The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1927-09-13


air mail conference now in Sc
World mail routings, fixed for
decades, have already undergone
considerable realignment as the
result of the establishment of air
mail service in various parts of
the world. The international air
mail conference which begins to-
day in the Hague has, therefore, a
large problem before it. It's sessions
however, are expected to open the
way for general understanding
among the member nations of the
Universal Postal Union, under
auspices of which the conference is
held, so that letters, carrying the
required postage, mailed in any
of these countries and destined to
globe, will travel by air wherever
points on the opposite side of the
possible and by other speedy means
of transportation where air service
is not available.
A worldwide system of fast
mail service in which the quickest
possible means of transportation,
including the airplane and the
motorcycle messenger are used
will be the ultimate result. This
system, which is proposed by the
American delegation, will be
combination of air mail and the
special delivery services already
existing in most countries. Rates,
of course, will be higher than for
| ordinary mail and they probably
VIII vary between different
countries as do ordinary mail
rates today 1t will probably be
operated on a zone basis when
first established Later. when ac-
counting systems can be worked
out to satisfy transit rates across,
and transportation charges within.
the various countries, flat rate
will no doubt be instituted as is
the case of ordinary mail exchanged
today between the various
countries.
New international postage rates
are expected to accelerate the de-
velopment of air mail transpor-
tation by making potential air
routes profitable where ordinary
postage rates would not pay. This
development should completely
revolutionize the old mail routes.
Cities and entire countries, receiv-
ing mail regularly from one source
will find mail coming in from the
opposite direction, perhaps the
other way around the world.
Considerable European mail
destined to Australia and the
Orient which was formerly routed
Rvia Marseilles and the Suez Canal,
I now finds its way to New. York,
where the American transcontin-
entail air mail service puts it
aboard Pacific steamers within So
hours after its arrival at the east
ern seaport. Similar situations
prevail in the handling of mail be-
tween other widely separate points
of the globe.
The conference at the Hague
must look far into the future. Cog
nlXance must be taken of the pro-
posed establishment of ship-to-
shore and shore-to-ship service not
only on this side of the Atlantic
but on the European side.
Rates must be fixed that will
provide for this character of hand
ling, as well as the special delivery
charge at the office of destination;
rates that will permit the various
governments to operate without
loss and yet not be so high as to
discourage patronage.
The problem can not be decided
without infinite pains and a great
amount of detail work. 1t is, there
fore, well to feel that the present
meeting is in the nature of a pre-
liminary conference at which only
general issues can be ironed out
leaving the detailed decisions to
| later sessions