, 1881-11-17

lsEAnEns of 'IME TRIBUNE will have no.
ttccd ttar VIC nro cMrctul ench day, nt tho hend
Of tho etlltorinl lN,Ee, to publish tho rates of
roAtaKe OH thLs l'uper. both domestic and for
cIgn. Wn Ip this first, for thu convenience Of
such OF otr subscribers us desire 10 mako known
ubronI how HreAt city IL Chicago. md alsp bo-
cauao Tor Many months tic Post -Ulllco author
tiles 80 mlstntcrproted tho provisions Ut tic
Uci,cyA convention ns to make peopiu pAy two
cents iur avery ounce OF newspaper nAtter sent
to foreign countries. Attention having bcon
drawn to tho matter, tho nostAl authorities dis
covered that tho International convention called
for 4 rntp of nus cont for every ounce Of
newspaper ,nnil.tnntter. hicanwhlo tho ptb-
lie has been pl11ndcrcu out OF n sum
considerable In the aggregate, bocAiisu
tho postal authorities hna bllintlerou
In Interpreting the decision OF n convention In
wltch t1loy themselves took part. Thg mistake
US regards newspnpura has been ructttc,l. In
rcKRrd, however, to lotters, our exporters
battks aud ait others haytng correspondents In
Europe continue to be tho victims OF official old
foRyis1n at Washington. The uonoyn conyon-
tton stlpuatcs tl'at tho International basis Of
postaK0 shall bo ~ contimrs, Or Two conts, for
every llftcen gratns. Nov, while tho WusIitug
ton authorities acknowledge this and print tho
fact In tholr postal gti'lc, yet 50 appalling ia to
their tn1rlls tho danger that might result from
tho Introduction Of tito decimal Rystam In this
country TINT thoy hnva t1ltherto fnttal 10 supply
tho pogt-o!t1ces OF tho country With any scales
whereby l!ftaen-Eram letter can 10 weighed.
THUR failure to DO thls Is IN tllre1t cuntrayon.
ton Ut Sec. $3.50 oil the Revlsed Statutcs which
specifically statos that The postslnster- e1,-
cral shall furnish to tho post. Offices exchanging
mails with foreign countries, and to such otaor
utllccs AY he may deem oxpcdlcHt, postal bnl-
nnces denoMinatcd III Xrnsns ot tho metric sys-
tGm." Notwithstanding the fact That this section
Is quoted ou pago zta Ut tho Poatai Guide, tho
pustat authorities simply furnish tho old scA!cs,
mud arbitrarily decide that hnf IN ounce slnIl
be considered tho equivalent OF iiftoen grams.
Now. half mn ounce falls nuarly 0 por cent short
pr ilft8pn grAuR-tu l,o exact, II la Just
li.iU RFams. The result Ia that letter
Weighing even Il hairs breadth nyer hulr
slt ounce 1irGctoh to q foreign country Ia reuk-
uncd as ha|fuK to pay donblo posta9o, even
though TINT letter may weigh FULLY half gram
less than tho loyal ami recognized single rate.
As tho foreign .naia leave four Times week.
md as not a few OF our export houses dispntoh
n score muro Of letters by ench null, the total
amount in whiol, thoy aro n,lcted, owlug to tho
antlluated idens ruling ut Washington. Ia very
considerable. The hnn1na!y OF tho thing Will 10
aepn ut Oncg when 1t Ia tonsltler0t1 that lottar
posted In London addressed 10 ChicnKu wilt cost
fiyo eonts, whereas that ftontfcal letter, II
posted IN Chtcay0 addressed to London, would
cost 10 cents. The nbsurdIty Of this rcd.tapp-
Ism would DO lauRtabto weru II not for the loss
acorutng to rho public thorofron1. Ccrtalniyt tho
sooner tho Superintendent Of Foreign Muils
Rlyca his attention to this lnatler arl provides
the p0st.otlicea throughout tho country with
scales fur Weighing Ii. 10, III, Rnd % gram let
tors tho bcttcr will 1t 10 for nli concerned. IA
1t Ia now tho public are mNtio to suffer d crying
OWL, md tho leading pt,st offices of tho country
ar0 mat1o tho unwilling Instruments 0f tlefraul-
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