OCR Text |
Show Parcel Post, Begun on New Year's, Is Gift of Government to the People Washington, Dec. 29. .A New Year's gift by the American govern; ment to tha American people is a thoroughly equipped domestic par-cols par-cols post. Following, consideration of the subj'.ct in a general way for a third of a century, Congress last August authorized the postmaster general to establish the new system on January 1, 1913. In actual operation it is expected that parcel post will bring the factory fac-tory and the farm into closer touch with the consumer and that it may reduce the cost of living. The largest larg-est city and the most obscure hamlet ham-let alike will enjoy the advantages ol the parcel post. It will be open to all ;n precisely equal terms. The new system Will be a direct competitor of the express companies, particularly on small package business. busi-ness. By it shipoers practically may send from their own doors parcels to anyone of the 60,000 posto ffices in t .e United States. Rates Based Upon Zones The rates -of postage for parcel post matter-differ radically from those ot other classes of mail. First, second and third class mail matter now is transported at a fiat rate for any dis ance. Parcel post rates are ba ed upon a series of zones and they jncivase'as the distance incrtasts. Tne first zone inJudes all tii-ritory within a radius of approximately fifty miles from the postoffice at which the parcel may be mailed; the second, sec-ond, 150 miles; the third, 300 miles;' the fourth, 600 miles; the fifth, 1000 miles; the sixth, 1400 mile; the seventh, sev-enth, 1800 miles; ard the eighth, all territory oeyond 1800 miles. By the terms of the law, all matter not embraced in the first, second and third clashes ol mail matter may be forwarded by parcel post, p-ovided a single uackage does not exceed eleven pounds m weight or is nut greater in dimensions tnan seventy-two seventy-two inches m combined lenghth and girth,- and is not of such character as to injure postal employees or damage equipment or other mail matter. In a word, it will include all kinds of merchandise. The rates are computed on the distance dis-tance and on the weight of the package' pack-age' in pounds. Provision is made, however, for small packages weighing weigh-ing from one to four ounces, which may ie sent at a flit rate of one cent for each ounce; but for packages weighing more than four ounces the pound rate of postage applies. Within the postal district of any postoffice a local rate of five cents for the first pound and one cent for each additional p unj is prescribed. Within the fifty miles representing the first zone the rate is five cents for the first pound and three cents for each additk nal pound. This rate increases with the distance until it reaches a maximum of twelve cents a pound for delivery within the eighth zone, 1800 miles from the point of mailing. Under the regulations promulgated promulgat-ed by Postmaster General Hitchcock, the maximum rate of twelve cents a pound applies on all part els except those weighing four ounces or less, addressed t3 any point in Canada, Mexico, Cuba, and the Kepublic of Panama. The domestic rate also applies ap-plies to any point in the Hawaiian islands, the United Slates postal Agency at Shanghai, to any point in Alaska and between any two points in Alaska. It applies, likewise to parcels mailed in the United States i delivery in the Canal Zone and tc parcels going to or coming from the I Philippine islanos. ! In .the opinion of the postal experts ex-perts the new service will be ihe most gigantic transportation propositior ever undertaken by the government 'f be service will extend over more thw 1,435,000 miles of transportation transporta-tion lines, including i33,Sf9 miles ol railways, 164,399 miles of star routes 29 2b'3 miles of steamboat lines anc ; 1 007-1" T'es of rural mail routes Distinctive Stamps Provided. For parcel post matter a dis inc-tivesefof inc-tivesefof postage stamps has been provided. If the packages bear ordinary or-dinary postage stamps they will be held for postage. Immediately upon the enactment of the parcel post law Postmaster General Hitchcock appointed a committee com-mittee of postal officials to work out the details of the new system and to put it into operation. The committee commit-tee consists of the highest authorities authori-ties on all phases of postal administration. adminis-tration. Its i personel is Robert S. Sharp, chief postoffice inspector, chairman; J. C. Koons, superintendent superintend-ent of salaries and allowances; C. B. rfurrey, chief clerk to the third assistant as-sistant postmaster general; G. L. Wood, superintendent of rural mails1, and A. A. Fisher, chief clerk to the second assistant postmaster gener a!. Associated with the committee in an advisory capacity is George G. Thompson, chief-clerk of the postoffice postof-fice department. These officials have developed the plan of the parcel post and prepared the details of its operation. oper-ation. The drafting of the regulations to govern matter transmitted by parcel post was personally directed by Postmaster Post-master Generel Hitchcock. One of these rev ulations is that each parcel mailed must bear on its face the name and address of the sender preceded pre-ceded by the name "from." Parcels Par-cels intended for dispatch must be I mailed at a postoffice, branch post office, named or lettered station or such numbered station as may be designated des-ignated by the postmaster. They must not be placed in or upon letter boxes or package boxes located in city streets. They may be given, however, to any rural or star route carrier. Parcels must not be sealed and must be so prepared as to permit per-mit of easy examination. Such parcels par-cels as contain two or more classes of mail matter arecnargable with postage post-age at the rate prescribed for the higher class. Unmailable Matter. All matter which is declared unmailable un-mailable by law will be unmailable as parcel post matter. This includes obscene, indecent and immoral matter, mat-ter, intoxicating liquors, poisons, live animals, birds and poultry, inflammable in-flammable articles and such things as raw hides or pelts or other articles arti-cles having a bad ordor. The regulations regu-lations prescribe minutely methods to be used in packing parcels. Liquors, Li-quors, and oils, paste and salvessharp instruments, ink powders, pepper snuff must be placed in water tight receptacles and in many instances surrounded by absorbent material to prevent damage to other mail matter. Articles such as millinery, toys, musical instruments and glassware must be labeled "fragile." One of the intesesting features of the regulations concerns perishable articles. In this class" are placed butter, lard, fish, fresh mea;s, dressed dress-ed fowls, vegetables and fruits and berries. Provision is made for carrying car-rying almost every article produced on the farm except live animals and fowls. In the local zone little pack-; pack-; ing is required. Within the first zone- that is for a shipment of fifty ! miles all these articles must be in-I in-I j closed in an inner cover and in a ( ' stro.ig outer cover of wood, metal , or heavy corrugated pasteboard and ( so wrapped that notning can escape . the package. , Eggs Carried Safely. : It has been demonstrated to the satisfaction of Postmaster General - Hitchcock that eggs can be trans-t trans-t : ported safely by parcel post. Of l ; course, they may not be mailed in -' paper bags, but must be inclosed in i proper coniainers. -j Parcels which cannot be delivered f will take their course through the , I dead letter office. Tf a parcel should 3 ' contain matter that in course of its - j transportation becomes offensive or injurious to health it may be destroyed de-stroyed by the postmaster. Unde-liverable Unde-liverable perishable .matter which does not become offensive or injurious injuri-ous to health may be turned over to local municipal authorities to be distributed dis-tributed to hospitals, asylums or other similar institutions. Provision is made in the law for the indemnification of shippers for lost packages: The law prescribes that by insurance the actual value of lost packages will be given to the senders. Postmaster General Hitchcock Hitch-cock has devised a unique system for handling insured parcels, consisting of a shipping tag printed with two coupons, one of which is torn off and given to the sender, the second retained by the postmaster at the sending office, the tag itself being attached to the parcel and bearing the name and address of the person to whom it is to be delivered. The fee for this insurance is ten cents. In the event of loss the government will pay the actual value of the contents con-tents of the package not exceeding fifty .dollars. Postmaster General Hitchcock maintains the belief that the parcel post is destined to become one of the most important features of the postal service. Herald Republican. |