The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1883-03-22
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The New Postal Notes i,

| Tho Senate a few hours before adjournment
passed. without debate, the bill which went through
the House in the summer of 1882 reducing the fees
for Post ONCE money orders, and providing for the
issue postal notes. great deal of credit is due
the late Congress for this REFORM we'll for the
reduction of letter postage cents. The average
| citizen comes into much closer contact with the
Post ONCE than with any other department of the
Governments and In these two instances popular de-
mand has been fairly and fully satisfied.
| The general provisions OF the new law (Which Is
be put into operation by the Postmaster General
within six months) follows: The limit Of sin
gle money orders Is raised from $50 $780, and the
following scale of fees is established: Orders not
exceeding SO cents SO SIS, 10 CENTS SIS $50,
Is CENTS $50 to s0 90 CENTS $40 $50 IS cents $50
to $780, 80 CENTS $50 to $780, IS CENTS $40 to $50, 40
CENTS $50 to 800, as cents. The present charge for
sums less than SIS is 10 cents, the reduction for
orders not larger than $10 1t will be observed, is
| one-nfth. This is as great concession as It was
thought wise to make in view of the importance OF
maintaining the service on selfsupporting basis.
| But for not exceeding SIS the spostal note,'
which is only CENTS will come into general
use. Practically, therefore, the order fees are To-
duced twothirds for everything below 49, well as
oneffth for everything below $40; and at the other
end of the scale concession of cents Is granted
orders between 800 and 800. 1t is likely to be
| found that the charge of cents for sums between
IS and $40 is disproportionally high in comparison
with 3-cent fee below S. a ten-cent fee above
| $40. Though the postal note will not in theory
supersede the order in the case of small amounts,
II will do SO In practice. Hence, some other Con-
gress will doubtless recognize the propriety of max
ing the charge for orders of the kind now in usenot
! exceeding $40, 6 cents, perhaps s cents. That
will be timely as the growth OF the country
oyercomes the prospective deficit from the reduction
OF letter postage.
| The postal notes are to be used under these con-
ditions Postmasters will issue them payable to
bearer, thus escaping the expensive necessity now
imposed Of sending letters of advice to the ONCE of
payment; they will be payable, like orders, only at
the office of issue and the office on which they are
! drawn after a note has been paid, to no matter
| whom the Governments responsibility will cease,
that If one Is lost solen the bearer Will be the
sufferer; and the notes will become invalid at the
end of three months from the last day of the month
In which they issued, after which time the bear
| or must pay cents more, and have them sent to
| Washington for renewal, before he get his
| money. note issued under these regulations In
March, for instance will not be paid, without re.
newal at the extra charge after June 30. The OBJ
1ect of this restriction is to prevent general
| cllation of the notes as money.
The form of these notes, left to the discretion OF
| trmined on The shape and size are to be similar
| tdthose OF bank note. The regulations for issue
| and payment are 10 be printed On the face space
being left to enter the of the office OF pay
| nent, the amount, the name of the Issuing Post
| master, the signature OF the person to whom pay
mont is made, and the stamps of the Office of issue
| ard payment At one end will be rinted a series
of months and years. and at the other three rows Of
| figures, for dollars, dimes and cents. The Post
| master issuing the note will, with an ordinary
panch cut out tho month and year of issue and the
| amount which will correspond to that written In
! the body of the paper.
| tits obvious that the notes Will be as good as
money to any who gets possession of them,
save il the two respects that they will be payable
only at two places and only within limited time
For even 81 or 50 these two restrictions are the
only ones that will make the notes safer than II
So BILL But for odd amounts, like cent or 81 &c.
they will be used safely than silver and serve
better purpose than the old ''shinplasters' ever
did. The chances of loss In the malls are very
small, and the device Is likely to prove wonder
fully popular. This may be Inferred from the fact
that 459 orders out of every 1000 are for IS or
less.-St. Louis Globe Democrat.