Chapter X: Introduction (7)

In the further negotiations serious difficulty was encountered on two points only: (1) the proportion of postage to be paid to the companies, and (2) the length of time for which the agreement should be made. The earlier agreement had been for an equal division between the Post Office and the railway companies of the postage paid on all parcels. It was now decided that payment could only be made in respect of parcels actually conveyed by railway. The companies thereupon asked a higher proportion. They anticipated that parcel post traffic would be largely long-distance traffic, involving in many cases transfers on the journey; and although they expected to retain a good deal of the short-distance traffic, they could only achieve this by reducing their rates generally, especially the rates for small parcels. After some higgling, they agreed under protest to accept 55 per cent. of the postage on all such parcels as should be conveyed by railway. They also agreed to the limitation of the duration of the bargain, and the term was fixed at twenty-one years.

The agreement was embodied in the Post Office (Parcels) Act of 1882.[409] The companies parties to the arrangement undertook the service of conveying the post parcels from the vehicles of the Postmaster-General at the despatching railway station to the vehicles of the Postmaster-General at the station of destination--that is to say, they undertook all handling of parcel mails on railway stations and transfer to and from trains and from train to train where necessary--in consideration of payment of 55 per cent. of the postage paid on all parcels conveyed by railway for the whole or part of their journey, the Post Office being required to keep a record of the amount of postage paid on every such parcel. The remuneration was to be paid to the Railway Clearing Committee in London, by whom it would be distributed between the various companies. The agreement was to continue for twenty-one years, and thereafter until terminated by either party. The Postmaster-General retained the power of revising the rates of postage, but in the event of such revision the companies might claim revision of the terms of their remuneration (even during the first twenty-one years). In any case, on the termination of the agreement, the statutes governing the conditions under which ordinary mails are conveyed by railway, and the determination of the remuneration of railway companies in respect of such conveyance, were to apply equally to the conveyance of parcel mails by railway.

The Postmaster-General has twice exercised his right of revising the rates of postage, and in each case the rates were lowered. The companies have not exercised their right to ask for a revision of the terms of their remuneration, and the provisions of the Act therefore continue in operation. In the first complete year of the service (1884-5) the number of parcels conveyed was some 23 millions. The increase in the traffic has been large and constant. In 1912-13 the total number of parcels exceeded 130 millions.

The service affords a great public convenience, and the simplicity of its rates is an undoubted boon. The uniform rate has, however, proved unsatisfactory in some respects. At all points at which the traffic would be profitable, the Post Office is open to the competition of private enterprise; but for that part of the traffic for which the uniform rate must inevitably be unprofitable (unless it be fixed so high as to be exorbitant for short-distance and average-distance traffic) there will naturally be no competition. The number of local, or short-distance, parcels is consequently small, and the number of parcels sent for long distances, to remote places, is comparatively large. No great use is, however, made of the post for the transmission of parcels of agricultural produce from rural districts. There is a moderate traffic in butter and eggs from Ireland to England, and in cream from the West of England. Proposals for the introduction of a specially low rate for agricultural products have frequently been considered, but there are obvious objections to the establishment of a special rate for a special class of traffic. Moreover, for parcels from country districts the present uniform rate is often ludicrously low. The cost of preparing and packing each separate small consignment for transmission by post is, however, considerable, and only the affluent are able to indulge in that method of obtaining food supplies.[410] The exceptional character of the Post Office traffic in parcels, and the small degree in which the rates of charge measure the utility of the service of transportation which they cover, are well illustrated by the statistics of the traffic, which indicate that the total numbers are unaffected by fluctuations in general trade, and that the reductions of the rates which have been made since the establishment of the service have had no appreciable effect on the volume of traffic.[411] The actual rates for the heavier parcels are probably more profitable than the rates for light parcels, since the principle of degression is not much recognized in the scale of rates. This view is confirmed by the fact that the post is little used for heavy parcels, the average weight of a post parcel being no more than 2.8 pounds. It is, as a matter of fact, not improbable that the parcel post service as a whole is conducted at heavy loss.[412]

NOTE.--As a war measure the rates were increased on 1st November
1915 by 1d. at each step in the scale, and are now as follow:--

Parcels not exceeding 1 lb 4d.
Exceeding 1 lb., not exceeding 2 lb. 5d.
" 2 " " 3 " 6d.
" 3 " " 5 " 7d.
" 5 " " 7 " 8d.
" 7 " " 8 " 9d.
" 8 " " 9 " 10d.
" 9 " " 10 " 11d.
" 10 " " 11 " 1s.

