The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-07-19
FOREIGN MONEY ORDERS.
Negotiations for an Exchange sys-
TEN With Greece and Peru.

TEN With Greece and Peru.
The Postofice Department is at present
carrying on negotiations with the postal
authorities of Peru and Greece regarding
the establishment Of an international
money order exchange system with those
two nations The negotiations with Peru
promise TO come to Il speedy settlement.
while those with Greece, owing to the pc
culiar status of the finances Of that land
are tagging.
From correspondence received at the
Postoffice Department it appears that in
Greece there are only five trade centres in
which coin Is in actual circulation and
use: elsewhere the currency Is Of paper,
which Is more or icss subjected TO the
changes in the money market. As it would
be obviously unfair for our Government
to exact fun payment in gold or its equiv
aIent from the purchaser of a money or
der on Greece in any city Of this coun-
try, and let a Greek rural Postcffice cash
the order Ia currency not worth its face
value, efforts are in progress to arrange
n plan which viii do justice at both ends
Of the line. The basis of settlement
which now appears most likely to pre-
vail is the esta biishment of a system In
Greece similar to the one in this country.
whereby an order drawn on one Office, but
which cannot be conveniently presented
there. may be cashed at another Office So
If a son Of Greece in this country wishes
to send money to his friends OF relatives
in the HeIIespont. the recipient can. if
he OF. she choose. take OF send the order
to the nearest postOffice at which specie
payments are made This can be done
either directly. OF by friend OF a mes
senger, or by endorsement to a local mer-
chant, just as collections are made in this
country through the banks.
1t IS a general impression that the in
ternatiOnal money order system is in op-
Grafton between all the countries includ-
ed in the Universal Postal Union This.
however, is an erroneous idea At the
bottom Of every such arrangement must
be. Of course, the existence OF a domestic
system in the two countries concerned,
and, familiar as the system has been for
So many years in this country and a few
others, it is surprising TO find foreign
State now and then where It is still IN
known The United States had no ex-
change with Russia, for instance. until a
very few years ago. because Russia pro
gressive as she is in many respects. had
never established the money order sys-
TEN within her own borders
In our own country the system IS ex-
panding every year The department has
issued a bound hook Of receipts for rural
mail carriers which resembles in a gen
eraI way a CheckbooH, each page con-
tanning receipt and a stub, with a per-
forated fne between 70 facilitate separa-
ton. The book is kept by the carrier,
and the stubs show the disposal he made
Of the money entrusted to him by the
patron who holds his receipt He is al
ways supplied with blank applications,
which. the patron fills out himself and
gives him with the money. The carrier
TcceiPS ii this manner becomes the pa
irons voucher, showing that he has Civ
en- the carrier his money and his appIfca-
ton; the stub becomes the carriers
voucher that money and application have
been given TO the postmaster. and that 4
money order has been made out in nc
c"9eance Herewith; and the rostmastcr-s
voucher Is found in his own money order
DOCK. where q carbon duplicate Of the or
d-r ne has drawn Is preserved The most
master may, If the patron desires aud
sends him by the carriers hand an Id
dressed envelope or letter. slip the order
inside and mail it himself. or ne NAV
give the order 70 the carrier to be hand
60 over 20 the patron on his next trio
past the latter.s place Of residence.