Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-12-14
MEN

The business mans desire for speed in
mail service Is resulting I'm the insta la
ion at our post offices OF many new
time-saving devices Thus. precanceled
parcel post stamps supplied TO merchants
but good only in the city in which they
are sold. now save time to the clerks in
the canceling room. BY their use pack
ages can be dispatched Immediately from
the Arm Offices 10 the postal clerks with
out the de ay which separate stamping
In the main post office would occasion
Another innovation is the placing I'm the
large mail order houses OF important
cities of postal clerks. giving exclusive at
tention to the stamping Of PARCELS De-
livery is thus expedited. hauling to
the city post Office for stamping and can
ceiling Is entirely done away with Firms
now haul their mail directly to the depot.
where they make connections with the
fastest mail trains. The merchant Is now
benefited also by new contract postat
stations established in large department.
stores. Here patrons appreciate the ac-
commodation. for they may have their
parcels weighed and stamped without go
Ing outside. new type of automobfie,
the latest cry in motordom. has just been
adopted for the parcel post. Twenty OF
these delivery cars have been put I'm serv-
ice in each large city OF the east. New
street mall boxes that VIII be quickly
emptied into the waiting motor cars by
means OF curved slide bottoms are now
under contract and will soon be seen In
our cities.
A proposed change In our postal regu.
latiofis directly affects booksellers. IL
will remove books from the present third
class to the parcel post or fourth class.
Rates will thereby be reduced 10 such
an extent that the booksellers can supply
nonresident patrons with the newest lit
erature through the postal service instead
OF the express companies. great say
ing In delivery charges will be realized
on the popular-siZed volumes.
Better cooperation between divisions OF
no ia hNi ted nv ha
Office Department Thus the railway mail
clerks are now packing parcel post arti-
cles by hand into large tie sacks so COM
pactly that the danger OF damage Is re.
duced to q minimum This careful Pack
ing saves Uncle Sam money on the num-
Der OF refunds he must pay for articles
which careless landings have rendered
unfit FOR acceptance.
So:
The new terminal feature or the rail-.
way mail service in conjunction with
the delivery department and installed
in large railway stations will save
much time in the delivery OF the BUSH
ness mans out-of-town mail BY pre-
liminary sorting at the depot. in a
separate room set aside for the pur-
pose before the arrival OF mail trains.
congestion in the mail cars is relieved
and the clerks are enabled to complete
final sorting-en route before destina-
ton is reached. This terminal idea Is In
vogue In the new Union station at
Washington and the Grard Central sta
ton at New York. Similar innpvations
are considered for the entire country
Many new mechanical devices are
being introduced by the postal service
to expedite the delivery OF the bust
ness mans correspondence. Speedy con-
veyors carry mail from one end OF
post ONCE to the other; endless belt
systems. continually revolving. and
small carriers on cables tump letters
from ore department to another I'm the
space OF Few seconds; pneumatic tubes
connecting the main offices of the city
with the distant branch Offices dispatch
letters uptown in two or three seconds:
underground tubes between railway
depots and city offices serve to in
crease speed. the desirable asset I'm de-
livery Of commercial mail
A model city post office for the en-
tire country is being built In Washing-
ton at cost Of 100000 Ii will be a
classic structure OF white granite. ana
VIII directly ad1oin the great Union
station to which II win be connected by
an inclosed stone bridge Through a big
tunnel matter will be directly carried
from the government printing office.
and an elaborate tube system VIII
connect with the Capitol. the Library OF
Congress and Post Office Department.
The most modern time-saving anpli-
anceS for the handling of mail will be
installed here. This scheme OF building
city post offices directly adjacent to
central railway stations marks new
policy or the postal service.
The postal savings system also has IFS
direct effect upon the business world.
Since it's beginning in 1911, deposits ag-
gregating $3S.O0O.O0O are now cred ted to
about $4,000 dcpositors. This means
that the small wage-earners who hither-
to boarded their savings OF sent them
abroad. are putting in circulation through
the postal savings system, millions that
would have been lost to trade. Banks.
qua ified to receive this money from the
government. are benefited. and through
them the business man has at his dis
posal this great fund for commercial pur-
poses.
While the parcel post is aiding our
shippers of small articles, the interstate
commerce comm!Ss on is coming to the
aid OF shippers Of heavy goods. With
the one aim-to equalize rates and regu-
lations OF interstate ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
rate investigation and ruling that this
commission has made has served as
protection to individual shipping firms.
Assurance to a shipper that the rates
under which he transports his goods are
exactly the same as those OF his COM
petitors relieves all doubts OF unjust dis
elimination that may enter his mind.
When IL Is realized that through govern
ment ruling. prevailing rates are kept
uniform and without change except on
reasonable notice. the American shipper
has renewed stimulation to business
Rate wars, that prevailed to SO great
an extent in the past, are done away
with by a new system, recently intro
duced, for computing express cha. ges-
There are some $4,000 express offices In
this country. A separate statement OF
rates from each one of these stations TO
all of the others would require a list OF
over 60O.000O0o. II is apparent how diffi-
cult it would be TO find. In so lengthy
LIST. the lowest rates that are applicable
to shipments between two cities when
possibly even more than one route exists
II is small wonder that the shippers in
the past have been overcharSed and UNI
dercharged by express companies. In tho
last year a zone system. similar to that
now used by the parcel post, was intro.
duced. BY Il the country Is divided into
b ocks each formed by a degree OF iati-
tude and longitude. Rates are now applf-
cable to shipments between blocks instead
of from station to station.
This new system reduces the number
of rates from 6,CO0.0OO.O00 to less than
$4,000. Even this number has been
too intricate for a local agent
to handle tntelligently, SO IL Is also pro-
posed that each express company pub
fish separate sheet giving all of its
rates from one block to another. Then
the local agents by the use Of q single
sheet and the block map could tell at