The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1872-02-07
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THE PR ES1S.,
WEDNESDAY MORNING. FEB. 7.1s7s. s,7s
Postal Cards i'm Canada.
tCor. N. Y. Eve. Post.l

When, few weeks ago, the telegraph fash
ed the news to this province that the Hon.
John Hill, member of Congress of the United
States, had introduced a bill authorizing the
issue of cheap postal or correspondence cards,
it would surely have puzzled the general read
er to know how or in what manner such
seemingly unimportant information could in
any way interest or affect the Canadians r
Yet the news was electrical, and put life
into the veins of these thoroughly phlagmatic,
partly British and altogether blue-nosed Ca
nadians, which was wonderful. Friend met
friend on the street and congratulations were
passed. II always told you," said Jones to
Brown, that those Yankees were not as
'cute as represented" "Ahp' said Brown
''we'n teach them, my boy; wen show them
how to advance with the age" All this, no
doubt, will puzzle yeur readers as much as
the actions and words themselves puzzled
your correspondent; but when explain that
postal cards have now been in use in these
provinces for many months, and that it is the
opinion of the Canadians that the Hon. John
Hill borrowed his idea from them, cleaning
may be had of the reason for the congratula-
tions.
As a matter of present interest to the Unit
ed States, propose to give few particulars
as to the working of the system here.
The card issued by the Canadian govern
ment is four and half inches long by three
inches wide, and in thickness is but little
more substantial than heavy paper On its
face are the words, Canada Post Card;'
fac simile OF a one cent stamp, and, ''The ad-
dress only to be written on this side" Be-
low are three lines upon which to write the
direction, and that is all. The reverse of the
card is perfectly blank, and upon this may
cassidy be written legibly from twelve to eigh-
teen lines of correspondence. The card in
deed is an exact copy of those issued by the
English government, and now so extensively
in use in Great Britain, and, therefore, if the
praise for originating is to be rendered to any
country, it is farther off than Canada to where
the United States must remit it.
Although not many months in operation
the cards are general favorites here. Mer-
chants buy them by the thousands, and hav-
ing had their cards, circulars and prospectus
es printed on the back, scatter them broad
cast. Hitherto they had to buy envelopes,
stamps and paper and pay besides for folding
the circular and placing the stamps on the
envelopes, at total cost per circular of fully
three cents. Now it is but one cent. As
consequence it is safe to estimate that the
transmission Of circulars by the mails has in
creased over five hundred per cent. such, at
least, is the estimate of the post Office de
partment, and believe these figures to be
below the mark. Besides merchants, every
conceivable sort of business is benefited by
these cards. Schools send out their circulars
thereon, newspapers their prospectuses for
coming volumes book publishers also do the
same; railroad companies send their time ta-
bles; and in almost innumerable numbers is
the printed circular on the postal card sent
forth by business firms. As such there can
be ne manner of doubt of their being an i'm
menSe success. ala lf
In the the ordinary run of correspondence
only about one letter in ten is necessarily pri-
vate, or such that it may not be seen by
strangers, and perhaps in ninety-nine times
out of hundred even that letter may be so
worded as to cause it to be ambiguous to all
save the sender and receiver. speak of Or
dinary correspondence and not such secret af-
fairs as love-letters, tradesmen's bills, refus-
ais of discounts from banks, and Others of
that sort. For such, even with the advent of
open letters, will yet remain the old three
cent private and closed envelopes. The op-
position generally made to the cards on thei'
grounds that tradesmen will send dunning
demands thereon, banks will make known
your lack of credit, and that threats will be
forwarded couched in language particularly
intended SO that your servants, or others
through whom the cards may pass, may be
informed of certain Of your actions, or possi-
bly, be informed of what you never did or
said, is not verified by the working of the
system here. Tradesmen never send such
notices unless their customer refuses TO treat
with them in any reputable way; banks, for
their own sakes, are civil to the extent of
three cents to every one, as habit of sending
open letters would injure their business and
to the blaekguard and blackmailer the card
offers no better facilities for his insults than
did an open letter before, or the exposed back
of an envelope. nd
These oppositions overruled, the card proves
itself an invaluable aid to correspondence
Apencil has been introduced, the writing Of
which is almost indelble. With dozen cards
equal to two letters, the traveller by rail is
able to report his doings as he goes along,
and at each station post Office box awaits
his missive, besides the mail messengers on
many of the trains. With these conveniences
of correspondence the mail matter OF the
Canadas has increased nearly five hundred
fold. A little village post-office lately visit
ed received before the time of postcards,
some thirty letters day; now it averages
nearly one hundred and fifty cards. As re-
CARDS secresy in large cities, the reading of
the postal cards by the post-ofice clerks is an
impossibility,' and even in the smaller offices
the postmaster is not willing to wade through
fifty or sixty documents, all of them ambigu-
ously couched, to CLEAN literally nsthing.
Punch takes off the cards by making post
mistress answer an inquirer who wanted to
know ''why the mail was delayed SO much of
late," ''Indeed, mann, there's so many of
these postcards now for me to read off that it
takes my whole time, so that can't attend
to the office" But Punch treats, generally,
the utmost extreme.