12/31/2011:
The cost of mailing a letter rose from ten to thirteen cents on this date in 1975. The three-cent increase came after the Postal Service reported losing 225 million dollars a month in 1975. Former Postmaster General J. Edward Day attempted to block the increase on behalf of bulk mail customers, but with less than six hours to go before the deadline, Chief Justice Warren Burger refused to block the hike, and the new rates went into effect at 12:01 a.m. on the 31st. Lloyd Omdahl, director of the North Dakota Department of Accounts and Purchases, reported that the increase would cost the state about $200,000 annually and that “a lot of departments [would] have to squeeze a lot more.” Today, the rate is set to rise one cent on January 22nd … imagine the fuss a three-cent increase would cause.
Dakota Datebook written by Jayme L. Job
Sources:
The Forum. Wednesday, December 31, 1975: p. 1.
http://www.pantagraph.com/business/article_2b064916-f9bb-11e0-98e2-001cc4c03286.html