Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-09-24
ENGLISH PARCEL POST
Millions Of Packages Carried Every
Year.
Thirty Cents Will Send Box of
Flowers From Nice to
London.


From the Boston Transcript.
At the present time, while our own postal
| arrangements are receiving special atten-
ton, 1t is interesting to turn to the system
in force in Great Britain for the convey
| ance of packages mail matter, a bust
| ness that in this country is entirely in the
hands of the express companies. The En-
glish finland parcel post has now been
| established for about fifteen years, and is
consequently no experiment. Statistics for
the last few years show that at minimum
of cost to the public the post Office is carry
ing over sixty million packages annually
with regularity and dispatch, as we'll as at
substantial profit to the department
The regulations Of the English parcel post
are simple. The parcel to be sent must be
handed in at the counter of post office
and not mailed in the usual way, although
IN country districts rural poStmen on their
rounds are authorized to receive packages
for transmission. Parcels must be packed
in reasonably strong and secure way to
prevent injury to themselves and also to
protect their contents from damaging other
parcels in transit. They must be conspicu-
ously marked Parcel Post and be plainly
and fully addressed, and they should also
bear the name and address of the sender
They must be prepaid in postage stamps
the rate being up to one pound in weight
cents; two pounds, cents; three pounds
10 cents; four pounds, II cents, and so on
up to eleven pounds "a cents which is the
maximum weight allowed to be carried
10 this, however, an exception may be
made for bundles of newspapers when sent
Immediately on publication direct from the
publishing house to neWSdealers The
above rates, which include free delivery
will take parcels to any point in the United
Kingdom at which there is a post office
A receipt can be obtained, II desired, for
each parcel which can also be registered
| II the sender wishes and the
Will pay moderate and reasonable compen-
sation in case of loss or damage caused by
the fault of its employees. Liquids, glass,
china, crockery, eggs. fruit fish meat but
ter, vegetables and all sorts of similar ar
ucles which may not be sent by letter post
may be forwarded by the parcel post if
properly packed and marked conspicuously
with some such warning for the carrier as:
Fragile-with care Eggs or Perish
able. The average time taken in the
transmission and delivery of parcels is only
a little longer than that of the ordinary
letter mail service
The operations of the inland parcel post
proved so successful that two years after
its inception the English authorities in 1885
lhaugurated the foreign and colonial par
Gel post, which now carries small pack
ages at cheap rates to nearly all parts of
the world except this country, with which
1t has no reciprocal relation
People living in the country find the mar
Gel post particularly useful 1t Is found
mat baskets are the Hghtest and most con-
Venient means for carving small narcaIs
ana at country houses Ia many cases sup
plies of these baskets are kept having
metal plates. with the name and address
OF the owner engraved on them. They NAV
De padlocked as We'll, duplicate keys bein,
kePt at either end Of the journey. In this
way books are obtained from the libraries
al! sorts of household requirements from
tne stores, and in fact, almost any of the
thousand and one things that can be ac-
CURED in shopping" that mysterious word
II,
peasant things. People living in London
anu owning country houses which they
nave to keep up all the year round get
from ttem daily supplies through tine mar
Gel post of cut flowers fresh butter vege-
tables. and, in fact, nearly all that the
farm or garden can supply. Sportsmen
owning shootings rarely sell the game they
Kill 1t goes to friends in the city VINO
appreciate the compliment and it goes
through the parcel post. On August u
grouse shooting begins in Scotland and
me mails VIII carry during the next few
days thereafter thousands of specially pre-
pared little wooden boxes each containing
one or two brace of grouse from the
scotch or Yorkshire moors to the friends
81 Oh me sportsnen. The week preceding
Christmas day is the hardest strain that
the parcel post has to contend with and
very large extra force has met all re-
quirements, but each Christmas makes the
strain greater
Many English people go to the south of
France during the winter months At that
season flowers are scarce and dear in Lon
DON but just when they are most unobtain-
able there they are freshest and most
piehtllul on the sunny shores of the Med
iterranean. 1t has now become a common
social courtesy for gentlemen to send
boxes of flowers from Nice. Hyeres and
other towns in the south to their hostesses
Of the season before in London. For five
francs CD a boXful of cut flowers suffi-
cient for dining and drawing room decora-
tlon can be bought, and 30 cents in postage
will secure Its delivery in London fresh
and uninjured within twentyfour hours.
There are times, when flowers go a-beg-
gins in Florida, New Orleans and Savan-
nah, when Boston hostesses would welcome
a similar parcel post service in this coun-
try.