THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 14, 1996 TAG: 9608140010
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: 24 lines
Several recent letters extol the virtues of the U.S. Postal Service - dedication, service and economical cost.
The economical-cost aspect raises a big question. This enterprise operates under what amounts to a federally granted monopoly for the handling of most, if not all, routine first-class mail. The large profit from the first-class mail then subsidizes most other classes - newsprint, junk mail, mail for nonprofit groups and probably even Express Mail.
A couple of months ago, television carried a notice of the U.S. Postal Service being a sponsor for this year's Olympics. Recently I watched the Tour de France bicycle race brought to us by the U.S Postal System. Your newspaper reported that the U.S. Postal Service is about to announce a $1 billion profit for the current year.
How nice it must be to operate under such protection.
WILLIAM A. WHITEHURST
Virginia Beach, Aug. 7, 1996 by CNB