The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1907-09-12
POSTAL RULES
To TAKE EFFECT
Important Changes Govern
ing. Mail to Foreign Coun-
tries to be Inaugurated
October First.

One the first of October the univer-
sal postal regulations signed in Rome,
Italy, Nav 28th, 1906, to supercede the
| convention signed in Washington on
the 18th day of June, 1897, will take
effect, and its stipulations will govern
! the exchange mails between the
United States and other countries ex-
cept Canada, Mexico, Cuba and the
Republic of Panama The new regu-
lations have to do with reply coupon
or stamp in the main
This particular scheme, while the
least important of the results arrived
at by the Postal Union Congress in
Rome fifteen months ago, is one that
will be most cordially welcomed by
all correspondents and will probably
fill. the need of simple and practical
postal currency for small amounts.
Strictly speaking, the reply stamp is
solely for the. purpose indicated in
the name-the prepayment of a reply
to foreign letter 1t is to be in
closed with the letter, and will be
exchangeable at any postoffice for a
five-cent stamp or its equivalent, be-
ing in effect an order for that amount,
which the nations have agreed to hon.
or wherever presented.
Nearly every person has at some
time or other felt the need for some
such arrangement" said a postonice
official to Journal representative yes
terday, land one of the suggestions
for meeting the difficulty was the Gre
alton of universal stamp that would
be accepted for postage in all coun-
tries in the Postal Union. An insuper-
able obstacle to this, however, was
the. difference in the value Eof the
units of currency in the different coun-
tries. Five cents and two and a half
pence are not the exact equivalents
of each other, nor are they the same
as the % confines of the Latin coun-
tries. This difficulty stood in the way
of the reply-gtamp project for a time.
the objection being that the differ
ence in value would lead to specula-
ton in what was intended only as a
convenience. The reply stamps pur-
hased in country having lower
value unit could be exchanged in coun-
tries where the postal unit was of
greater value and so lead to abuses
and loss. 1t was finally agreed to
place this temptation out of the range
of possibility by charging a trifle
AhOA man IAAS LAVE aFd1UOS U CSuIS III
the United States, 8 pence in Great
Britain, 80 confines in France, etc.
This extra charge will be no obstacle
to those desiring 1t to prepay post
age for a foreign correspondent or
for the making of small purchases
abroad In thus creating a sort of in
ternational currency the Postal
Union has forged another bond that
will link the people of distant lands |
Far more important than this will
be the reduction in foreign letter |
rates that will go into effect at the !
end of this month. A foreign letter /
will still cost cents, but there will !
be this essential difference: Whereas |
now the unit of weight for foreign let |
ters Is naJf an ounce, eftec Oct. [ & /
XIX De one foU ounce, and the extra ;
postage win be 8 cents for each adj ,
dft1onal ounce, instead of cents for |
each additional half ounce, as at pres
emf This viii make no appreciate
difference in the postal revenues, but |
the mails will carry twice the weight !
OF matter foH4the same feeS and the
additional weight instead of paving
double the price, will cost but so per
cent more. On two-ounce letter. for
instance, the postage will be 8 cents,
l0stea3 &C % 1886, = aa832g q S&s 5
correspondent of 12 cents, something
not to be despiSed"