The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1896-08-01
POSTAL EVOLUTION.
STORY OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF
Oh. THE MAIL SERVICE. -,,
Crude Methods Of Early Ages Biblical
References to the Post-Bsginning Of
What Has Become an Almost Perfect
and q Cheap System,


all over the world today, that there ever
could have been q time when there were
no postoffices, no letter carrier, no mail
facilities at all.
But, of course, there had to be some
means Of communication even in the
earliest ages, though these were confined
for centuries to emperors and kings and
other great rulers. The emperors Of
Egypt. of Persia, Of Assyria and Of
Rome held many lesser kings and satraps
as their vassals With these it was nee
essary to communicate with certainty
and regularity, and therefore couriers
were employed to carry dispatches and
reports to and from the more distant
provinces.
OF course no one man or one horse
could traverse the whole route, so sta
tious were established along the roads
at certain intervals, where couriers were
always in readiness to relieve weary
brothers, and carry on the dispatches
with uniform speed. These stations
were called posts" from the Latin
word positum-fxed or placed-whence
comes the name of our modern postal
system.
In tho Old Testament are frequent
references to the posts. In II Chronicles
you will find, 80 the posts went with
the letters" and $50 the posts passed
from city to city" In Esther also and
in Job and jeremiah you will find other
illusions to the posts. But they were
never for the use of the common people.
The Roman Emperor Augustus was
the first to establish a system Of posts
suggestive of the present system. You
have heard the saying, "All roads lead
to Rome" This was the origin of it.:
From Rome Us u center post roads were
built, called royal highways, extend
ing all over Europe After the decline
Of the Roman empire these post roads
were abandoned by degrees, and during
the dark ages they almost entirely dis.
appeared.
In the thirteenth and fourteenth cen
turtles, however, their need began to DO
so strongly felt that posts between diff
ferent parts Of the same country were
established, and soon these were extend
ed into other countries. These posts
were carried first by foot runners and
then little later by men Oh horseback;
1t was not long, though, before the
post privilege was extended, and it was
found impossible for horseback riders to
carry the increasing mail, SO wheeled
conveyancas We're provided, and the
next step was for these conveyances to
carry passengers as well as the mail.
And thus from the post was evolved
the mail coach. What this meant to our
hitherto shut in ancestors it is hard for
US Of the present day to realize even
family. But it is safe to say that the
evolution Of the public post and tho
mail coach did moro than any other ono
thing to hasten civilization.
III the reign Of the Emperor Fredor-
ick ILL., Francis Won Laxis, whose grand
father is said to have established a post
al service across the Tyrol and Syria,
entered the service Of the house of Haps-
burg and became the founder Of the
modern postal system, Through Won
Laxis the emperor established regular
posts throughout his kingdom between
the years lilo and 1893, and at the be-
ginning OF the sixteenth century tho
Austrian post became the international
post of the HapsbuTg dynasty.
In France the University Of Paris Or
ganized postal service in the thirteenth
century which tiourishcd until l1l0. In
some parts of Europe there were brother
hoods and mercantile guilds which es.
tablished posts and postoilices subject
to the government.
In England, in 1858, Rowland Hill
started Il private post, but Cromwell's
heavy hand came down on the enter
prise, and tho men who carried the let
tiers We're trampled down and killed by
his soldiers. Later on Mr.. Hill came to
the front again, instituted many re.
forms i'll the service, and at last gave to
England real and effective postal srrv-
ice. Louis ri of France founded u POSTAL
system in 1464, which was greatly i'm
proved by Charles TX in 1865.
But it was not alone the Christian
nations that felt the need Of a postal
service. When the Spaniards invaded
South America, they found a regular
system Of posts i'll operation, SO that tho
news Of their landing was carried to the
inca with incredible swittness, the post
men being runners, who carried around
their waists knOttcd cords, IL code of sig
mails or sign writing,
Coming down to our own country,
suppose We take a peep at the mail
methods i'll vogue in its earlier days.
Let us take as Il typo the postal service
between Boston and New York, where,
in 1862, u post was established 'to goo
monthly" Post riders, starting at the
same hour from each end Of the route,
carried the mails Leaving ull Monday
morning, they met and exchanged bags
at Saybrook, Conn, on the following
Saturday. Then each man returned to
his starting point, which, Of course,
took nearly another week.
1t was Benjamin Franklin that, in
l775, suggested the plan for II postal
service on which our present system is
founded. In the early days Of this sys-
ten rates We're charged that seem out
rageous to us of the present day-hc-
tween Boston and New York, 1871
cents, and 2j cents for points beyond.
OF course this led to swindling the gov.
eminent and the smuggling Of letters.
Private parties carried mail secretly at
lower rates, and IN 1889 HHrndcn's OK
press entered the field, carrying letters
at less than legal rates
But rs soon as the government low
cred its charges all these smugglcrs
dropped out Of the race There was no
n,1.,.I..- In Il tlAun Dbl nluI11Ai. ninnn