* * * * *

PARCEL POST IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Several causes operated to prevent the early establishment in the United States of a parcel post system. The two factors of extent of territory and sparsity of population, which had from the first so greatly influenced the policy of the Government towards the Post Office, were of much greater importance in regard to a parcel post system. The weight of the individual letter is very small, and as the cost of transportation depends in most cases entirely on weight, the system of uniform rates which had been introduced in England had not been found impossible of adoption in the United States. But with parcels, cost of transportation is an appreciable item for every parcel, and in a country of vast distances there must be an appreciable variation in the actual cost for each parcel. Consequently, any uniform rate which would render the service self-supporting must be measurably above the rate which would suffice for local and short-distance traffic, and measurably below the rate which would be necessary for long-distance traffic. Private agencies would therefore cut such a rate and absorb all the short-distance traffic, while the long-distance traffic would be left to the Post Office, and would be carried at a loss. This had been found to be the case with second-class matter, where weight is an important factor, and also with the fourth-class matter. The establishment of a parcel post system, therefore, would involve a reconsideration of the fundamental principles on which the rates of postage were in general based.

The creation, in 1863, of a third class of miscellaneous mail matter[413] was virtually the establishment of a limited parcel post. The rate, for third-class matter, 2 cents for each 4 ounces or fraction thereof, was increased in 1879 to 1 cent an ounce. These rates were comparatively high; and as the limit of weight was 4 pounds, the traffic naturally never assumed large proportions. With the establishment in 1880 of an international parcel post in which the United States participated, although having no real internal parcel post, it was inevitable that the question of establishing a system equal in scope to those of other countries should arise. For forty years there was a demand, becoming more general and insistent, for the establishment of such a general parcel post.

Active official support was first given to the proposals for a parcel post in 1890 and 1891 by Postmaster-General Wanamaker, who explained that although the demand for such a system was widespread, the greatest pressure came from "interior places," which were, in fact, really most in need of it, because they had no facilities for obtaining small packages of merchandise from the towns.[414] Opposition to any sort of parcel post came then, as always, from the express companies, who, although not able or not desirous of affording a service to all parts, were much concerned at the prospect of losing traffic. Mr. Wanamaker proposed to propitiate them by transferring to them a considerable amount of traffic deemed by him to belong properly to the express companies, viz., traffic carried by the Post Office for the other Executive departments free of charge, under "penalty frank,"[415] and comprising many packages of considerable weight and bulk. Mr. Wanamaker also desired to put a stop to the transmission, as second-class matter, of periodicals which were really ordinary books, by transferring such traffic to the express companies. Although in favour of a full parcel post system, and recognizing that there was a strong desire in the country for the boon, Mr. Wanamaker was not prepared to advocate its immediate establishment. He thought other reforms should take precedence; such as free-delivery extension, postal telegraph, postal telephone, and 1 cent postage on land and sea, all of which, except the extension of free delivery, are still waiting adoption.

A number of postmasters criticized the suggestions of the Postmaster-General in 1890 regarding parcel post, but most of them had, by 1891, expressed themselves in favour of a full parcel post system, and according to Mr. Wanamaker the remainder were "probably interested express agents." The situation was in some respects unsatisfactory. It was a common practice for business firms to contract with express companies to carry large quantities of small packages at a rate per package just below the rate of postage. The express companies took such of the packages as they thought fit to handle, and left the Post Office to carry the remainder, all long-distance traffic, and unprofitable both to the express companies and to the Post Office. But the companies were secured by their profit in the short distances. Naturally, therefore, they offered strenuous opposition to the establishment of a parcel post.[416]

With the establishment of rural mail delivery there arose a new demand for a parcel post. Persons living on the rural routes desired to take advantage of the new service for the delivery of small parcels of merchandise of all kinds, food-stuffs, tobacco, dry goods, etc., which they would order from the local store-keeper by post or by telephone. The rate then payable on such parcels was the general rate for fourth-class matter, viz. 16 cents a pound, which for parcels of goods of small intrinsic value was prohibitive. In response to this demand, the first definite proposals for a parcel post[417] were put forward by the department in 1904, when the establishment of a special rate of 3 cents a pound was suggested, with a maximum limit of weight of 5 pounds, for parcels from any distributing office for rural routes to any patron on the routes from that office. Such a rate "would be a great convenience to the patrons and become a source of revenue to the department." The rate of 3 cents was estimated to be ample remuneration in such cases, because there would be no expense for railway transportation, and as it would be merely employing a system already established, there would be no additional expense for delivery: the rural carriers could easily perform the service.[418] They had at first been allowed to carry express packages, but the privilege had been subsequently withdrawn. They were, however, still authorized by law to carry merchandise for hire, on behalf of patrons of the rural routes, and to carry passengers. In general, their work for the Post Office only employed them to the extent of 30 percent, of their full capacity, and a large unutilized margin therefore existed.

The proposal was again advanced in following years. Postmaster-General Meyer interested himself in the question, and advocated in speeches in various parts of the country the immediate adoption of a parcel post system. In 1907 he suggested the introduction of a local parcel post service experimentally. He made at this time numerous treaties with foreign countries for parcel post services between those countries and the United States, at a general rate of 12 cents a pound. The result was that parcels could be posted at any town in the United States for transmission to places in, say, Europe or Australia, at the rate of 12 cents a pound, but could only be posted for transmission to another town in the United States on payment of a rate of 16 cents a pound. When this situation was realized, there was naturally a good deal of irritation, and the existence of such an anomaly was made an argument for a domestic service.[419]

The preferential rate obtained by parcels going abroad continued to be a strong argument in favour of a general parcel post, and members of Congress constantly referred to it in the discussions on the subject.

