The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1894-11-27
OUR SEA POST OFFICES
Report on Foreign Mail Service
Gives Some Interesting
Facts.

WASHINGTON, Nov. q, 1894.-Captain
H. NJ. Brooks, Superintendent of foreign
mails, in his annual report gives an in
teresting description of the ocean postal
service. He says the international sea
post offices have been in continuous op-
Grafton upon the fast steamers of the
North German Lloyd Steamship Com
pany and the Hamburg American Packet
Company 113 trips haveing been made
from New York and lis from Germany.
Sea post Office clerks have also been on
duty upon the steamers New York and
Paris of the International Navigation
Company, 81 trips having been made
from New York and 81 from Southamp-
ton. He says
s-The full benefit of the sea post ser
vice cannot be accured on the steamers
New York and Paris, for the reason that
the mails conveyed to this country by
those steamers are very nght-the full
mails being despatched by the steamers
under contract with the British Govern
ment; and that of the mail despatched
from this country those for Great Brit
ain are not distributed because the Brit
ish office has declined to furnish the as
sistance necessary to that end.
REFERENCE TO FAST BOATS
The entire transatlantic merchant
marine is freely I6nUeTeO Tor the COn-
veyance of United States mails at the
rates of compensation offered by this
department. Consequently the mails for
Great Britain and the Continent or
Europe are despatched by every fast
steamer, and when two fast steamers
sail on the same day or succeeding days
the mails are invariably assigned to the
one whose previous speed record gives
reason to believe that it will deliver the
mails sooner on the other side Of the
Atlantic. 1t is difficult to imagine a con
dition of affairs more satisfactory from
either a postal or commercial standpoint
the practice in vogue has built up. Un-
der it speedy transit is the only condt-
ton considered in the despatch of the
mails, and the letter destined for Europe
which is carelessly thrown into street
letter box is as sure of the quickest tram
81 as the letter for the same destina-
ton which is Superscribed to be sent by
a particular steamer after numerous
steamship schedules have been carefully
studied in order to determine by which
steamer it should be conveyed. Other
things being equal, preference is always
given to steamers sailing under the flag
of the United States, and these steamers
are allowed for their services all the
postage collected on the mails they carry
: ~ ii INCREAsE OF MAIL.
Captain Brooks says that by utiliz-
ing the fast steamers sailing once or
twice a month from Tacoma, Washing
ton, as well as the steamers sailing
regularly three times a month from San
change of mails with Japan and China
have been increased to not less than
four and sometimes to five dispatches
a month. the additional dispatches be-
ing made through the post Office of
Tacoma.
''Ther has been no extension of the
universal postal union during the year.
nor indeed is ther much territory vet
to be acquired, as the Chinese Empire,
the Cape Colony, the Orange Free State
and certain groups of islands are the
only countries and colonies now remains
ing outside of the limits of the postal
union"
REDUCING REGISTERING FEE
Captain Brooks calls attention to the
fact that the mex postal congress Will
meet in Washington in 1897, and he
deems it proper that a suitable place
should be provided in which the congress
may hold it's sessions. He says that the
sessions will extend over a period of
about two months. and during that
period, in addition to furnishing the ia
cilities necessary to the TRANSACTION Of
the business of the congress, it will be
the pleasing duty of the department TO
render the sojourn of the delegates in
our Capital and country as agreeable as
possible. The number of delegates and
attaches will probably reach a total OF
$50 persons. He calls attention to the
circumstances that under the provisions
of the universal postal convention OF
Vienna, this department is under obliga-
ton, as soon as practicable, to reduce it's
registration fee to five cents, and to
assume limited responsibility for regis
tered articles lost in its service.