Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-04-18

of the foreign postal money order
| bu 8 / ness of the
Foreign Postal United States has
AL, been cut practical
MONEY oiuels. Nv in two by the
European war, this branch of the Post
| Office Departments business is making
money in more ways than one-and as
a definite result of the war conditions.
! The situation is considered in Wash
! ington to go some way toward re-
! futing the more or less common charge
| that Uncle Sam is not good business
man.
| The fact that money is being made
| despite war conditions Is due to q care
| full watching of the exchange markets
and conformity of the business to
them. for the Post Office Department
pays all of it's balances abroad by the
purchase of commercial foreign ex-
| change. Just now foreign exchange
rates have fallen to the lowest point
| reached in many years. AS a result
the post office is making such profit
on all foreign business that the losses
due to heavy expenses during the early
days of the war have more than been
made up. it is estimated by post Office
officials.
Another way in which money is be-
| ing made result of the war Situa-
| ton is indirect. The great stream of
money flowing out of the country each
year In the past has been reduced to
| half. and much of the portion kept in
| the United States has been put into
the Golfers of the postal savings sys-
tenn. In effect the war has greatly
| reduced the money order balance of
trade" that has always run overwhelm-
ingly against this country. How big
that balance has been is shown by
| figures for the last fiscal year, when
| the United States issued money orders
payable in foreign countries to the
amount of more than one hundred mil
| lion dollars. while foreign money or
ders payable in the United States
| amounted to only about ten million
dollars.
! Now. after moIe than eight months
| in which to become accustomed to war
conditions and with exchange rates
| favorable. both the foreign and do
nestle money order business of the
United States is settling down to more
nearly normal conditions. This is
shown oy recent reports to the admin
:strative office of the money order di-
vision in Washington.
Though it was necessary during the
early stages of the war to restrict the
amount of money that could be sent to
one person in foreign lands to 800
and though the division was compelled
for the latter half of 1914. it became
possible with the beginning of 1915 to
remove the limit and to place the bust
ness again on practically an unre-
stricted basis in SO far as finances are
concerned. The reason for the estab-
lishmcnt of the restriction was tina t
when exchange rates for transmitting
money to Europe suddenly scared up
ward, in the early days of August. small
bankers, anxious to get funds across
urObIem
to the Post Office Department by buy
ing hundreds of thousands of dollars
worth of foreign money orders. Since
the department must in turn patronize
the exchange markets. it stood to lose
vast sums of money In the face OF
these threatening conditions the Post
master General issued an order .estab-
fishing the ne-hundred-dollar limit.
Though Uncle Sans money order
business is now on Il satisfactory basis
financially, it is still hampered terri
torially, for Austria. Belgium, Portu-
gal and Egypt have suspended business
with this country entirely and Russia
and Hungary though they are honor
ing American orders. are not issuing
orders payable in the United states
In addition. orders issued to persons in
the parts of France within the German
lines and in portions of Germany and
Russian Poland are reported back TO
the Post Office Department as impossl-
BILE of delivery Although the depart
ment has not completed the compila-
ton of statistics for the entire war
period up to date. figures for the quar-
ter which ended September 80 last
show a decrease of about 40 per cent
when compared with similar figures
for the corresponding quarter in 1913
This quarter included July, which was
Practically normal
Officials of the money order division
estimate, therefore, that decreases In
ri 3
With the beginning of 1915, they say
this percentage began to grow steadily
less.
Unless snowstorms of unusual late
ness and magnitude visit Wyoming In
the next few weeks. the
Wyoming winter will have passed
49, this year without the
Elk Herds. usual problem of Keep
ing thousands of elk alive in the Jack
son Hole country being presented to
the federal government For the first
time in the last four years the number
of elk wintering in the Jackson Hole
valley has been negligible. and no hay
has been fed by either representatives
of the United States biological survey
or by the state game officials of Wyo-
ming
The unusually mild winter which per
mits the elk to remain on their upland
feeding grounds comes at n time when
| freedom from the strenuous work OF
| caring for half starved animals can be
! turned to good account The govern
| ment after negotiating for several
wears through the biological survey
| has Just secured title to a large trac'
| of land in the valley, and Will begin
putting it in shape for use as winter
| elk refuge. The land, known as the
| Miller tract, contains 1,24O acres. l,
was purchased under autnorlzation OF
! Congress made in 1913. and will serve
! as the nucleus for a game reservation
| that will embrace eight or nine sec
| tlons a large portion of the little val
! lev More than 500 acres OF the Miller
! tract have been under CULTIVATION, ano
| win he used by the biological survey
| for raising hay, SO that the PROJECT may
| be put on a self-supporting basis y
| G. Nowlin of the staff of the survey
who has been in charge or the gov
! ernment's work among the jackson
| Hole elk. has been put in charge OF the
| refuge. and is planning to purchase
! hay planting and harvesting apparatus
| and 10 start work raising 1000 Tor his
| winter pensioners
The topography of the country ABOUT
Jackson Hole is such that when neaVy
SHOWS cover the mountains the elk are
driven down into the narrow Valley
Thousands of the animals cohsresate
! in vast herds and soon exhaust the
/ food supply growing on the few square
! miles of the valleys area. Untll the
! government took up the work OF reed
! ing the elk several years ago thou-
| sands of them died each winter IN