The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1897-03-17
Postage Stamps Not an
Old Institution.
They Have Been in Use Less
Than Half a Century.
A New System Of Filtration--Very
Difficult Thing 10 Shoot.

The popular impression is that postage
stamps have history dating back TO the
~ beginning Of the century but the fact is
that nearly half the century had elapsed
before they came into very general use.
Indeed there are many now living in
Providence who can recall tine time when
postage stamps first made their appear
ance. IIe first stamps appear To have been
used i'm Paris in 1858, though the service
in which they were employed was merely
local and thcy Were soon given up. On
MAY 8, 1910, the first regular postage
stamps were issued in England. Various
local 'forwarders of letters and postmasters
in this country issued stamps as early
as 1S4i; the first TO do so was A. NJ.
Grieg's City Despatch Post, which was
sold TO the Government in August, 1912.
Blood & Go. of Philadelphia sold stamps
in 1S41 and the postmasters of Baltimore,
ls45: New Haven, lS45, and New York,
1916, etc, also sold stamps.
In 1Sl7 the government began the busi-
ness. Brazil was ahead of this country in
adopting the stamp feature of the postal
business. The other countries followed in
this order: France, Belgium, and Eavaria
in lS49; Hanover, British Guiana, Prussia,
Spain and Switzerland, in 1850 Italy, Den
mark, Baden, Wurtemberg, Saxony and
the provinces of Canada in 1851; Chilli
the Princes Of Thurn and Taxis (who had
the postal monopoly in Germany, in 1859;
Portugal 1853; India and Norway 1854;
Uruguay and Mexico 1856; Russia and
Newfoundland 1851; Sweden 1858; the
Australian colonies, early in the flfties;
Greece 1861; Turkey 1868; Ecuador 1866
Egypt 1855; Bolivia 1867; Paraguay 1870.
Tho International Postal Union was
formed in October, 1874, and went into
operation on July !, 1875. Within few
years all the countries Of the world Joined
it, and now letters may be sent to any
part of the world for cents, the half |
ounce.
Here in Providence where there has |
been so much discussion of the filtration |
natural, and mechanical, interest will bo |
taken in the new plants recently intro 1
duced in Berlin, which are said to have |
shown remarkable results IN giving "A
pure water supply and sanitary security |
MS compared with the past experience OF |
that city. The Spree has been abandoned |
as sewer, and an elaborate "radial' |
system built up; the city has been divided |
into five general drainage distri cts, these |
again being subdivided into II. Drain
channels Ibid in the principal streets |
converge at the lowest level i'm the several |
districts, where the tanks and pumping |
stations are located, tunnels connecting 1
I hese with the city's farms some miles |
away. Other European cities have made \
vast movements in this line. Thus,
Vienna has finally secured the long |
talked of water supply from the Alps, 90 |
miles away, since which time typhus,
cholera, and other infectious diseases have
greatly decreased; in ISiS-57 the yearly |
death rate was AZ per 1000 but i'm 1879 the
Alpine water being introduced the death |
rate fell TO 2S. 20 per 1000. In 1893, Ham
burg had not completed her extensive
filtration plants, the people still drinking
the impure water of the Elbe, n great
cholera epidemic resulting; but in 1894,
after the plants had been completed, a
good supply of wholesome water was Sc
cured, and there has been no recurrence
Of cholera symptoms.
a local sportsman who has had cxper-
icncc in that sort of thing says the bat
flight is somewhat fiuttering and they
are exceedingly hard to shoot, owing To
their extraordinary, rapidity. The bat
wing Is formed on principle different |
from any other wing The flying fox bat
has its third finger particularly elongated, |
and the membrane of the wing is stretched
down To the side Of the body. The prin-
cipal motion in flight is the downward
sweep produced by the contraction of the
breast muscles; and in birds the breast
hone has a vertical keel SO as t. afford
point or surface for attachment, which
the chicken, is called the breast. In
tn bats we find the keel and the collar
lone.
. Y t,