLACK WALNUT
• STRAWBERRY • CHOCOLATE ALMOND • TEXAS PECAN
• CHOCOLATE CHIP • CHERRY NUT • CHOCOLATE MARSHALLOW
• BUTTER PECAN • BLACK CHERRY MOST OF OUR STORES FEATURE THESE FLAVORS
• FRENCH VANILLA • COFFEE BRICKLE
emergency, Collinson said, just to get the number.
"If they convince us that it is a real emergency, we'll take their name and phone number and contact the party with them," Collins said. "We've given them the information." Collins said.
"One of the objects of the Postal Service Act was that postal workers would have access to all mail."
1015 W. 6th-521 W. 23rd
Downen said Dole thought the rate increase was unreasonable.
"We consider that (the 13-cent rate) $\otimes$ be exorbitant when you consider that five years ago we were paying six cents," he said.
Downed said the Aunt Minnie Act, which is among the first acts on postal rates in Maine, passed a bill given to the Post Office and Civil Service Committee. He said Gale McGee, D-Wyo., chairman of the committee, hadn't announced the bill would be reported to the full Senate.
Few Lawrence phones unlisted
EIFFERT SAID postage rates in Germany and England were nearly twice the
Southwestern Bell began charging for nonpublic service in Kansas in 1971, he said. At that time, there was a 50 per cent drop in the number of unlisted numbers.
"The U.S. has the best bargain in the world for postal rates," he said.
Selling something? Call us.
Finally, he said, some customers just want to remain anonymous and not be bothered by wrong numbers or telephone soliciting.
"big shots have unlisted number," he said, and it makes some people feel big if they don't.
"Of course," he said, "women are the main victims of the harassing call."
Divorced people often have unlisted phone numbers, he said, so their former spouses can't reach them by phone. For some, it is a犏, Collinson said.
"People in Lawrence just don't have as many problems with harassing calls as people do in larger cities," according to Bill Ferguson. "They're not as hard to find in Lawrence Southwestern Railroad Co."
In Lawrence, 5 per cent of the phone numbers are unlisted or not published, although unlisted phone numbers make up about half of the numbers in Chicago and New York.
He said that the extra charge for an unlisted phone number was for the additional operator service. When someone can't find another person's phone number in the telephone directory, he said, they always call directory assistance for the number.
Collinson said Monday that there were several reasons why customers were willing to pay the additional one-dollar charge to have an unlisted number.
One obvious reason, he said, was that many customers were bothered by mallace and other problems.
"They've been climbing at the rate of about 2 per cent a year," he said.
Oftentimes the caller will say it is an
When someone requests an unlabeled phone number for this reason, Collison said, "Most customers go back to a published website because it is more convenient for them," he said.
Collinson said he didn't have any exact figures but he thought only a small percentage of students had unlisted numbers. As of January 1, 1975, there were 98 university students in Lawrence and the surrounding rural areas out of 19,943 customers. Collinson said.
ELECTRONICS
REMODELING SALE
STARTS: THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2, AT 7:30 P.M.
We're Finished With Our Remodeling and Instead of Moving This Equipment to Our New Display Facilities, You Can Pick It Up at BIG Savings . . .
Most Units Are Floor Demos with Full Factory Warranty . . .
RMS Full Service Policy of 1-Day Service and Extended Warranty Does Not Apply to Equipment in This Sale.
Trade-In & Used Equipment with 90-Day RMS Warranty . . .
• SPEAKERS • TURNTABLES • RECEIVERS • AMPLIFIERS
• HEADPHONES • AUTO STEREO • TAPE
List: $227.00...160
(2) AR 3a 3-Way 12" Speaker System
List: $295.00 each...Each $160^{00}
(2) AR XA-91 Turntable with Shure Cartridge
List: $183.95...Each $85^{00}
(1) BSR 2310X Turntable with BS., DC, Cartridge
List: $105.00...Each $48^{00}
(4) Cerwin-Vega 24 2-Way 12" Speaker System
List: $129.50 each...Each $95^{00}
(2) Cerwin-Vega 24 2-Way 12" Speaker System
List: $289.50 each...Each $219^{00}
(2) Cerwin-Vega V-8 2-Way 8" Speaker System
List: $79.00 each...Each $50^{00}
(1) Craig 3519 Powerplay Car Cassette
List: $120.00...$90^{00}
(1) Pr.) Electrovoice Interface A Speaker System
List: $400.00...$300^{00}
(1) ESS Satellite 4 Speaker System
List: $580.00...$380^{00}
(2) JVC 4VR 5444 4-Ch. Receiver
List: $679.95...$408^{00}
(2) JVC 4VR 5434 4-Ch. Receiver
List: $669.95...$342^{00}
(1) JVC 4VN 770 4-Ch. Integrated Amp
List: $279.95...$196^{00}
(1) JVC 1668 Cassette
List: $329.95...$231^{00}
(1) JVC 5535 Stereo Receiver
List: $429.95...$279^{50}
(1) Kenwood KR 6340 4-Ch. Receiver
List: $389.95...$195^{00}
(1) Koss K6 Stereo Headphone
List: $22.50...$1/
(1) Koss KRD-711 Stereo Headphone
List: $25.00...$'
(1) Koss K 727-B Stereo Headphone
List: $34.95...$'
(1) Kramer 4070 4-Ch. Integrated Amp
List: $49.95              $31⁵¹
(1) Manatz 4070 4-Ch. Integrated Amp
List: $299.95              $215⁰⁰
(1) Manatz 4400 4-Ch. Receiver
List: $1250.00              $850⁰⁰
(1) Manatz 2235 Stereo Receiver
List: $399.95              $319⁰⁰
(2) Manatz Imp. 7 3-Way 12" Speaker System
List: $199.95 each Each $125⁰⁰
(3) Manatz 1030 Stereo Integrated Amp
List: $179.95              $129⁰⁰
(3) Manatz 1060 Stereo Integrated Amp
List: $239.95              $175⁰⁰
(3) Manatz 240 Power Amp 125-Ch.
List: $349.95              $249⁰⁰
(3) Manatz 500 Power Amp 250-Ch.
List: $1200.00              $1000⁰⁰
(1) Phillips Ga-427 Turntable w-o Cartridge
List: $99.00              $75⁰⁰
(1) SAE MK X 1 Pre-Amp with Equalizer
List: $500.00 Each $320⁰⁰
(2) SAE MK X 3-Way 12" Speaker System
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(1) Sherwood 7110 Stereo Receiver
List: $229.95              $170⁰⁰
(1) Superscope R340 Stereo Receiver
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(1) Superscope R350 Stereo Receiver
List: $299.95              $175⁰⁰
(1) Sony TC 377 2-Ch., 4-Trk., R-R Tape
List: $399.00              $199⁰⁰
(1) Sony TC 645 2-Ch., 4-Trk., R-R Tape
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(1) Sony TC 25F Car FM-Cassette
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(2) Trend I 2-Way Speaker System
List: $400.00              $25⁰⁰
In-Store Sale Items Not Listed in This Ad . . . Come In and See . . . You'll Be Pleasantly Surprised.