The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1900-03-26

million ana declared Dy governments
fiat to be legal tender was one of the
historical tragedies In government, and
at the end Of this great war the banks
of the country had 1896. 900 OF this
currency. Specie payment had been
suspended by banks and by the ma
tional treasury and for more than
seventeen years gold and silver were
at a premium. Not till January. 1873,
was specie payment resumed. spurred
perhaps by Horace Greeley's senten-
tious philosophy: "The way to resume
Is to resume"
Today every form Of currency. legal
or semi-legal in its nature, Is at par
and unquestioned as Il circulating
medium. One of the problems for the
twentieth century may be the taking
Of banking cares from the shoulders of
government, and one of the great
dreamed-of possibilities of an interna-
tional currency may be for its attain
ment.
England has learned of the century
in the business of banking. The
banking act of 1914, under which the
Bank of England could pay only e3 lis
9d an ounce for gold. brought trouble
to that country when France began to
take the worlds supply-coined and
uncoined-at ca an ounce. Under this
English act as the banks gold reserve
should decrease the issue Of bank notes
had to be curtailed. The result was the
panic of 1S47. and. incidentally. the
repeal of the banking act. Under new
enactment the bank was allowed to
issue notes at its discretion and with
out regard to the banks gold reserve.
ENGLANDs POSTAL SAVINGS
SYSTEM.
When in 1857 panic again threaten
ed, with the gold reserve at only $751;
900, as against bankers balances alone
of G5.45SOOo, the bank began to issue
paper and not till it had issued C7,376,-
900 in paper was normal state Of
finance restored.
In its postal savings institutions Eng.
land has set an enviable example to
the world. The United States has
sought to profit by the system, but
Friends of the institution are looking
for it's adoption early in the new GEN.
tury.
In every country that has adopted
civilization in all that the term implies
of that country's growth. If any one
of the intricacies of banking may
stand for the world progress of the in
stitution it is the travellers circular let
ter Of credit, whereby he may deposit
money in one bank in one country and
draw it again in sums to suit from a
score Of banks in score Of foreign
countries. International banking meth
DDS have grown as trade grows. Today
an international commerce is more 4
barrier to war than is all the diplomacy
of the world. 1t is through this trade
relation that the optimist has seen. in
fancy, an International currency-a
greenback, perhaps-based upon gov
ernment credit and prosperity that
shall finally prove the impossibility Of
war between civilized nations.
An ally to banking in this millenial
future may be the institution Of the
postoffice and the international postal
union that already has made such ad-
vances in world progress.
No compact of nations, perhaps. is
moro strongly significant thar Is this
of the governments in the postal union.
1t is the strongest tie in the interna-
tionaI relationship. 1t is an agreement
by which one nation says to all the 9TH
ers, Receive the mail Of my people at
your ports and distribute it to its des-
tination and I'll do the same for all
of you and we won't bother about any
accounting
And Of all nations in this compact,
the United States leads in this govern
/ mental monopoly. Exclusive of Alaska
. ana of its newer possessions, 1t has 49,
COO postoflices. 250O0O employees. re-
ceives $9O,000,0O0 a year in gross rev.
cnues and spends $100,000,000 to per-
| feet the service.
AS against these chief figures Great
| Britain has -J,39S offices and spends
| fl0,000000 year on the service. France
| has fewer than 5000 offices. Germany
has more offices than has France, a
better general service and one of the
best conducted parcel posts in the
world.
Germany was the founder of the
postotfice in 1897. when Emperor Maxi
milan made Francis, Prince Of Thurn,
his postmaster general. Until 1886,
however, all the systems patterned af-
| ter it We're cumbrous. intricate. made
quate and costly beyond measure. In
that year Rowland Hill in England be-
gan the agitation for uniform postage
rates according to the present penny
measure. The United states felt the
impulse Of this successful movement,
! but the difficulties of transportation in
a new and wide country made it im>
! possible of adoption. AS late as 1855!
there We're three rates Of postage in the
| United States, according to the dis
| tance that letters Travelled. On all 9TH
er classec Of matter intricate and con-
| fusing tables of rates were listed.
! Postage stamps came into use in
lS4I, and four years later congress
fixed the three letter rates: One cent
on drop mail, 3 cents on letters within
5000 miles, and cents for points be-
yond that extreme. Railway mail routes
had been authorized in 1888 in both the
United States and Great Britain, and
with this the development of the de-
partment in the United States had be-
| gun.
| IMPROVEMENTS SINCE 1854.
| On March 8, 1854, the registry sys-