Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-05-30
POST OFFICE AT SHANGHAI.
Domestic Money Order Service Estab-
lished in China.

1T is a matter Of more than ordinary in
te%est that United States post office should
be established upon foreign soil and prac-
tically under a foreign flag" said a postal
official to Star man this morning, "yet
such is the case with the establishing of a
postal money order office at Shanghai
China, under the direction of the United
States postal agent at that city in the
Chinese empire, for the postal agent is in
erect a postmaster, and the United States
therefore, has postmaster Of its own in
China.
You see, this country at present conducts
Its money order business with Shanghai by
means of the international system the ex-
change office being situated in the British
colony of Hong Kong. and money orders
are issued on international form, and in
ternational fees charged therefor which
are much heavier than domestic fees of
course. The new system will make 1t pos
sible for the postal agent in Shanghai to
Issue domestic orders only, which NAV be
drawn upon any money order office in the
United States. Canada, Cuba and the Phil
tFpfnes, and for which domestic rates only
will be charged-that is. 80 cents maximum
Tor 800, as against 81 maximum for in
ternational orders for the same amount
and three cents minimum for orders up to
80 On the other hand, all postmastera
IN money order offices in the United States
will discontinue the use of the international
form and will issue the new orders upon
the regulation domestic form.
This presents a striking innovation In
postal affairs of this country and of the
world, and would appear to raise at first
thought international questions as to the
authority of one country establishing a post
office of it's own in another but these
questions are more apparent than real and
no actual international problems are pre-
scented for solution. The American postal
agency was until last October situated in
the British settlement of Shanghai but If
tO he
settlement and by agreement between the
two countries American postal agency
vas authorized to be maintained therein
In 1880 it was the desire of the postal a,1-
thorities of the United States to establish
such a postal station at Shanghai as is
now about to go into effect, but the matter
was adversely reported upon by the then
assistant attorney general for the Post Of
flee Department, and the project was aban-
doned. Not long ago, however, in view
of the probable increased trade relations
between the Chinese city in question and
the United States, the project was revived
the opinion of the legal adviser of the de-
partment again sought, and in this in.
stance, it being favorable, the domestic sys-
tenn. much more simple and easier of trans
action than the International will be inau-
gurated.
There is no international money order
convention between this country and China
but though it is not generally known
United States International money orders
arc payable through the Hong Kong ex-
change office in ten large cities in China in
Guiding Annoy, Canton, Foochow, We-Hai-
Wei, etc, and this service will in nowise
be affected by the new domestic office at
Shanghai.
And this brings up an analogous ques-
tior which Is at present engaging the at
tention Of Congress-the question Of the
coming of an American piece Of silver
money which will take the place of the
Mexican silver dollar, at present the prin-
clpal circulating medium in the far east
and in the Philippines. The amount rep
resented by an order issued in this coun-
try will be converted by the postal agent
at Shanghai into Mexican silver money at
the rate quoted on the day of payment Of
the order. and the amount OF Mexican
money handed in by the remitter of an
order at Shanghai for transmission to the
United States will be converted into United
States money at the rate quoted on the
day the order Is drawn in Shanghai. When
the new American silver Philippine dollar
is placed in active circulation in the far
east, modification of the present rules as
to values will be necessary, but this will
not affect the ADVANTAGES Of the new system