Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-07-13

Although all reports Of the last quar-
ter of the fiscal year for the Post ONCE
Department are not yet dieested, 1t is
! estimated that the final balance sheet
will show a deficit Of some $85 900 900.
| The loss is counted by President
| Hoover as serious deficit which re-
CURES thorough study. 1t really amounts
! to about 60 cents year per capita Oh
the total population.
There are some observers who are
! prone to quote a certain poem which
| won quizzical attention about the time
we entered the war. Why Worry?''
They argue that the Department OF
Agriculture is costing the taxpayers
much more than $85 900, 900 a year,
yet no farmer has cried for retrench-
ment of that extravaganza" even
War Department, the Interior Depart
ment-eVen the Chief Executive and
Departments of Justice and the Treas
ury--all departments for the function
ing of a great Government OF a great
Nation, cost millions. The sole Ques-
ton is whether they are efhcient.
The test Of values would consist in
suspending all functions OF the postal
service for q few days. and counting
and general comfort. When a great
flood or snow isolates a community. 80
that it has no communication with the
outside world, then one realizes what
communication means. Without COM
munication. all business Is suspended
and production ceases.
It is hard to realize how ancient and
yet how extremely modern postal serv-
ice really is. Eight centuries before
Christ, as recorded in II Chronicles,
THE posts went with the letters from
the King and all his Princes through
ont all Israel"
But It should be noted that those
only; there was not even postal card
from friend to friend, nor a business
letter OF any kind. Then, too, 1t Is
noted that the mail carriers Travelled
with some speed. for even patient Job
testif1es to that efficiency as a standard
for speeding which endangered the
racer to trouble with the trafhc oficer
unless he could show immunity equal
to q modern diplomat. When have
modern postal facilities stood such a
test of excessive speed?
1t was q great feat in Colonial New
England zen the mail averaged 80
miles a DAY. but before Columbus came
and Pizarro robbed the mail Of the In
cas-. those "barbarians" had a mail serv-
ice which beat any introduced by the
white man prior to the invention OF
the pony express. The Inca service
consisted in runners stationed, in relay
groups. every five miles en- route, and
as these men had only five miles to run
per day, they got over the ground at the
speed of $50 miles a day-which GER
tainly set the pace for pony express.
The messengers wore a special UNIFORM
which gave them the right of way equal
to that of our fire department. No red
light could stop them.
All the ancient postal services were
limited to royalty. and not until 1915
was the first attempt made to serve
the public. That was with route from
Berlin to Vienna; the enterprise proved
profitable to its private promoters, the
Counts of Thurn and Taxis, who were
given a monopoly lasting until the dis
solution of the empire in 1905.
France opened the royal service to
the public in 1924, England established
\ public mail between London and Edin-
hurgh in 1885. and SO rapid was 1t that
It took only six days, weather permit
ting, to send a letter along its entire
route!
Four years later U639) the first let
ter carrier was employed In MaSsachu-
setts-the beginning Of the United
States Post ONCE although the Decla-
ration of independence was not signed
for nearly a century and half later.
That first carrier was appointed by law
to receive all mail which came by ships
from overseas and to forward it to the
parties addressed, for which they must
pay him a penny letter, and In case
he lost any letter ne must pay penny
to the addressee--the beginning OF mail
insurance.
y X
In those colonial days, since there
was no public postal service, it was the
custom to impose upon all travellers the
care of letters and small packages deS-
tined TO addresses along the route Of
travel, until, In 1887, Benjamin Frank
lin was appointed Deputy Postmaster
General of the colonies. He recognized
the service, made it regular and EN-
cient $50 far as possible under the crude
rioffeer C0nditicrsJ and 10 became prof.
table 10 the crown. But Franklin was