There was, moreover, and still is, an important body of opinion which goes much further than the advocacy of a parcel post system. In that view, the express companies are the enemy or, at any rate, the oppressive character of the express rates is viewed so seriously that no solution of the present difficulties of the country, and especially of the "high cost of living" problem, is thought possible short of a complete express service run by the general Government. Relief will only be found under some system which will bring the producer of the necessaries of life into direct relationship with the consumer,[420] in order that the enormous middleman's charges be eliminated and the consumer obtain the produce at a price not greatly above the actual cost of production. The railways refuse to handle shipments less than 100 pounds, and their minimum charge is 25 cents. The ordinary consumer who requires consignments of much less than 100 pounds' weight has no use for such a service. For shipments of less weight, the only service available is the express service, the minimum rate for which, in general 25 cents, is too great for farm products, which are usually of low value and could not bear a rate of 25 cents. The express service, which is restricted to the railway system, has, moreover, no means of reaching that vast body of the people, estimated at some 40,000,000, who are living on the farms, and who alone are able to supply the desired traffic in food-stuffs. The Government has in recent years, at heavy expense, extended to some 20 millions of people the benefits of free mail delivery, and the intention of the advocates of a Government express service, a "postal express," is that the State should take over the express companies, paying them fair compensation for their property, and work their service in conjunction with the rural mail delivery. By this means an extensive service could be provided at reasonable rates of charge.[421]

In February 1908 Bills were introduced in the Senate to increase the limit of weight of fourth-class matter, and to provide a rural delivery parcel post for merchandise and other articles mailed on rural delivery routes. Legislation did not, however, result.

Meantime, the feeling in favour of a parcel post was spreading, more especially in the farming districts. In November 1911 a Sub-Committee of the Senate Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads was appointed to examine the practicability of establishing a parcel post system. The Sub-Committee was appointed on a resolution of the Senate, moved by Senator Jonathan Bourne, Jr., the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads, and there is indication that the adoption of the system had already been practically decided upon, the real question before the Sub-Committee being that of its practicability as an immediate proposition. The Post Office representatives advocated a limited experimental introduction of parcel post on rural routes and in the city delivery offices. They were impressed with the radical differences between the United States and most other countries where parcel post was in operation, and hesitated to recommend the introduction of a general service. But the members of the Sub-Committee had in mind to introduce as soon as practicable a complete system by the method of enlarging the scope of the fourth-class regulations and reducing the rates of postage. Numerous witnesses appeared before the Sub-Committee, representing general societies of business men, such as the National Dairy Union, the Associated Retailers of St. Louis, Me., and the Retail Dry Goods Association of New York; educational or social societies, such as the American Library Association, the Postal Progress League, and the Knights of Labour; farmers' societies, such as the State Granges and the Farmers' Educational and Co-operative Union of America. Several farmers, lawyers, and other gentlemen appeared to give their own personal views. The chief opposition to the parcel-post came from the representatives of the retailers, who stand in constant fear of losing their business to the mail-order or catalogue houses. The business of these houses is very large, amounting in the aggregate to nearly $200,000,000 per annum, and there is perhaps some reason for the local merchants' apprehensions. The bulk of the mail-order traffic is, however, distributed as freight. But the country merchants were much alarmed, and there were doleful prophecies of the results of a parcel post. The local merchant was represented as the mainstay of the country-side. He it was who sustained the country town, which afforded so valuable a local market for the farmer. He it was to whom alone that same farmer could look for credit to tide him over bad times. He it was who made the country town a social centre where the farmer might come into touch with civilization and refinement. And on the continuance of the prosperity of the country merchant depended the continuance of the army of travelling salesmen, without whose patronage railroads would be driven to reduce the number of trains, hotels would go out of business, and throughout the country accommodation for travellers would be found extremely poor. In short, parcel post would reduce the country merchant to the same condition as the small shopkeeper in Europe; and the country towns would become mere hamlets and deserted villages.[422]

The parcel post was, of course, as likely in 1912 to prove a blow to the express companies as in the earlier years when they had so strongly resisted any proposal for its introduction. In face, however, of the strong and widespread movement in the country in its favour, they realized that they would be unable always successfully to resist its establishment, and no open opposition to the proposals of 1912 was encountered from them. They did not appear before the Senate Sub-Committee.

The Sub-Committee saw no insuperable difficulty in the way of introducing a general system at once. Moreover, they were impressed by the fact that a parcel post system was in operation in most other countries of the world, even in Australia, a country slightly larger in area than the United States and much more sparsely populated, where the two factors which so radically distinguished the United States from most other countries in which a parcel post had been established were met with in even greater degree.

