The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1882-10-05
Tho Evolution Of the Postal systola.

|
tricts and appointed innumerable mes
sengers. These postal messengers OF
Cyrus went continually night and day,
with great speed. The superintendent
of the posts was an important officer.
Before he became the last Persian King,
Darius held it.
The first public riding post in Rome
came in under Augustus, nearly six
centuries later. But the Chinese, who
are credited with lots Of good in those
days, however bad they may be now,
had postal system away back in the
first chapter of their million ayclume
history. A queer poiht in Chinese
postal history IS that they had laws pro-
vidinG punishment for writer's of decov
letters and robbers of the mails. Chi
nese posts wore called jambs. They
were located twenty-five miles apart,
and Marco Polo swears they numbered
10000 and employed 100000 horses in
his day, These Chinese post houses
were also inns, at which sumptho,is
entertainment was provided, ii the We
netlan traveller is to be believed. Tho
Peruvians and Aztccs had q regular
system Of postal communication. evi
IDENTITY the outSrowth of ages of expcri
ence, when the Spaniards dissipatod
theif telicitous barbarism. Many speci-
mems OF their hieroglyphical correspond
ence exist in the museum now.
Apart from the riding post, pigeons
were extensively employed in the Orient
Tor the conveyance of CORE spondence.
In fact the practice continues there to
TINS day. In Syria, Arabia, and Egypt
every bashaw GENERALLY has bask etful
of them with him on his travels from
The grand seraglio, where they are bred,
Them &c
to communicate with his friends. There
arc records of dogs having been used
tor long g.diStancc correspondence by
the races of Northern Europe.
In those days letters We're generally
IN the form Of rolls, round 81 Stick, or.
1t long letter, round two sticks, be-
ginning at each end and rolling them
until they met in the middle. Books of
ovcry size were called rolls. Our word
volume means Just tho same thing in its
original signtication. The roll, book,
or letter was commonly written on ono
side. Letters then, as is the custom
IN the east at present, wore sent in most
cases without being sealed; while chose
addressed to persons Of distinction were
placed in valuable purse, or bag,
which was tied, closed with clay or wax,
and 50 stamped with the writer's sip4
q very costly cabinet, shows how these
rolls were preserved They werc put
IN iongth"isa and labeled on the TOP.
CharlemaGno established II post on
the Persian plan in his empire in 8O7.
But thc first actual letter-post system
extending beyond the more cOnvevanco
81 letters between different parts of one
country, and branching out into for
elgn lands, was originated by the Uanse
towns, about 1869. The Hanseatic
league, established in north Germany.
consisted chiefly of merchants in the
chief ports Of Germany, France, Spain.
Iortu@al, Italy, Russia, Norway, and
England; correspondence between them
was business necessity, and this ne
ccSslty led to the formation of postal
union, SO to speak. The TIanso posts
carried private correspondence, too. but
Mt such rates that it cost more to post
lovc-lettcrs than it does to tell your rirl
how you adore her through the personal
columns of modern daily at 81 q line.
AS long as the liAnse towns stuck to
business and lcttcr-carrYing they were
all right. But they became belliUcront
ana started in to FIGHT other cOnfedora-
tlOnS ana powers, and about tho middle
or me hltccnth century their power be.
gan to decline. In 1905 all that WAS
left Of what had been the most powerful
commercial league and automatic con-
federation in Europe were the towns of
Hamburg, Lubbock and Bremen. But
tour centuries bCfort that their postal
system had failed from monopolistic
powers. The Emperor Maximilian had
established q post between Austria and
Normandy. About the Same time / Iouis
ri. set up the first regular post-housc9
in France since the decline Of those es-
| tablIshcd by Charlcmagnc. Post-horscs
ana stages came in use in France in
1lS3. '0o -
The mounted posts in France were
stationed ut distances Of four miles
apart, and were required to be ready
DAY ana night to carry government mes
sarsc5 "s rapidly Us possible. Private |
correspondence, however, was earned |
on very differently. The students Of n
university in Paris established q postal
Institution in the eleventh century. A
number of pedestrian messengers were
employed, who bore letters from it's
thousands Of students to the various
countries of Europe from which thew
came, and brought to them the money
theyV needed for the prosecution Of their
studies.
England and America, however, were
the nations which actually dcvelonoG
the postal system to its present magnif
cent proportions. The first post-houses
IN England were established in 1883,
Inc regular riding-post system owes its
origin to Edward ". But as far back
as Edward III. private letters were sent
by regular post, as the inscription on
the envelopes, "Haste, post, haste!"
shows.
Little or no Improvement was made in
England in the postal system until
Queen Beas' reign; $4,000 a year was !
all the post cost then, even in its ad-
vanced condition. In 1858, disputes
among the foreign merchants resident
In London, in regard to the foreign post,
which up to now they had been permit
tea to manage among themselves, which
they had done with jealous eye to their
own interests, Of course, led to the ap-
Polntment of "master of posts" The
nrSt chief postmaster of the world Gre