Evening star., 1938-11-27
ByJames Waldo Fawceff.

0JJ1meS NJ 0t1O FlWCeff.
Postmaster General James A. Far
ley announced on Tuesday that he
has authorized four new stamps "as
part Of the Post ONCE Departments
1899 stamp program"
The designated issues are to be
Scent values, as follows: Golden
Gate International Exposition pro-
motion stamp, February 18; ses-
quicentennial of the Inauguration
OF George Washington as first Pres
dent commemorative, April 80; New
York Worlds Fair promotion stamp,
April 30, and 25th anniversary of
the opening of the Panama Canal
commemorative, August Is.
San Francisco will be the city for
first-day sale of the Golden Gate
issue, New York for the Washing
ton first Inauguration adhesive.
Total first-day covers bearing the
2o-cent Garfield stamp cancelled on
November 10 amounted to 51,971 in
stead of 44,938 as previously an
nounced by the Post Office Depart
ment press bureau.
The World Stamp Digest, Lon
don. prints the following letter from
Boston, Mass, first published in the
London Athenaeum, January 4,
' 1910: LAS you have shown strong
interest in the penny postage sys-
tenn. which is about to be adopted
In your country, presume you will
be glad to hear that there is some
probability of similar policy being
introduced into ours. The present
Postmaster General, Mr.. Kendall.
who is a man of energy, recon-
mended q reduction when he came
into Office, and from sundry demon
strations at Washington, especially
an article in the Democratic Review,
which possesses a semi -offlcial au-
thority, think it fairly to be in
ferred that Mr.. Kendall's views pre-
vail strongly in the administration,
and that bill essentially like yours
will be introduced in Congress SO
soon as the successful experiment in
England shall have demonstrated its
practicability." The article referred
to furnishes an interesting account
of our post Office system, from first
to last. The earliest posts in the
country were. it appears, established
by William Penn in 1888, and IL
was not till 20 or 30 years after that
any more general system was
thought of.
Franklin, the first general deputy
postmaster of the Colonies, was ap-
pointed in 1853, with a salary be-
tween him and his confederate of
800 pounds, if they could get it.
Franklin made such efforts to i'm
prove the condition of the Office that
he brought himself in debt 900
pounds, instead of gaining his share
of the 600 pounds. Through his ex-
ertions, however, letters, which used
to take six, were passed from Phila-
delphia to Boston in three weeks.
At that time there were only so post
Offices in the whole United States.
In 1896 there were but IS, with 1875
4llllCo VI pOSO 1OulCS dll1 q llCU lOtdi
revenue of $31,7l6, of which Phila-
delphia contributed one-fourth. In
1893 it took 40 days to write from
Portland, Me, to Savannah, Ga, and
receive an answer; in 1918, 20 days;
in 1889, IL days. In 1853, 80 days
between Philadelphia and Lexing-
ton; in 1910, 16 days; in 1889, 8 days.
In 1898 there were persons en-
ployed in the General Post Office; in
1916, Is persons; in 1889, 100. In
1888 the number of post Offices was
1858; the amount of postage, $4,-
235,077; miles of post roads, l34,818.
Generally there has been surplus
revenue. In 1887 it was nearly $780,
600. Our present letter postage was
fixed in 1916, at the following rates:
Single letters, 80 miles and under, 6
cents; 80 miles and over 80 miles, 10
cents; $50 miles and over 80 miles,
1919 cents; 400 miles and over $50
miles, 1871 cents, and 401 miles and
over, Is cents.
"The reduction, if it takes place,
will probably be to l cent The
measure will be popular, and once
started, nothing short of this will
satisfy either the parties or the
people"
Harry F. Dunkhorst, Washington