When the questions of the desirability and practicability of establishing a system had been decided, there still remained the difficult and important question of the scheme of rates of charge on which the system should be based. Some of the witnesses before the Sub-Committee advocated a uniform rate, representing that a graduated rate was undesirable and would be unacceptable, as giving a special privilege to certain sections of the people. A more general opinion was that a flat rate would be unsound economically. With such a rate, the express companies would step in and take all the profitable traffic; and it would, moreover, be necessary to fix the rate so high as to render it prohibitive for goods of low value and for the purpose of moving traffic on the rural routes. In a country of vast extent the actual cost to the Government for the transportation of parcels of the same weight would differ widely in proportion to the distance for which they were conveyed in the mails, and the differences would be sufficiently great to render it easily possible to graduate a scale of postage approximately in accordance with the distance and the actual cost. The department estimated the cost of transportation for mail matter to be 1.32 cents for each 200 miles, and taking this as a basis, differential rates in respect of transportation were arrived at for a series of zones.

The charge for handling, i.e. for collection, delivery, administrative and all other incidental services, was calculated as an altogether separate item. The Sub-Committee had the evidence of Mr. John L. Newbold, a gentleman of long experience in a transport business which dealt mainly with small parcels for delivery within the limits of the City of Washington, and was therefore in a high degree comparable to delivery service which would be performed by the Post Office in respect of parcels. Mr. Newbold offered to contract with the Government to handle all post parcels for delivery within the City of Washington at 5 cents a parcel, with a limit of weight of 25 pounds. Estimates by similar delivery companies in New York City indicated the cost to them of packages up to 25 pounds, which was a little over 5 cents per package. The department's estimate of the handling cost of fourth-class matter showed a cost of a fraction under 3 cents for the first pound, with an approximate increase of 20 per cent. for each additional pound.

These data furnished a basis for calculating rates of postage, when the limitation of the zones had been determined, a matter of some little difficulty. The first, and most obvious, suggestion was that the zones should be reckoned as from each post office, but in view of the fact that there were some 60,000 post offices in the United States, grave practical difficulties would arise with a scheme providing for special rates from each post office. It was then thought the State might be adopted as the unit of area, but the States differ so widely in area that such a system would have resulted inequitably, giving equal postage charges for very unequal services. A citizen in Texas or New York State, for example, would be able to send his parcel many times as far as a citizen of Massachusetts or Delaware. The same objection applied, though not in so great degree, to the county as a unit of area. Moreover, these units would be liable to arbitrary change. Failing the discovery of any satisfactory unit based on the political divisions, recourse was had to purely theoretical divisions, based on the imaginary lines of latitude and longitude. The actual degree parallels were rejected as the limits of the units of area because, within the quadrangle formed by them, there would be a maximum zone distance of some 80 miles; while at the same time, for transmission between two places perhaps only two miles apart but lying on different sides of the line, postage would be chargeable as for the second zone. This difficulty was overcome by an ingenious suggestion, which emanated from the department, to divide the degree quadrangles in four, that is, into squares of 30 minutes dimension, and to allow the sending of parcels at the first zone rate from or to places in every contiguous quadrangle.

Under this method, which was adopted, the United States is divided into 3,500 units of area, which are definite, never-changing, and practically uniform in size, the slight difference in area depending on the distance from the Equator being negligible. Each unit is given an index number, and all post offices in the unit have the same index number. Each unit has its own zone limits, which apply equally to every office in the unit. So that in order to discover for what zone postage is to be charged between two places, it is only necessary to ascertain what are the zone limits for the units of area in which the places are respectively situated. A simple reference to a guide showing in what unit of area the post office of destination falls, and a consultation of the zone map of the office at which the packet is posted, that is, a map showing the boundaries of each zone measured from the unit of area in which the office is situated as centre, gives in a very short space of time the rate applicable to the parcel.

A simplification of rates and regulations is always attended by a diminution of the difficulties of administration, by economy of actual working, and by convenience to the public. In connection with the proposed parcel post the department, with these objects in view, suggested the abolition of the separate class for printed matter, and its amalgamation with the parcel post matter, thus reducing the number of classes of mail matter to three. The Chairman of the Senate Sub-Committee adopted this suggestion, and embodied it in the Bill which he prepared and introduced in the Senate on the 16th May 1912, retaining, however, a rate of 1 cent per ounce up to 4 ounces, in order to provide for circular matter which, under the third-class rate, passed at 1 cent for 2 ounces. This was apparently a doubling of the rate, but as the average weight of circulars is under 1 ounce, in actual practice the great bulk of them would continue to pass at 1 cent. This provision would, however, raise the rate on all catalogues and circulars weighing more than 1 ounce; and although 90 per cent. of the number of pieces of third-class matter actually posted are under 4 ounces in weight and would have fallen under the proposed special rate, and 50 per cent. are under 1 ounce in weight and would have passed for the same amount as under the existing third-class rate, viz. 1 cent, this provision of the Bill was strenuously opposed by printers and catalogue houses. Not regarding the consolidation of the two classes as in any way essential to the establishment of a parcel post system, the Senate Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads, when they came to consider the Bill, decided to eliminate that feature.

