The Washington critic. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1889-1889, 1889-03-09
4 pARGEL POST.
How IL Has Been started In One Field
With Marked Success,

How IL Has Been started In One Field
with Marked Success.
Hon. Nicholas W. Bell, Superintendent of
Foreign Mails expects to leave the public
service 20 go into private business just rs
soon as his successor is appointed. ~ wish
the Postmaster General would relieve me
today he said to your correspondent this
afternoon, Washington has been the
loncliest place for a Democrat this week
that | ever saw Although Mr. Bell has
been n strong opponent Of subsidies TO
American vessels, he has urged an increase
of the present rates Of their pay for carry
ing the foreign mails and q system Of pre-
miums and penalties which would insure
regular sailings and completion Of voyages
within schedule time. But lie questions
the policy Of tying the Postolllce Depart
ment IN long contracts to lines of vessels
which may he considered fast to-day, but
very slow tomorrow. lie will be best re-
membered by the efficient transatlantic
service which he introduced and by
the parcels post conventions which he
negotiated. When he came into the
Department, four years ago, the Of
flee Of Superintendent OF Foreign Mails
was considered Of 30 little Importance
that the Forty-eighth Congress was on the
| point Of abolishing the Office rs useless and
unnecessary. Mr.. Bells predecessors had
| paid no attention TO the practical prob
lens Of facilitating the dispatch OF the
mails to destination In the speediest man
ner, but had contcnted themselves with
diplomatic correspondence upon TECHNICAL
ties II was the practice then to dump all
correspondence upon England which was
not specially addressed to or via some
other country with which we had direct
steamship connection, and let the English
| postotllce see that the correspondence
reached its destination. The consequence
was that on large part OF the correspond
ence the United States had TO pay interme-
diary transit charges to two and some
times three countries of the Postal Union
through which the mail was forwarded by
England before arriving at the post
office to which II was addressed.
To remedy this EVIL, which, IN adj
dition to increasing the expense of trans
| porting the mails, caused serious delays in
tho transmission of them. Mr.. Bell made
exactly the same study OF the railroad sys-
tens Of Europe and Of the routes aud speed
of the transatlantic steamship lines, as
the General Superintendent OF Railway
Mail Service in the United States is required
to make OF our domestic railway and steam
boat lines, in order to secure the dispatch
Of the domestic mails with the least possible
delay. First, he instituted the system Of
sending all mails for Europe by the fastest
steamers offered without regard to the reg
lister or flag Of the vessel then he began to
eliminate all unnecessary intermediary
service. Under the old system a sack OF
mail for Austria, for instance, sent by the
North German Lloyd steamers, was trans
ferred at Southampton to the British post
Office and sent thence via Belgium and
Germany, each Of the three countries re-
ceiving pay for intermediary service. Now
such mail is sent direct by the North Ger
man Lloyd Line to Bremen, and only Ger
many is paid for intermediary service.
The result has been to save the United
States about $40, 600 per annum and to make
a reduction of from one to three business
days in the time Of transmission OF the
mails. Returns Just received at the Office
of the Sixth Auditor show that the cost to
the United States OF closed mails sent via
England is now Al 900 francs less than IN
1885, via Belgium 33, 900 francs less than In
1885, via Germany A, 900 francs more than in
1885, andy France o, 600 francs more than II
1855, net saving of 81 900 francs, although
the weight of the mail is now % per cent
greater than in 1885. AS for the posta
conventions negotiated by Mr.. Bell, 1t Il
sufficient to say that they have made on,
postal territory of the whole North Ameri
can Continent. BY the parcel post arrange
ments witt. Mexico and other countries oil
Central and South America, trade Ia,
been built up OF about S2,00O,00 per an
mum, which within three or five years, Il
the same policy be continued, will amount
to $15,000,000 annually, where there wa
/ not one dollar before, Of which 80 per cent
VIII be In favor OF int -taited- States
Within the past month arrangements have
been perfected for the exchange OF regis
tered matter, newspapers and periodical
with Mexico, in special pouches, so tina
the time has been reduced between New
York and the City of Mexico to four day
and twenty hours for these classes OF cor
respondence.-[N York journal of Com
mprCe.