San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1895-08-01
THE POSTAL CONGRESS.
Held Once In Five Years by the
Universal Union.
Next Meeting to Take Place in the United
States Capital In 1897 - Work
and Objects of the Assoc
citation.

Inc universal IOStal union nOldS
congress once in five years to determine
what changes are needed in regulations
governing the handling of international
mail. The sixth is to be held in Wash
ington in 1897. The director of the
executive committee of the Universal
Postal union, says the Philadelphia
Times, comes to the United States on
invitation of the postmaster general,
TO make arrangements for the meeting
at Washington. The delegates will be
entertained in New York as well as in
Washington, for in New York they will
have the best possible opportunity for
examining the American system of
handling the foreign mails, which is
the most perfect system in the world.
1t is possible that they will be taken
west to see the operations of the postal
systems in the other cities-in st. Louis,
where the trolley car service origi-
mated, in Chicago and Cincinnati.
There are thirty-eight countries in
the postal union, and the mail from
more than 100000 local post offices is
handled in the international system.
The United States alone receives
$780, 900 for foreign postage each year
and pays out less than that sum for the
service. The international mail is car
ried at profit, while the domestic mail
Is carried at loss of &c, O0O, 900 a year.
The fact that there is profit in hand
ling international mail is the text of
good many postal reformers in Eng
land. We collect $3.50, 900 a year from
recipients of letters from foreign points
on which postage has not been prepaid.
This is equal to one-tenth of the sum
received for prepaid letters. OF the
sum received on letters bound outward
the United States gets only share.
Often there is actually loss to-
this country in forwarding letter to a.
remote point. Every country through
which the letter passes collects toll
from us on these letters. On the letters
received not fully prepaid we collect
double postage, and the entire amount
belongs to us. We have no reason,
then, to complain of the number of let
tiers which come to US unpaid; vet the
double postage is a penalty intended to
be constant reminder to the people of
the necessity of prepaying postage In
spite of the penalty, one-tenth of the
foreign mail received in the United
States is not fully prepaid. Probably
this is because the man who sent the
letter is not subject to the penalty.
The chief question to be considered
at the congress of 1897 is the proposi-.
ton to make the intermediate nations
handling letter transport it for moth
ing. This proposition is made in the
interest of simplifying the accounts of
the postal service. Under the conven-
ton now in force the nation by which
letter is forwarded pays to each inter-
mediate nation francs per lzilo for all
mail in transit. This increases mate
rally the cost of forwarding letters to,
distant points. For instance, a letter
to Turkey will go from New York to
London, then to Belgium or Holland, to
Germany, to Austria, to Hungary and
then to Turkey. A Lilo is two and one
fifth pounds or thirty-five and one
fifth ounces. Although the postal
union carries half-ounce for cents,
the average of letter-weight is less
than that maximum. The estimates of
the postal union are made on basis, of
three letters to the ounce. Therefore,
Q francs, or 1876 cents will carry LOG let
tiers through one intermediate country
On LOG letters to Turkey the United
States post Office department would pay
$3.50 cents to each ,of the intermediate
countries five in all. This would
amount to more than ~ cents, ON each.
letter-a considerable tax, aud one
which would put penny postage" on
foreign mails quite out of the question.
This tax, of course, is supposed to be
balanced by other governments on let
tiers set through the United States to
Canada, to Mexico and New Zealand.
There will be $50 delegates to the
postal congress, and it has been said
they will be handsomely entertained
during their visit to America two years
hence. The form of their entertain
ment is now under consideration by
the post Office department.