Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1923-10-22
Y. S. Sold IA Billion Stamps In One
War

From the use of the dromedary in
Biblical times to the swiftly flying
mail plane of today the history of
the letter, as a written means of COM
munication between peoples. was
traced by Assistant Postmaster Cen
eral w. Irving Glover in a speech
made recently at Winston Salem, n.
&c.
"On the postoffice job" he said.
nothing can take the place of the
individual. While in many great in
dustries the human equation has
been reduced to a minimum, no one
has vet invented anything to take
the place of a man in the delivery of
letters. Today, as a hundred years
ago, we are dependent on the nerve
and sense of loyalty of human be-
ing for the punctual delivery of our
mail, regardless of the weather and
everything else.
''The history Of the postal service
goes back as far as the sixth century
b. c., and may be called the hand
maid of civilization. and, tracing it
from the dispatch bearer of the AS
syrian and Roman times to the air
plane service of the present day, the
postal business has doubled in the
last decade. while the number of
employees has increased only per
cent.
"The use Of postage stamps is now
so common and the mailing of letters
so general that it seems as if there
never was a time when this practice
was unknown. But the stamp itself
is comparatively new, while the
sending of letters is older than
Solomon:
1.-The Book of Esther in the Bible
tells how King Ahasuerus, learning
from Queen Esther that Hannah had
ordered the death of all the Jews.
commanded Mordecai to call together
the scribes and send letters to every
province of the kingdom forbidding
the massacre. This is the verse that
describes the sending of the mes
sengers:
land he wrote in the King
Ah2Sucrus' name, and sealed it with
the kings ring: and sent letters by
posts on horseback. and riders on
mules, came!s and young dromedar-
les
THE Romans. too. sent their let
ters by mounted cOuriers. The
courier carried the message about 20
miles, when he would come to a
'posta,' where another messenger
was stationed with a fresh horse.
He. in turn, would be relieved by
still another courier. Thus. relay
after relay. the letter was sped on
until at last it arrived at its destined
'posta.' meaning station or stopping
place. and from that word we obtain
the word post as found in post
office, postcard and many similar
words.
IN the times of Benjamin Frank
lin each Letter was charged for by
the sheet instead Of by weight. and
also for the distance it was carried.
Ten cents was charged for one sheet,
20 cents for two sheets. and so on.
and for every so miles another full
fee was added Envelopes were not
used in those days, the letter simply
being folded up and sealed.
And now we come to the Stagger-
ing figures showing the growth OF
this great business. In every single
hour of the "a there are mailed
100000 letters, and in every day of
the 365 of the year 33.600.00 letters
slip into the boxes. To carry this
great volume of letters there was
sold 14,0OO,000.O00 postage stamps,
100000 special delivery stamps,
100000 newspaper wrappers, g.
100000 postage due stamps, used on
short paid mail matter. and 1000
100000 postal cards printed and sold.
and. all counted. we used and sold
1S.000,000,000 units during the last
fiscal year. And, again, to carry this
vast quantity of mail we operate a
very large motor truck service. hav-
ing in operation today 4,433 motor
vehicles, and then, in carrying this
volume of mail by railroad, it re-
quires $1,000 railway mail clerks,
who cover 215,00O miles daily"