The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-04-21
FOREMOST IN LETTER WRITING,
The United States First Among Nations in
Respect to Correspondence.

ihere are 100000 post Offices in all the
countries of the world enjoying organized
facilities of correspondence. and of this
number 10000 are in the United States. In
respect of the number of letters and postal
cards written and received, the revenue and
disbursements of the department., the ex-
.eh,, promptness, and accuracy of letter de-
livery, as we'll as in the number of post
ounces the United States stand at the head
OIL all other nations, Germany following
second, Great Britain third, and Austria,
among European nations, fourth. The
united states sell in year 1000, 600 900 two
cent stamps, which is equivalent to
1000, 200 letters sent through the mails
IN year. In addition to this the United
States sell in a year 600, 200 one-cent stamps,
some OF which are used for letters, though
a Larger number for newspaper and circu-
lar postage, 1900, 900 three-cent stamps,
~, ooo,oo0 four-cent stamps, and $4,000, 600
hve-cent stamps, mostly used for letters
sent from this country for foreign delivery.
More than 100000 900 letters year, there
fore, paying full postage, and exclusive of
postal cards, are written in the United
States.
The business of the German and of the
English Post Office Department is less than
half as large. The postal card system in
Germany is in much more general use than
in England, andsit is for this reason, per-
haps, that Germany keeps ahead of Eng
land in respect of the amount of correspond
ence done. The number of post offices in
Great Britain by the last Official statement,
made on Jan. l. 1897, was 2O,275, exclusive of
what is officially called in England "the
road and pillar letter box" There are
100000 employees of the post Office depart
ment in Great Britain, of whom $500 are
women and girls. The number of post office
employees in Germany, where telegraphic
communication is part of the post office
system, lis $4,000. The number of letters
handled by the Austrian post office depart
ment in a year is $50, 900, 900 and of these
two-thirds are handled in that portion of
the empire which comes under the designa-
ton of Austria, and third only is
handled in the portion officially known as
Hungary The Germans in Austria, as well
as in Germany, are great letter writer's, and
in those cities of the United States in viii CHI
the German population is numerous more
letters are written in year proportionately
than in cities in which the German popula-
ton is small.
The Italian post Office handles 35O, 1000 900
letters a year, the Post Office Department
of Spain 120,000,000. Of Canada 100, 600, 600, of
Holland 100000 900, of Belgium 1875, 900, OO0
and of Russia 200, 900, 900, a considerable pro-
portion of which is carried on what are
called 'the mail coach roads, upon which
postal service the Imperial Government
maintains 1000 horses. In France the num-
Der of letters handled by the Post Office De-
partment is about 700, OOo. 600 in year and
the receipts of the department. are about
$50, 600, 900, or one-half of those of the United
States. The French Government, however,
does a considerable express business, hand
ing more than 40,0O0,O0O parcels, or at the
rate of one to each inhabitant of the country
in each year. The expenditures of the Post
Office Department in the United States ex-
coed the receipts by from Ss,OOOOOO to $780,
100000 in an ordinary year. When times are
bad there is less corresponding done.