New-York tribune., 1899-07-31
OUR FOREIGN PARCELS POST.

OLR FOHEfGN PlntELS fOSI.
Our rapidly growing foreign trade ds a source
of pride to every American. IL has' developed
wonderfully and brought us almost uneNpect
edly face TO face with the possibility of great
wealth and prosperity from the control of many
foreign markets. Ii Is beginning to ositgrow the
provision made for the transaction Of foreign
business at a time when its volume was much
smaller than now We find need for new
steamship lines. new telegraph cables, banks
with more extended field of operations. agents
with more languages and experience in learn
ing the wants of foreign buyers We need also
most urgently more liberal and far reaching
system of International parcels post.
In the matter of transporting small parcels
the United States has long been VIGOROUSLY be-
hind the times There were many reasons for
this The great area of this country in COM
parson to States of Europe with the same
business and population made the carrying or
packages expensive here at home. II was much
more Of an undertaking TO transmit parcels
5000 miles than TO transmit them 3w miles.
Then too. sentiment here has generally been
in favor OF giving the largest scope TO private
enterprise and setting the Government at no
work which could be otherwise performed. The
express companies having taken into their own
hands the small parcels business while the let
Ter hostage system was yet in its infancy. did
the work so well. much better than any
similar service Is performed in Europe, that
there has been little disposition 10 .cut their
business in two by diverting the small parcels
traffic to the PostOfce. our slowness in de-
veloping a domestic parcels post naturally pre-
vented the perfection of n foreign service. and.
besides. commercial relations were not so in
innate between individuals for small transac-
tionS but that the defective International sys-
TEN was rather personal Inconvenience than
a measurable restraint Of trade But now that
we are doing so much business in Europe and
are anxious TO increase il there should he i'm
mediate reform of our parcels posts To facili-
tate the transmission of the small articles. an
intercomIhunicatOn more important as binding
peoples together and promoting larger transac-
tIops than the mere extent Of the parcels traf
fic itself would indicate.
Already with the West Indies. Mexico and
a few countries of South America the United
States has a creditabe parcels post arrange
ment which compares favorabiy with that Of
England We can send three pound package
10 Colombia for 81 cents while from England
10 Colombia il would cost 60 cents. An eleven
pound package would cost us 81 - and the
Englishman 81 A. Eleven pounds Is the great
est weight the Postoffice will carry. and no
package can be more than feet inches long
or more than 6 feet in combined length and
girth The rate is II cents pound. Thus
within the territory covered by this arrange
ment wa are able 10 transmit small articles
conveniently and cheaply, but when it comes
TO dealing with Europe the situation Is re-
verSed We have sample post. but that Is
more tantazing than useful 10 AL save few
traders. Articles cannot have any salable
value they must not exceed sai, or In some
cases r. ounces in weight. or be more than
IL inches in length. inches in breadth and
inches In depth except in the ease of rolls. not
more than II inches in length and inches in
diameter Only one article of kind may be
sent and pair of articles. such as gloves or
shoes is not accepted as a sample. Articles
for sale are not transmitted except when fully
prepald at the rate of letter postage TO the
country addressed a regulation practically pro-
hibitive.
How much this places MS at a disadvantage
in foreign trade is illustrated by the cost of
sending by mail a two pound parcel to differ
ent points from England and the United States.
Figures published some time ago In "The
American Exporter" give the postage to Aus
trala and New-Zealand "a 36 cents English
and % cents American. To Hong Kong the
rates are respectively 30 and % cents TO Cape
Town. 36 cents and 81 %; to Berlin. - and 10
cents: TO Paris. 32 and - cents; 10 Brussels,
80 and % cents. and TO Milan. 40 cents and
Sf15 So It Is seen that the American rate IL
from 12O to go per cent higher than the Eng
lish and unfortunately. foreign express rates
on small packages are not such as to compen-
safe for the postal Deficiencies. If we had some
system by which parcels could be transported
between here and Europe. Asia. Africa and
Australia at rates not outrageously dspropor-
tionate 10 the cost Of heavy freightage we
should open an avenue for innumerable transac-
tlons which would be the means of promoting
and firmly establishing our commerce on larger
scale.