Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-03-31

to insure that result 1t Is engraved on
| steel and serves as a good illustration Of
the tendency recently observable In Uncle
Sam. toward aestheticism in his official is
sues of government paper. Contrasted with
it, the old form now In use is unsightly and
| hideous.
The schedule Of fees to be charged for
the new money orders has been reduced
to the basis now charged by the various
| express companies for transmitting money.
and will be as follows:
For so or less. centA
$3.50 to s., 5 cents.
IS to $40, cents.
SO to $40, 10 cents.
SO to $50, IL cents.
$50 to $40. 10 cents
$40 to $50. Is cents.
$50 to $50, 20 cents.
$50 to SIS. Is cents.
SIS to 500, 80 cents
Compared with the above, the present
rates for the issue of money orders arei
For IS or less cents.
% to $40. cents.
$40 to SIS 10 cents
$15 to $50, Is cents
$50 to $40, 20 cents
$40 to $50. Is cents.
$50 to $50. 80 cents.
$GO to $40, IS cents.
$40 to $50, 40 cents.
$50 to 500, 45 cents.
rms reduction Of rates for the larger
orders will give the government more hist
ness for those orders. for, the reason that
heretofore the express companies charp-
ing less fees than the government, have
| obtained that busir ess, while the govern
| ment has been left to do a large business
able.
In Place of the Postal Note.
While the present postal rote fee Is the
same as that Of the minimum money order.
three cents and the highest amount for
which q postal nofa cop ho ;ss,,ns m
the experience Of several years past has
proven that the average amount for which
postal notes are issued is Sl6S So that II
is evident that very large proportion are
ISSUED Tor amounts less than $3.50. and
therefore under the new system the lowest
denomination or the new money order will
substantially supply all the facilities at
present afforded by the postal note and at
me s. me time guarar tee perfect safety.
cnri,, pcS.al note IN practice gives no Sc
curity Whatever TO the sender Anybody
can get one caShed simply by signing his
name and presenting 1t for payment al any
pHs' once authorized to pay postal notes at
al, SO ihat the risk In sending IT through
tne mails Is just as great as in SENDING
actual money, the only advantage being thar
IL can De made out for fractional sum.
The practice Of requiring the payee to sjs,
his name upon payment is a farce and
fraud, since there is no means of preventing
mistake In payment and no way Of check.
either of the postmaster who issued the no,s
or the one who paid it. If II is lost in tran
sit or otherwise no duplicate can be had
MOST newspapers and business firms receiv-
ing remittances through the mails make a
habit Of repeatedly notifying their patrons
ana mail customers that money transmitted
by postal note is wholly at the risk of the
sender; Inc new money order, on the other
hand. by an ingeniously contrived system
OF coupons, serving as an effective check
both upon purchaser and postmaster, win
frnv all
and imperfections and is apt to prove a
satisfactory solution Of the long-mooted
problem of reissuing fractional currency for
convenience in mail purchases
Benefit to the Smaller Omces
Under the new system postmasters Will
receive a commission of cents for each
money order issued. At present they get
31a cents for each order issued and the Same
amount for each order paid and 1 cent for
each postal note issued and Y of q cent for
each note paid. As a rule the smaller post
of1ces-those Of the third and fourth classes
do not pay many orders or postal notes
but merely issue them. the bulk Of payments
being made at the larger post offices. The
iourth-ciass postmasters will probably be
directly benefited by the change, and the re-
mainder Of the $4,000 postmasters in the
country will be benefited indirectly by the
increase that will doubtless ensue In the
volume of the money order business This
increase, it is estimated by the Post Office
Department officials. will reach about 80 per
cent during the first year Of the operation
begin on July l. as stated. in pursuance of a
special act Of Congress approved on January
% last The law was framed by the So
called Joint commission Of Congress to In
executive departments" with the active CO.
operation of Postmaster General Bissel.
and constitutes the most important fruit
thus far produced by the commission in its
work of overhauling Uncle Sans business
methods The membership Of the commits
sion is confined TO six persons-three Repre-
sentattves and three Senator's. Representa-
tive DOckery of Missouri Is chairman and
his two colleagues from the House are Rep
resentatives Richardson Of Tennessee and
Dingley Of Maine, while the Senatorial wing
Is composed of Senators Cockrell of Mis-.
souri,. Jones Of Arkansas and Cullom Of ILL.,
nois.
things. that the devices used in the admin
istration Of the money order system have
remained substantially the same as when
the system was first organized. in 1864
thirty years ago-while in all other lines Of
business activity in the commercial world
outside revolutions and changes Of the most
radical sort have been wrought in the ma
chinery and means adopted for their con-
duct For eleven years past the volume and
amount Of the money order business have
remained stationary. the aggregate amount
of fees received being about 81, los. 600 every
year. with but trifling increase or dirninu-
ton. Likewise in the postal note business
which began in 1854 For the past five years
1t has had no growth or increase to sneak
of, the revenues from fees reaching only
about 500. 900 a year. The experts employed
by the commission, aided by the Post once
Department officials promptly directed their
inquiries to learn the cause OF this failure OF
the money order business to grow and ex-
pand with the growth Of the country and
the increase Of postal business otherwise.
and the conclusion was soon forced upon
them that it was due to the antiquated and
unpopular methods Of administration. The
system had not been kept In touch with the
people The rates OF fees were kept too
high on the larger orders. No profit was de-
rived from the smaller orders and the people
had little faith in the integrity Of the postal
note. But these defects. 1t is believed, have
now been remedied and the needful req nire-
ments supplied for a successful and modern
money order System, adapted in every re-
spect to the wants OF the present day.
JOHN D. CREMER