El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-11-24
Prefer Safety to Speed
Germans Do Rot Care to Have Par
GELS Post Packages Rushed, but
Wish Them Safely Delivered.
FL By frederic j. Haslsin -
AsHINGTON, D. G, Nov. ?


/ w The United States is lag
gard among the more progress
sive nations in the establishment of
/ a parcels post service, in spite Of the
/ fact that without exception the sys-
] TEN worked well wherever it was
/ tried out under reasonably good au-
spices. England established its par
! cells post system in 1883. 1t makes
/ direct contracts with the railroads to
! handle parcels for the service much
after the fashion of the express COM
/ pany contracts IN the United States.
/ Since 1904 the law has provided that
( the contracts with the railroads may
/ be terminated by either party upon
4 a y months notice, but neither. side
! has yet seen fit to serve such notice.
/ The English railroads, under these
/ contracts, are bound to carry any par
/ eel rendered by the postmaster gen
/ lowed 50 per cent of the postage on
/ the parcels carried as their compen-
| sation for carrying them. Eacn rail-
/ borne" package is listed at the end
! OF the journey, and the post office de-
: partment makes regular remittanceS
I to the London Railroad Clearing House
! committee of the amounts due the
/ railroads.
! England Has Flat Rate.
( There is flat rate in the English
/ parcels post system instead OF a series
/ OF zone rates, as applies in this coun-
! try. The one pound rate is six cents
and the eleven pound rate, the
maximum weight allowed, is - cents
a pound. With the flat rate it has
/ been found in England that the parcel
( post cannot compete with private en-
! terpriseS. or with the railroads them
I selves, in the handling of short dis
! lance business It therefore happens
: that in England the parcels post is
/ bUrdened with all of the unremunera-
! tive longhaul packages, while it fails
/ TO get remuncTat1ve ShOrt-haul bust
! ness The government has established
{ motor van parcel post service out of
I many of the bigger cities. finding it
/ cheaper to haul the parcels by public
/ highway than to pay the railroads 80
/ per cent OF the postage OH Of the
/ longest Of these motor van runs is be-
I tween London and Birmingham and
/ another is between Bristol and London.
/ miles long.
The parcels post system is regarded
/ rs popular IN England, and yet withal
! it is by no means as much made use
! o. as in the United States. Where,
! during the first year of the system
] in our own country we are handling
] parcels at the rate of over 600,0O0,OO0
/ annually, in England. or. more proper
! " speaking, in the whole United
| Kingdom. only rs. 900. GOO parcels were
/ handled in 1910 p years after its or
! ganization. The English railroads
! carry all but is per cent of the parcels
! handled by the postal service.
/ Germany Has Zone System.
In Germany the zone system exists
! United States. The weight limit is
/ fixed at 10 pounds. For any package
up to eleven pounds the rate is six
{ cents for the first IS miles, and y
J cents for any destination outside OF
! the IS mile zone. For packages
/ weighing more than II pounds there
1 Is an extra charge for each additional
/ p pounds In the first zone of 45
( miles this amounts TO cr1On
! a cent. for the second zone of IS miles
] 1t IS double the first zone rate. and for
| the third zone of 139 miles it is double
1 the second zone rate The zones
! lenSthen as their number increases,
while the rate increases one and a
: fifth cents with each additional zone
! the parcel travels. All packages
! travelling more than SCI miles take a
/ uniform rate of u cents for the first
/ il pounds and y cents for each ad-
ditional % pounds. This provision
/ seems a little inconsistent. since under
! II a person might send an II pound
/ package for u cents, where il would
| cost "a cents to send a u pound pack
/ age.
| Germans Insure Packages.
! Under the German system, parcels
/ may be, registered for five cents extra,
! and those Weighing up to eleven
1 pounds may be sent postage collect
/ for fee Of two and a half cents. In
/ surance is given for the safe delivery
! OF packages for q fee of L cents for
] y
! goods shipped by parcel post take
/ rate one and a half times the regular
Z rate Packages are regarded as bulky
! when any dimension exceeds five feet,
I or where the weight is out Of pro-
portion to the space required There
J are numerous provisions in the German
/ system about the delivery of packages
! TO addresses, such as the provision
! that packages Weighing more than IL
/ pounds must be called for at the re-
ceiving office by the addressee.
The Germans are more concerned
/ about safe and uniform dispatch of the
/ parcels handled in the mail than in
( quick delivery. so they provide fee
! Of % cents for such packages as
I seek to go through on the fastest
] trains and which need to be delivered
! by special messengers As the gov
/ eminent owns and operates the rail-
/ roads. no agreement with them is
I necessary
In France Railroads Handle It.
In France the railroads look after
| the parcels post business for the gov
! eminent They agree, fCr fee of ten
/ cents each. TO handle all parcels post
] packages up to 6.6 pounds in weight,
! between any points in the republic
/ For parcels Of from 6.6 pounds in weight
| uD to II pounds the rate is Is - cents.
/ This remuneration includes all trans
! DOTtatiOn charges If a person send
/ ing a package by parcels post wishes
/ it delivered directly to the sender he
I may have this extra service by the
/ payment Of an extra fee of five cents,
{ provided the addresSee lives a a place
/ where there is a railroad station or an
! agent. Where the railroads have no
] direct communication between two
! points they guarantee to transport the
/ parcels b. highway Where the post
] office turns over parcels to the rail-
! reads for transportation to their des-
/ tinatiOn. the railroads must pay the
! government a fee of about one cent.
/ Also. where the railroad delivers a
! package to the addressee through the
! pcStOffice, the postmaster exacts
( 2 fee of a cent from the railroad for
I the service
Another class of packages carried by
: the railroads as the representatives Of
( the government are those weighing
I from II to % pounds. For delivery at
I the railroad station Of the ADDRESSED
/ the charge is about "a cents: for deliv-
I cry at the dOmicile nf the addreSsee it
/ is about % cents For ever package
1 OF this class mailed at a postoffice the
! railroad must allow the Dostoffice five
cents for bringing the package to the
. station.
In Austria there is a racket post