In general this Bill represented the conclusions of the Sub-Committee, and, apart from the foregoing change, was substantially accepted by the Senate Committee. The only other amendments made were an increase of the number of zones from six to eight, with the view of "protecting the local merchant in the field of his business," and a slight raising of the rates for the shorter distances, partly from a fear that the rates proposed in the Bill would not be self-sustaining, and partly from a desire further to protect the local retail merchant against the catalogue houses.

The essential provisions of the Bill, as thus amended, were embodied in the Post Office Appropriation Bill for the fiscal year 1913, were accepted by Congress, and became law on the 24th August 1912. The actual zones and rates fixed were as follows:--

First zone: All territory within quadrangle or unit of area and
every contiguous quadrangle.

Second zone: All units of area outside the first zone within a
radius of, approximately, 150 miles from the centre of a given unit
of area.

Third zone: The same within a radius of, approximately, 300 miles.

Fourth zone: The same within a radius of, approximately, 600 miles.

Fifth zone: The same within a radius of, approximately, 1,000
miles.

Sixth zone: The same within a radius of, approximately, 1,400
miles.

Seventh zone: The same within a radius of, approximately, 1,800
miles.

Eighth zone: All units of area outside the seventh zone.

The rates were:--

On rural route: 5 cents for the first pound or fraction of a pound,
and 1 cent for each additional pound or fraction of a pound.

Each additional
First Pound. Pound.
First zone 5 cents. 3 cents.
Second zone 6 " 4 "
Third zone 7 " 5 "
Fourth zone 8 " 6 "
Fifth zone 9 " 7 "
Sixth zone 10 " 9 "
Seventh zone 11 " 10 "
Eighth zone 12 " 12 "

Although, of course, with the body of the people the main arguments had been the ordinary contentions of the advantage of such a system as providing a most convenient facility for persons in all parts of the States, and especially in the rural districts, whereby they would be able by the utilization of existing machinery to have articles of all descriptions brought to their doors, yet in Congress the argument was largely based on the possibility of finding in the parcel post a means of reducing the "high cost of living," a problem which is giving much anxiety to politicians in America. By means of the parcel post, producer and consumer are to be brought into direct relations the one with the other. All middlemen and their profits will be eliminated, and either the producer will get more for his products or the consumer will pay less--which of these will happen does not appear: probably in some degree both are hoped for.

The experience of England may not be any indication of what will happen in America. But it is certain that in England the produce sent direct from farm to consumer, whether eggs, butter, or poultry, is not obtained by the consumer at less cost than he could buy it in his own town. There is an advantage, but it rests solely in quality. The products obtained from the farm are more fresh, are probably better altogether, but the price is not less. In England these considerations have been sufficient to prevent the wholesale use of the parcel post for food-stuffs. It is, in fact, in general used for such traffic only by those people to whom a little extra expense is not an object of consideration. The conditions in America seem, however, to be substantially different from those in this country, and a large development of parcel post business of this character is anticipated.[423]

On the 15th August 1913 the limit of weight was increased to 20 pounds in the local, first, and second zones; and on 1st January 1914 the limit in local, first, and second zones was further increased to 50 pounds, and in the remainder of the zones to 20 pounds. On the 16th March 1914 books and printed matter were admitted to the fourth class, or parcel post, with a rate of postage of 1 cent for each 2 ounces up to 8 ounces, the ordinary parcel post pound rates to apply to packets exceeding 8 ounces in weight.

The service, as a whole, has been enormously successful. It is estimated that in the second year the post office was handling parcels at the rate of 800,000,000 annually, a figure which may be compared to its advantage with that for the United Kingdom. In the United Kingdom the annual number of parcels posted is some 130,000,000, say three per head of the total population as compared with eight per head in the new service in the United States.

* * * * *

PARCEL POST IN FRANCE

The conveyance of parcels of merchandise, which had been undertaken by the early posts in France, was abandoned to private enterprise in 1795.[424] When, therefore, proposals were made for the establishment of an international parcel post service, France was without an internal service of the kind. She became, nevertheless, a party to the Convention of 1880, which established an international service,[425] availing herself of the privilege reserved to those countries without an inland parcel post service, of arranging for their obligations under the terms of the Convention to be assumed by railway and steamship companies. A contract was concluded with the administration of the State railways, the six great railway companies, and the shipping companies in receipt of subsidies for the conveyance of mails, under which those bodies undertook to conduct a service on behalf of the postal administration in accordance with the provisions of the Convention. They were to receive in its entirety the prescribed territorial transit rate of 50 centimes on every parcel, but not the surtax of 25 centimes.[426] The payment of 50 centimes per parcel was to be divided by the companies among themselves if the parcel was conveyed by more than one party, and constituted the full remuneration for the entire service performed, including the customs formalities. The contracting companies were required to print at their own cost a list of places served, and to keep the list available for reference by members of the public.

