On January 1, 1913, the US Post Office Department initiated its Parcel Post Service for fourth-class mail. Before 1912, private companies controlled package deliveries throughout the United States. Because delivering packages in larger cities could make more money, these companies often overlooked small towns. That changed when Congress passed a law on August 24, 1912 creating a parcel post service for fourth-class mail. Instead of private companies, the Postal Department would now deliver packages to all parts of the country. Rural Americans would now have access to goods and merchandise they could not have gotten before. This gave rise to mail order giants like Sears, Roebuck and Co., and Montgomery Ward and Co.