The Osceola times., 1883-04-07
SPREADING ITSELF.
The international Money Order system
It's Results and Needs.
81. Louis Republican.

Its Results and Needs.
St. Louis Republican.
One of the most interesting branches
of the postal service is the foreign mon
ey-order business, and by II comparison
of the amounts received from and sent to
the different countries with which the
United States has postal treaties embrac-
ing international orders, deduction as
to the closeness of their relations to this
country may be safely drawn. Postmas-
ter Hays, of the st. Louis Office, is pos
sessed of fund of information on this
subject, and Republican reporter gath
cred few facts which seemed likely to
prove of general interest, learning that
the system will be extended to Mexico
as soon as that republic establishes an
internal money order department. The
post-ofiice department Is making strenu.
Gus efforts to extend the international
system which of late hns been very much
simplifed, but until recently the pros.
pect in Mexico has not been very encour-
aging The distribution of mails in
Mexico is managed by the separate
states under national supervision, and
formerly postal rates were SO high that it
is one of the traditions of the depart
ment that Mexicans at Laredo frequently
crossed over with their mail into Texas
to post it there, so as to get the benefit of
the international treaty. There has
been, however, an immense reduction in
rates, and as soon as the Mexican gov
ernment adds the money-ordeP system,
the United States will make the effort to
establish mutual payment of orders be-
tween the two states. While interna-
tional orders were issued on Great Brit
ain something like ten years ago, Italy
was only added to the list year ago last
July. With Russia there is still no mon
ey-srdcr treaty. nor is there any with the
lindependent South American states; nor
does the system extend TO Spain and its
dependencies, and to take in these coun-
tries is one of the most urgent of its
needs. The British Indies have a sys-
tenn of their own, but they can be drawn
on from st. Louis or any other American
CITY through Great Britain. In drawing
on Great Britain the advice is certified
through New York, but orders issued
here are paid direct in England, and
yice-yersa. For money to be sent to
Germany the receiving Office gives its re.
ceipt and the money is transmitted
! through New York and Cologne. The
, rates in Great Britain, which will serve
for sample, average about two per cent,
being 80 cents on sum not exceeding
500. 20 cents on sums over $50 and under
$40, and 81 on all sums over $40 and un-
der $50.
The report Of the postmaster-gcneral
shows that TO nearly every country the
United States issues orders the total
amount of which is largely in excess of
the amounts received in return, showing
that the foreigners who immigrate TO
America, to whom large share Of this
; business is due, are anything but bur-
dens on their relatives in the older coun-
tries. On Canada last year 81 07S,64l SO
was issued, while but $7S5,300 of Cana
dian orders were paid in the United
States. OF British orders there were
issued s., 900 and paid s407 ,766 o.
/ that is over five times as much money
was sent to Great Britain last year as was
received from there. The proportion
with Germany is not so great, S2,057,705
having been sent and 81 ,047 ,940 II re-
ccived. Switzerland received S205, 500 0G
and sent back Sll3,792 05. Italy reoeiv-
ed from America s4Os, ,22l go and sent
back sl9,6l6 81. France received $780,
73S 10 and sent back $573 1852 ~. From
Jamaica S9l7 % in orders was received,
while 1924 l3 was paid. On New Zea-
land 81 ,56l 7s was issued and S9,202 AZ
: paid on New South Wales 50 ,345 75 was
: issued and S2,O77 05 paid, and on Victo-
ria 81 ,2s3 was issued and $2,603 ~ paid.
The international order system, like
every branch of the post-ofiice depart
ment is self-sustaining.