The establishment of an international service of this kind necessitated the provision of facilities for the transmission of ordinary inland parcels within France.[427] The companies were accordingly required to undertake also the transportation of inland parcels upon their railways and the delivery of inland parcels in localities adjoining their lines under the same conditions and for the same remuneration as in the case of parcels in the international service. A difficulty existed in the fact that small parcel traffic (_l'envois par messagerie_) was subject to special taxation.[428] These taxes frequently exceeded the charge for transmission, and in some cases the value of the parcel itself. In order to encourage the use of the service, these taxes were reduced or modified by a series of laws at a sacrifice of revenue exceeding two and a half million francs a year. The service, which was established on the 1st May 1881, did not include the whole of France, but extended only to localities served by the State railways, the six contracting companies, and certain subsidiary companies which contracted for the business with the larger companies. The maximum limit of weight was fixed at 3 kilogrammes, and the rates of postage were 60 centimes for parcels transported from railway station to railway station, and 85 centimes for parcels delivered at the residence of the addressee. The service became immediately popular, the number of parcels posted during 1881 being at the rate of over half a million a month.

Soon after its establishment the service was extended to the smaller subsidiary lines, and to districts not served by railway. The latter extension, which it was not found easy to arrange, was provided for by introducing into the contracts for the conveyance of the ordinary mails in those districts a clause empowering the administration to require the contractor to convey post parcels for a remuneration of 15 centimes per parcel--the amount to be increased to 25 centimes for parcels delivered at residence.

The Lisbon Congress (1885) raised the limit of weight in the international service from 3 kilogrammes to 5 kilogrammes, but a corresponding increase was not made in the internal French service until 1892. The maximum limit of weight was raised to 10 kilogrammes in 1897, and the following rates of postage are now in operation:--

----------------------------------------------------------
Weight. | Delivered at | Delivered at
| Railway Station. | Residence or
| | Poste Restante.
--------------------+------------------+------------------
| fr. | fr.
Not exceeding 3 kg. | 0.60 | 0.85
3-5kg. | 0.80 | 1.05
5-10 kg. | 1.25 | 1.50[429]
--------------------+------------------+------------------

Cumbersome parcels are charged rates 50 per cent. greater than the ordinary rates.[430] Parcels redirected or returned to sender are subject to an additional rate of postage, and to a tax (_droit de timbre_) of 10 centimes.[431]

Parcels for despatch are accepted only at the railway stations or offices of the companies or by their agents. They are delivered at the stations of the companies or at their offices in towns or at the offices of their agents, to be called for, or they are delivered at residence; but the latter service is undertaken only when a delivery service organized by the companies, or their agents, for their own purposes already exists.

Parcels are accepted for localities not served directly by the contracting companies, but such parcels are conveyed only to the point served by railway nearest to the place of destination. It is left to the public to provide for their further transmission. In the case of parcels delivered only at the railway station, an advice of delivery is sent to the addressee by the company or their agents within twenty-four hours of the receipt of the parcel. This advice is sent by post, and the postage, 5 centimes, is recovered from the addressee. If parcels are not called for within eight days, the sender is asked to give instructions regarding their disposal.

The control of the service in districts served by railway rests entirely in the hands of the railway companies. The postal administration takes no part directly in its management, but co-operates with the companies by affording certain small facilities in regard to parcels. For example, on payment of the usual delivery fee of 25 centimes a parcel may be delivered from the railway station to the local post office, where it will be retained in the poste restante. In districts not reached by the railway or their agents, the management of the service falls on the postal administration. The service in such districts is, however, far from complete. There are in France some 36,000 communes, but the parcel post service extends only to some 12,000 railway stations, and only at about one-half of these can parcels be delivered at the residence of the addressee.[432] To a limited extent a service is given in certain localities not directly served by railway. In these cases, which are arranged only with the concurrence of the companies, the service is conducted by the ordinary road carriers.[433] The extension of the service in the rural districts is one of the problems which face the postal administration.[434]

A local parcel post service was established in Paris in 1881 by arrangement with the Compagnie des Messageries Nationales, but it did not prove profitable, and was discontinued in 1887. A new service was set up in 1890. The contractor is required to make two deliveries on week-days and one on Sundays and feast days (_les jours f['e]ri['e]s_), and to maintain an office in each arrondissement. The system has, however, developed. Three daily deliveries are now given, and nearly 500 offices have been opened. The rate of postage is 25 centimes for parcels not exceeding 5 kilogrammes, and 40 centimes for parcels between 5 and 10 kilogrammes.

The total number of inland parcels posted during the year 1913-14 was about 52 millions.

