Evening star., 1923-04-29
BY BEN McKELWAY.

IN HE United States parcel post
system. which enables the
| farmers hen to lay her eggs
unbroken on the door step Of
the city man, and allows the city man
to reciprocate by sending the farmers
hen everything she needs from an alarm
clock to an incubator, is taking such
a prominent part in developing this
| country's foreign trade that the Depart
ment of Commerce is anxious to obtain
| figures on it In dollars and cents, be-
lieving a favorable trade balance of
| the United States will be boosted ma
terially thereby. Use of the parcel post
| in foreign trade has grown by leaps and
bounds in the past, and its future is
bright. But while the Post Office De-
partment keeps tab on the amount sent
through the mails in pounds and ounces.
nothing is known definitely Of the value
of goods sent abroad every year through
| the parcel post This value runs high
up in the millions of dollars.
| Post office officials estimate that 12.-
| 000,00G pounds Of American goods will
| be sent through the parcel post to Mex
leo, Cuba, the West Indies, Central and
4
present fiscal year. This estimate is
| based on figures now available, on past
| performances of the parcel post and
| what is known of the increase now be-
ing brought about by continued and ex-
/ tensve use of the system. Last year
the parcel post carried 81 100000 pounds
| of American articles to every corner Of
| the earth. In the years to come, Latin
| America will show an increasingly large
proportion of the total.
Conventions With Many Countries.
| The United States now has treaties.
or conventions, with eleven countries in
Latin America. These conventions have
been ratified and are in actual use. The
pan-American parcel post convention,
| which was signed in Buenos Aires In
1921, provides that all countries In
Latin America may become sgnatory
| to this convention, and 1t is expected
that within a short time the convention
will cover every country in Central and
South America. This agreement per-
mits the shipments of packages up to
twenty-five pounds in weight at the rate
of 12 cents pound. with extra charges
for transshipping through an interven-
f.; ing country. The articles which may
be sent are virtually unlimited, although
| each country may pTOHlDlI
commodities. Argentina, for instance,
has a violent dislike of brass knucks
and stilettos, and will have none OF
| them.
Advantages in System.
Merchants in the United States are
taking advantage of system which
allows them to place their wares di-
rectly in the hands of consumer in
a foreign land. with the assurance
from governmental agencies that they
will be delivered speedily, inexpen-
siveIy and in a convenient form. The
parcel post system has been described
as the advance agent of foreign
trade" 1t is being used extensively
by the merchant in the distribution OF
samples, for through the use of the
i. parcel post the manufacturer can sent
his sample-sometimes more con
vincing salesman than the human
specimen-directly to the door of HI:
foreign customer be.
Some instances show that large
trade in specialties is carried on ex'
clusively through the parcel post
| Razor blades for Mexico afford an eX'
| ample of the extensive use of the
parcel post and incidentally illustrate
the need for tabulating the value OF