Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-04-13
A NEW PROVISION
Clause Inserted in the Post
Office Appropriation Bill.
M CHI ABOR SAY ED
THE USE OF STAMPS WILL BE
p sa AVOIDED.
Transmission of Mail in Quantities of
Third and Fourth-Class Matter
The Advantages Obtained.

In the postal appropriation bill. which
was yesterday passed by the Senate, there
is clause which will have greater effect
upon postal affairs than anything which
has been done by Congress for many years.
1t is the clause which reads:
Hereafter under such regulations as
the Postmaster General may establish for
the collection of lawful revenue and Tor
facilitating the handling of such matter IN
the mails. it shall be lawful to accept FOR
transmission in the mails quantities OF not
less than two thousand identical pieces OF
third or fourth class matter without pos
tage stamps affixed: provided, that postage
shall be fully prepaid thereon, at the rate
required by law for single piece OF Such
matter"
Much Labor Saved.
This means the saving of an immense
amount of labor for many persons both in
the postal service and the employ OF mer-
camille establishments. To make the passing
of stamps on thousands of Identical pieces
of mail matter unnecessary is to save
that labor for other purposes. 1t will save
the manufacture of postage stamps, II VII!
save the manufacturer or the dealer OF
the work of affixing stamps to thousands
of small packages, 1t Will save me tost
Office Department the labor or canoeing
every individual stamp on all those thou
sands of pieces and it will. in many other
ways tend to improve the service. Inc
act has been one for when the oepar.. ,lt.Ia
and the manufacturers have been working
for years and the satisfaction of both can
hardly be overestimated.
Benefits of the Change.
AS an example of the benefits that will
be the result of this legislation the fact
may be used that the paint manufacture
ers of the country mail every spring
about half a million color samples print
ed on cards. To every one of these cards
a stamp must be affixed, and every one or
those stamps must be Cancelled by the
clerks of the Post Once department..
Since the enactment OF TINS law theSe
manufacturers will be permitted to print
a legend which will be soon determined
upon by the Postmaster General upon all
of the wrappers that they thus send
through the mails. This legend will be to
the effect that the requirements OF the
law have been kept and the necessary
postage paid al the initial Office Hereto
fore large users of the mails for pur-
poses like the one referred to have
bought pre-canceled stamps of the de-
partment. With the mailing of such pack
ages a post office official has had to be
detailed to see that the matter mailed
under the regulations was identical and
that there were mailed not less than the
smallest number allowed by law. This
required the time of on employee of the
departments the FASTING of stamps on all
of these thousands of identical packages
and other work that Will be eliminated
by the new law.
Operation of New Law.
AS soon as the Post Office Department
decides upon the legend to be printed on
packages coming within the purview of
this act the operation of the law will
begin. The matter that is paid for will
then be weighed in small portions and
average of the whole taken, postage be-
ing charged and collected accordingly.
The firms using the mails for the trans
mission of small packages, such as sam
pies of dry goods and the like, many mil
lions of which are carried by the post
office every year, will go to the post Of
flee and pay in cash for the matter they
wish to send through the mails, all that
is necessary being that there are not less
than 1000 pieces and that they are identi-
cal. They will pay according to weight
and the receipt of the department will be
their authority to use the legend upon
the quanti1spaid for at that time
In the case of pre-canceled stamps the
department ruled that they might be sold
only to such persons as would mail at
least $4,000 Identical pieces of transient
second, third or fourth-claSs matter dur
ing any one month at the rate of not less
than 1000 pieces a day or any person
who would mail not less than 5000 pieces
OF identical matter of any of these classes
In a single day, all of which would have
to be Cancelled by hand. In that case
the mailing was required to be done
under the supervision OF an employe of
the Post Office Department after the per
son desiring the privilege had made an
application to the postmaster at the point
of mailing. showing that the require
ments of the law We're all fulfilled. These
pre-canceled stamps were not to be used
in any case without first obtaining the
special authority of the department in
that particular case. fact which will
instantly show the improvement of the
bill tuSt passed.