* * * * *

PARCEL POST IN GERMANY

In the days of the horse-posts it was obviously undesirable to burden the mails with weighty packages, and the transmission of parcels by post was from the first discouraged in Germany, although not forbidden. Parcels were charged as letters by the half-ounce, a sufficiently high rate to prevent the use of the posts for their transmission to any inconvenient degree. The first Imperial posts did not, indeed, undertake the transmission of parcels. The business was left to private enterprise, and was conducted by the _Boten-Anstalten_. The posts themselves were, however, made use of for the transmission of parcels of merchandise for private individuals at least as far back as the Thirty Years' War. Owing to the dislocation of industry and commerce during that war and the high rates of postage charged, the number of parcels was extremely small, and their transmission was confined to limited areas.[435]

As early as 1635 the messengers were allowed to carry parcels so long as their travelling was not thereby impeded,[436] and in 1652 a regular parcel service was in operation between Basel and Zurich, Schaffhausen, Lindau, and Ulm. In 1660 the Great Elector ordered that no parcels should thenceforward be carried by the posts free of postage. This may perhaps be taken as the origin of a recognized parcel post service in Prussia.[437]

The rates charged were at first based on the numerous diverse circumstances which governed the early letter rates. They were increased in the event of any rise in the price of provender, and varied according to the mode of transmission and according as the parcels were sent by day or night, in fine weather or in bad weather.[438] In some cases the rate was varied according to the nature of the contents of the parcels.

In 1699 a tariff, under which the rates were regulated according to the distance and without reference to the mode of transmission, was established between certain offices in Prussia, and in 1712 this tariff was extended generally. The rate from Magdeburg to Stendal was 3 groschen per pound, to Leipzig 5 groschen per pound, and to Berlin 7 groschen per pound. In 1713 the summer and winter rates were abolished in Prussia. The rate for ordinary parcels from Berlin to Hamburg was 1 groschen per pound, from Berlin to Magdeburg 7 pf. per pound, from Berlin to Frankfort 4 pf. per pound, from Berlin to Leipzig 1 groschen per pound, etc. For provisions the rates were reduced by one-half, and for fancy goods the rates were doubled, a method of charge which gave rise to many practical difficulties.

In Saxony, by an ordinance of the 27th July 1713, parcels were divided into four classes, as follows:--

1. Packets of Documents (_Akten-Pakete_). The letter rate was
applied to these in the following manner:--

1-4 pound parcels were charged as 2-1/2 ounces
4-6 " " " " " 3 "
6-8 " " " " " 5 "

2. Money and fancy goods--

For the value of
1-3 miles 100 thaler current 2 groschen
4-6 " 100 " " 3 "
7-9 " 100 " " 4 "

and so on up to 30 miles. (NOTE.--_Distances are given in German
miles throughout._)

3. Commercial goods--

-------+-----------------------------------------------------------
| Miles.
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----
Weight.| 1-3| 4-6| 7-9|10-12|13-15|16-18|19-21|22-24|25-27|28-30
| | | | | | | | | |
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----
Pounds.| Gr. | Gr. | Gr. | Gr. | Gr. | Gr. | Gr. | Gr. | Gr. | Gr.
1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 8
2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 11
3 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 15
10 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 13 | 17 | 23 | 24 | 32 | 38 | 44
100 | 14 | 24 | 34 | 50 | 58 | 70 | 79 | 90 | 110 | 124
-------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----

The weight was calculated for each pound up to 10 pounds, then for
15 pounds and 20. For parcels weighing more than 20 pounds the rate
increased for each 10 pounds.

4. Valuable goods, e.g. gold, silver, cloth of gold, brocade, were
charged double the rate for commercial goods.

In 1741 a parcel rate was established in Brunswick and L[:u]neburg, based simply on weight and distance, without reference to the nature of the contents.[439]

The Prussian rates of 1712 continued in force until 1762, when a general revision of postal rates was necessitated by the financial difficulties resulting from the outbreak of the Seven Years' War. The rates for ordinary commercial transport in Prussia rose to such a degree that the post, still working on rates fixed in 1712, became the cheapest means of transport.

Consequently the parcel post traffic increased, but it was found that the expenses of the service were not covered by the revenue derived from the parcels. The rates were accordingly increased on the simple plan of raising them all by 100 per cent. (except in Ostfriesland, where the increase was 50 per cent.). A further revision of the rates was made in 1766. Apart from the fact that the rates were further increased, this revision was in many respects beneficial, since it introduced a uniform and definite rate for the whole country.[440] In 1770 the rates of 1712 were restored.

Up to this time the rates had been based partly on the actual length of the post routes, partly on the time occupied by the post-messengers in traversing the routes. They therefore varied according as the roads were good or bad.[441] In 1801 a mathematical measurement of the roads of Prussia was made, and thereafter the time factor was eliminated and the rates based on distance only. The distance was measured, not in a direct line, but by way of the post routes.

