POSTOFFICE DEPARTMENT 



4791 



POSTOFFICE DEPARTMENT 



1789 there were seventy-five post offices; the 

 greatest number in any year was 76.688 in 1900, 

 but this number was reduced to 59,580 in 1910 

 by the establishment of rural routes. 



The first great advance in tt came 



in 1S47. when the government, following tin- 

 lead of Great Britain, began to use the ad- 

 o postage stamps. Stamped envelopes 

 first U.M ([ in 1852, and three years later 

 the re<:i>try >y-i.-m was introduced. The regis- 

 try fee. formerly eipht DOW ten cents, 

 in addition to the usual postage. If the sender 

 -. tho receiver must sign a card called 

 the return registry receipt, which is returned to 

 -ender as evidence of delivery. All domes- 

 tic mail mat tor except that sent by parcel post 

 may he i at any post office in the 

 Tinted States. The government will pay an 

 indemnity of the actual value, not to exceed 

 $50, for any piece of registered mail lost in 

 traiiMt. 



Fr> > I)' //; * ry. Previous to 1863 all mail had 

 to be called for at the post office. In that year 

 free delivery to street addresses in large cities 

 was instituted on a small scale, and two years 

 later the service was extended to all cities hav- 

 ing a population of 50,000 or more. By degrees 

 free delivery has been extended, until now 

 about half the population of the country is 

 thus served. It now exists in all cities having 

 a population of 10,000 or more, as well as to 

 smaller towns if they show annual receipts ex- 

 ceeding $10,000. The annual receipts ranpi- 

 about $5 at the very smallest offices to 

 >,000,000 and more in New York and Chi- 

 cago. Free delivery is not confined to the cities 

 town.--. It was first tried in country dis- 

 in 1896, and this branch of the service. 

 as rural .1. In TV, has now grown to large 

 ions. 



/. Since 1885 there has been 

 'ision that ' letters and packages may be 

 by special delivery. This means that 

 s at the post office of its 

 destination it is immediately LM\ en to a special 

 messcDp* i who curies it to the person ad- 

 dressed. Tim* ti 



its journey's end several hours sooner than n 

 it li. n| been delivered by the regular letter 

 Th- charge for this service is ten cents, 

 pud by attaching to the letter a special deliv- 

 ery stamp or regular postage stamps to the 

 of ten cents, in addition to the ordinary 

 postage. If regular postage stamps are used, 



Special Delivery must be \ 

 address side of the envelope or wrapper. 



A similar service in Great Britain is called 

 express delivery. 



Money Orders. In 1864, a year after the 

 free delivery system was instituted, the post- 

 office first assumed responsibility for the trans- 

 11 ii<sion of money. By this method the sender 

 deposits the amount with the postmaster and 

 receives in exchange an order on the postmaster 

 of the place in which the money is to be paid. 

 The money itself is not sent, as the paying 

 postmaster simply pays the amount from his 

 cash balance. The charge for the service is 

 small, ranging from three cents for an order not 

 over $2.50 to thirty cents for an order for $100, 

 the maximum amount for one money order. A 

 single purchaser, however, may buy a maxi- 

 mum of five orders for $100 each in a single 

 day. The system was originally devised to pro- 

 vide a method whereby the families and friends 

 of Federal soldiers at the front could send them 

 small amounts of money. Its use proved so 

 popular that it has since been at the command 

 of all the people. All money orders are made 

 payable at a designated post office, but if pre- 

 sented within thirty days of the date of issue, 

 they may be cashed at any other money-order 

 post office in the United States (but not in 

 Alaska). If presented within a year of the date 

 of issue they may be cashed either at the 

 designated paying office or at the issuing office. 

 If not presented for payment within five years 

 a money order is void. 



A similar system of international money or- 

 ders is also in service. These money orders 

 may be made payable in any foreign count ry 

 which belongs to the International Postal Un- 

 ion. The fees are slightly larger than those for 

 domestic money orders, ranging from ten cents 

 for amounts up to $10, to $1 for amounts from 

 $90 to $100. In most European countries the 

 postoffice department will transmit money by 

 -raph for a slight fee in excess of the regu- 

 lar charge for a postal money order, but tin- 

 plan has not been tried in the United States or 

 Canada, although telegraph companies transmit 

 sums in this manner. 



If ni I way Postoffice. The backbone of the en- 

 American system is the railway postoffice, 

 founded by George B. Armstrong (1822-1871). 

 Traveling post offices had been used in Knpland 

 before that time, but not until 1864 were steps 

 n to establish a regular system throughout 

 the Tinted States. The railroads were 

 induced to change the construction of their 

 mail coaches so that letters and packages could 

 be sorted on the train. This innovation has 



