The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-05-06
Gossip ait
the Capital
Special Correspondence of The Tribune.

Washington, May 8.
The Universal Postal union, which met
in the old CorCoran Art Gallery today, Is
an outgrowth of modern economical con-
ditions and its maintenance is a necessity
of them. Formerly the rates of interna-
tional postage varied according to the
different routes taken by vessels carrying
the mails. Aside from the inconvenience
to the sender and the possible added eX-
pense to the receiver, there were several
considerations which made this SYSTEM
or lack of systematically annoying even
at the slower pace Of business forty years
ago, and which would make IL intolerable
If continued into the present brisk era,
If, for example, the rate at which letter
waS prepaid would not entitle 1t to go by
the first steamf.'S sailing, 1t was liable
to be held over until a day when a steam
er was booked to sail by q shorter or
cheaper route. This irreguarity and un-
certainty. as will be seen, marked not
only the difference between letters sent
to different countries, but between those
sent to the same country. letter for
Austria could be sent by steamers sailing
for Bremen or Hamburg direct, or by way
of England or France, and the postage
would be 10, 30 or AZ cents a half ounce. ac-
cording to the route traversed. A letter
for Australia could sent by either of six
routes, the postage varying from to l.02
Even Canada and Mexico had each two
rotues, the rates varying according to
which was taken.
But the annoyance did not cease with
the correspondents. The governmental
bookkeeping was kept in an almost mex
triCable tangle, for each government kept
an open account with each other, charging
and crediting the respective proportions of
the postage paid on every letter for its car
riage to the seaport of the country where
uyas 1n1 s1,Ir N
ton in the country received. Here arose
a new difficulty, due to the difference in
the units of rate and of weight in vogue
in the several countries. The weightinEs,
charges and credits were never made in
bulk, but each letter had to be separately
entered on a letter-bill sent with each
mail, like a shipping bill on a freight
route. The unit of rate was in some coun-
tries one sheet of paper, in others a quar-
ter ounce, one-third of an ounce, a half
ouce, or two-thrds of an ounce, as the
case might be; and the units of weights
varied quite as much, being in England
the ounce in France the gramme, in Ger
many the 10th, and so on.
The first movement in the direction of
system and order in the postal relations
of the great nations came from an AmeIi-
can source, Montgomery Blair tho post
master general in President Lincoln's cab
to invite a conference of the postal au-
thorities of Europe and America to con-
slider the adoption of a uniform standard
of weight, uniformity of rates and condi-
tions, a uniform basis for sea and land
transit charges, and, IL practicable, uni
form registration and money-order sys-
tens. The invitation was accepted by
the governments addressed, and resulted
In a conference, which convened In Paris
on the 11th OF May, 1863. and lasted until
the 9th of une, and was attended by the
leading postal officers of Austria. Bel
gium, Costa Rica. Denmark, Spain, the
United States, France, Great Britain
Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Prus-
sia, the Hawaiian Islands, Switzerland
and the Hanseatic cities, this country be-
ing represented by John A. KaGson, who
had then recently retired from the posi-
tiOn OF first assistant postmaster gem
eral. This conference voted unanimously
to recommend to the several governments
represented the following reforms among
others: Optional prepayment or ordi-
nary letters; unpaid and short-paid let
tiers to be forwarded subject to additional
charges; no additional charge to be made
on fully prepaid articles, unless they We're
required to be forwarded beyond the coun-
try to which they were originally adj
dressed; postage rates to be fixed in all
countries according to the same scale of
weights; and the metric system to be
adopted for all international accounts; the
unit for a weight for a letter rate to be
fifteen grammes (one-half ounce or its
equivalent; limited NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
the loss of a registered article; wherever
practicable only one rate to be fixed for
an article for the same country, by what
ever route 1t might be dispatched; credits
TO foreign offices on account OF closed mails
to be calculated on the net weights OF the
| mails-not by postage rates; no charge for
to another, unless the article passed be-
| yond the country of original destination;
| dead matter TO be returned to the coun-
| try of origin without charge; no country
| to charge more than one-half OF its domes-
tic postage rate for the land transi. OF
mails from other countries, and not moro
| for sea transit than the whole rate
charged upon its own correspondence; and
| official communications to be conveyed
free of charge.
To show how the share of this country
in framing the new postal policy of the
world was appreciated, In the closing hour
of the conference, the Swiss minister,
| speaking for the whole conference, de-
| clared that ''if the deliberations of the
| conference have led to results from which
| favorable influence upon future postal
| treaties may be expected, these results
are largely due to the liberal and concilia-
tory spirit constantly shown during the
| deliberations by the delegate of the gov
ernment which took the initiative In the
| onference"-namely, Mr.. Kasson, OF the
| United States, How well we kept up our
| national prestige in this matter may be
| judged by looking over the correspond
| ence between our government and the
others represented at the Paris confer
| ence and observing the results accom-
| plished in the ten years which followed.
| In 1873, for example, we find "a cents to be
the highest letter rate charged in the
| United States, instead of $1.02, the high
! est charge in 1868. Instead of three rates