The Twin Falls times. [volume] (Twin Falls, Idaho) 1905-1916, 1908-10-29
TWO-CENT POSTAGE WITH GREAT
BRITAIN.

The new postal treaty between the
United States and Great Britain, pro-
viding for two.ctnt postage on letters
betweeo the two countries, went into
effect October 1, thus marking anoth-
er most important tep in internation-
al CONT. and good will. The Hon ].
Henniker Heaton, of London, the fore
most English advocate of the treaty
sent to Postmaster General Meyer by
Marconi wireless the following mes
sage:
ION behalf of the British house of
commons, l beg to felicitate the fear
less postal minister of the United
States, who won Anglo-American two
cent postage for the two peoples, on
magnificent demonstrations of popu-
lar sympathy with this the greatest
achievement, so far, of the twentieth
century"
Congratulations were also exchang-
ed between Postmaster General Sgd
ney Buxton, of the United Kingdom,
and Postmaster General Meyer, and
the general reception of the treaty in
Great Britain and also in the United
States has been enthusiastic. While
on general foreign mail the receipts at
the postoffice in New York the first
day of the new law showed no remark
able increase, the letter mail between
the United States and Great Britain in
creased enormously, as the following
figures given out by Postmaster Nor
gan show
Letters
Foreign Total Britain &
Sacks Letters Ireland
Thur, Oct L.. ,2s3 2sO,Ss1 s4,s24
Thur, Sept "a. 1926 1926 32,61S
Thur, Sept. IT,. 1850 246,55S 49,781
1t is only fair to add that the large
increase in our letter mail to Great
Britain was due, not to an enormous
increase in private letters, but to con-
signments of circulars by business
houses held back to take advantage of
the new rate. AS shown in this in
stance, the reduced postal rate will
greatly favor closer business relations
between the United Kingdom and the
United States, and private mail in time
will also largely be increased Amer
leans, even before the new treaty,
were able to send letters for two cents
u Canada, Mexico, Cuba, the Phillip
pines, and Shanghai, and the inclusion
rs,w of Great Britain will make prac-
tically tw ).-ent ,etter postage to all
English-speaking countries except Aus
tralia and New Zealand. 1t is inter-
esting also to note the fact that the
decrease in the postage rate between
England and the United States has
been rapid during the last hundred
and twenty-five years. In Revolution
airy times 1t cost four shillings to send
liter from New York to London. In
1872 our domestic postal rate was
twenty-five cents for five hundred
miles or less. This domestic rate
dropped to five cents for less than
three hundred miles by the time of the
Mexican war, and the English rate had
dropped to penny. At the time of
our Civil war the postal rate was three
cents per half-ounce for three thou
sand miles or less, and ten cents for
greater distances At the time the In
ternatiOnal Postal Union was formed
in 1874, universal rate of five cents
for foreign postage was established,
and this rate still holds for all except
the countries named above Possibly
Mr. Heaton may be mistaken in re-
garding the establishment of the two
cent postage rate between Great Bril-
tain and the United States as 1.-THE
greatest achievement, so far, Of the