The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-05-19
5000 MILES FOR A CENT.
Low " at which n Letter Travelled 20
QueenNIand and Back.

Queenslano ana sack.
two cents a mile sounds pretty cheap
these days" remarked the drummer. but
what do you say to 5000 miles for & cent?
OF course l don't mean that a human osn
travel 30 cheaply, but one can start a letter
on its travels at that rate nowadays, as I've
learned to my cost just recently
tell us about it, said one of the crowd.
well, it isn't much to tell, but it cost
me a good sale, just the same, TO find out
how reasonable the postal charges are
Il deal with mines principally, and last
September l got an inquiry from a mine
manager in the Queensland district asking
for prices and so on. and adding that he
would place an order with me if we could
make delivery by May / Of this year. I've
had a lot 10 dc with Australians, and | find
they're not as businesslike as might be.
sOne Of them sent me a ~thirty-six word
cable one day. at "a cents a word, and then
Just signed his own name, without any
address or other indication of how he could
be reached or what the name Of his firm
was. 1t cost me a half rate message to his
little backwoods shanty TO find out who he
was and confirm the cable, for of all classical
names his was Smith. But l found him
and closed the deal by a cable not one
quarter as long as his.
However, that's neither here nor there,
except to explain how this fellows letter
last September led me astray. The letter
head read simply, 'Chillagoe. Australia
and the name signed to II was w. l.. Bow
man, Mine Manager
sHe wanted, as / said. delivery before
May on about & 1000 worth of mining ma
ohinery. As ! knew our prices were
right, l wrote him. giving directions 30 he
could cable back the order. The cable
should reach me, / calculated, early in
November, which would give me lots Of
time to ship the order.
well, November went by, Christmas
too, and not ever the New Year brought a
cable. As could have received a written
reply by then, | gave up all hope, and con-
Guided the deal had fallen through.
But last month / found a much stamped
envelope among my mail, and a cursory
friends letter, OF rather my letter TO him,
come back marked with Uncle Sans big
red hand stamp, Returned to Writer
Il was mystified and turned the envelope
over and over, looking for ar explanation.
All l could zee vas a lot Of postmarks. and
these l examined carefully. They showed
that the letter was in the New York General
Post Office on September "a. 1906. at Z Pm.
The next mark was San Francisco, October
2. IL A. M showing that the letter hsd
lOgNINCNA WIZ ~ - Wv 90 AACeAo
after il had come into the hands Of the
New York postal authorities. The official
distance Is $3.50 miles and the postal time
los hours. 30 not much time was lost In
transit.
THE next postmark in point OF date read
Brisbane, 1880 A. NJ, November Q, 'O6.
Queensland. Now the official postal time
between Frisco and Brisbane. a distance OF
s,s4o miles, is only n days, so four days
were lost here somewhere. But that was
probably due 10 the winter storms in Pacific
waters, and idn't matter much.
From Brisbane that letter had to go 10
Herberton, a distance Of $50 miles as the
crow flies. But as Herberton is only fifty
miles from the coast. IL gives you some
idea OF the primitive methods OF travel that
must still prevail in some parts Of Queens
land when | tell you that IL look six DAYS
for hat letter TO roach Herberton. The
postmark reads: 'Herberton. $3.50 p. NJ,
IL Nov. o.
THE next day il went on 70 a place called
MRreeba. that doesn't show in the gazet-
teere, but which has Il post Office all right.
for they stamped that envelope there on
November 10 at 2P. NJ. Nextd day Il reached
Chillagoe. at /. in the afternoon.
"They take quite a while looking for folks |
In Chilla gee, II seems, for IL was not till
0 A, NJ. on February Q that they concluded
TO stamp IL again, and also mark IL I'm
claimed, Chillagoe.' Just for fun, also, |
eomebody In the Chillagoe post Office, which
/ fancy must be an interesting emporium,
scratched put all the address ave Chillagoe
Then my letter started back 20 find me.
1T skipped everything till IL reached the
lead letter Office at Brisbane OF February %,
days later, and by April 70 II
had reached our wi dead lettsr Office,
department, at Washington. II