The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1917-10-22
THREE-CENT POSTAGE.
EFFECTIVE NEXT WEEK
New Order Will Produce Some Queer ResulTwo Gents for
Letter to a Soldier in France Three for
in Camp Lee

In the first place. the figures quoted
here make no distinction between
stamps purchased for first-class mail
and those purchased for parcel lost
There Is no way to separate the two in
the postoffice records. However. 1t is
tie general opinion among postal en-
ployes that the parcel post, huge as 1t
hts become, does not consume more
than 10 per cent of the stamps sold.
This 10 per cent tif that is fair al
IowaLce) is partially offset by the
expected normal increase of 4 IL
per cent.
Secondly, there is the drop letter
preferential A drt o letter is one that
Is rlailed for delivery from the post
affise ct which 1t is posted. or, in other
words which Is addressed for local de-
livery by the postofiice In which 1t is
mailed.
Stranger than that. you may write
to your soldier friends in France for
two cents: IL y>,u write to them in
Camp Lee you must pay three cents,
because for the pi esent United States
soldiers In France as well as those
serving in the Atlantic fleet, are at
home.
Some of the most extensive advertis-
rrs have already planned to cut down
the extra so per cent. for November
ut least. November is the month
" hen the huge volume of Christmas
advertising is put in the mails by the
iepa rtment stores and the mail order
houses. This year many of them are
speeding up to get this vast amount
Of mail in the postoff1ce before No
vember 2. One house mot the larg-
est) placed a hurry order a few days
ago with the postoffice for $4,000
stamped envelopes (of the 2-cent va
riety) to be delivered, without fail
on or before October %. II they are
delivered by the 2s--and 1t is practi.
cally impossible to get them much
sooner-that house will engage In ex-
ira heavy work for the following three
days-addressing entering, and seal.
ing three-quar Of a million letters
the material being printed previously
Yet the big mail addressing houses
which make a speciality of caring fol
mailing lists in vast quantity, say there
La apparently no general effort to de
crease the first-class mail on the par
of large advertisers. Many contracts
made by the year. will be filled for No
vember and December just as IL there
were no SO per cent increase in post
age.
The third "if': on postal cards ths
increase is 100 per cent, not SO pei
cent, as on frst-class letters. Wha'
formerly cost l cent Will now cost
cents. This will make 1t as cheap &c
send drop letter within the city a,
ii will be 10 send postcard.
But not If the postcard contains only
printing. such cards may go at the
old l-cent rate. The only writing al
lowed at the lower rate. is the name
of the addressee. and the name of the
sender, together with both addresses
To creep under this provision of tht
law, some of the firms that print the
cards one sees on the street corners
. and inethe holes-in-the-wall stores ara
already charging the supply and va
riety. Your country needs you mors
than l." with a picture of a soldier
embracing a maiden, quite properly Il
the sort In vogue now. Goodbye
my heroi" True love Is the best in.
centive to patriotism" and ITO fgh
for you and country makes parting
less severe" are the species Of NOTICE!
which are appearing.
The future In postcards is to go be.
yond that. FOR whatever is printed may
be mailed for / cent; whatever is writ
ten costs 2.