The events of the Napoleonic period resulted in a great increase of prices in Prussia, and in order to meet the additional expense of conducting the posts, the rates were increased by 50 per cent. between 1805 and 1811, but the general basis of charge remained unchanged. In 1824 important modifications were introduced. The discrimination according to the nature of contents of parcels was abolished, and the rates were based solely on considerations of weight and distance of transmission. Further, the distance between post offices was no longer to be reckoned according to the distance by way of the post routes, but according to the direct distance.[442] The general parcel rate was fixed at 3 pf. per pound for each 5 miles, with a minimum charge of twice letter rate for parcels not exceeding 4 pounds in weight, and three times letter rate for parcels weighing more than 4 pounds. In the case of several parcels directed to the same place, the postage was reckoned according to the total weight. The Postmaster-General was authorized to increase the rates in the event of a rise in the cost of forage.[443]

A special rate, in addition to ordinary postage, was also introduced in respect of parcels directed to or sent from offices for which no normal rate had been fixed. In 1826 a reduction of postage by 10 per cent. was authorized where the total yearly weight of parcels was between 10,000 and 20,000 pounds, and of 15 per cent. where the total yearly weight exceeded 20,000 pounds. This reduction was, however, abolished in 1848.

With the introduction of railways and the transformation of the transportation industry which ensued, the rates of 1824 were found to be too high. In 1842 they were accordingly reduced by one-half, experimentally, but only in respect of parcels sent on certain railway routes. In 1847 this reduction was extended to all railway routes,[444] and in 1848 the rate for parcels not conveyed exclusively on railway routes was reduced to 2 pf. per pound for each 5 miles. The distinction was, however, found inconvenient and was removed in 1852.[445] A general rate of 1-1/2 pf. per pound for every 5 miles was then established, with a minimum postage of twice letter rate, and a provision that odd ounces, which had previously been ignored, should be charged as a full pound, and that when several parcels were directed to the same address the postage must be reckoned for each parcel singly.

Under the German-Austrian Postal Union, established in 1850, it was at first arranged that separate parcel rates should be charged by each administration to and from the frontier, according to its own inland rates. Later the rate was fixed at 2 pf. per pound for each 5 miles, to be charged by each administration concerned in the transmission. In 1857 one definite parcel rate was established for the whole territory of the Union, graduated according to direct distance, viz. 2 pf. per pound for each 4 miles, with minima of from 1-1/2 to 7 sgr. The whole revenue from parcels was credited to a common fund and divided according to certain percentages.

A new parcel rate, based on weight and distance only, was established at the founding of the North German Union in 1867. The method of calculating the distance of transmission for the purpose of determining the postage charge was also modified. The then existing arrangement in Prussia, based on the regulations of 1824, provided that the rate should in all cases be reckoned according to the actual distance between the post offices concerned. Under this method, when a new post office was established, a parcel rate for every other post office must be calculated, causing much labour and wasting much time. This method was now abandoned. The whole territory of the North German Union was divided into imaginary squares, with sides 2 miles in length, the points of intersection of the diagonals being taken as the centres from which all distances were calculated.[446] The rates between any offices in two different squares were made identical. Such a method rendered unnecessary the calculation of a special rate of postage for every post office, and also rendered unnecessary any fresh calculations of rates in respect of any new post offices. The progression of distances was by stages of 5 miles up to 30 miles, of 10 miles from 30 to 100 miles, and of 20 miles thereafter, the increase in the length of the steps being justified on the ground that the cost of transportation does not increase in direct proportion to the distance.[447] The rate was 2 pf. per pound for each step in the scale of distances.

The rate of 1867 was applied to the Imperial Post Office by the law of 28th October 1871. This tariff, with its comparatively small progressions of distances, was found inconvenient, especially with the large growth of the traffic. The rates had, moreover, been found too high for small parcels sent over long distances. In point of fact, by far the greater part of parcels under the weight of 5 kilogrammes were less than 2-1/2 kilogrammes in weight. New parcel rates were accordingly introduced on the 1st January 1874.[448] For all parcels not exceeding 5 kilogrammes in weight, uniform rates were established, on the ground that an increase of postage according to the distance of transmission was unjustifiable in the case of light parcels.[449] For the first 10 miles the rate was 25 pf., and for all other distances 50 pf. A zone tariff based on six zones of distance was established for parcels of greater weight than 5 kilogrammes. For the first 5 kilogrammes such parcels were charged the uniform rate applicable to parcels not exceeding 5 kilogrammes in weight, and the following table shows the charges for the weight exceeding 5 kilogrammes:--

Distance. For each kg. after
the first 5 kg.
Zone I Not exceeding 10 miles 1/2 sgr. (5 pf.)
" II From 10-20 miles 1 "
" III " 20-50 " 2 "
" IV " 50-100 " 3 "
" V " 100-150 " 4 "
" VI Over 150 " 5 "

For cumbrous and unwieldy parcels an additional charge not exceeding 50 per cent. of the ordinary postage might be made. With the increase of traffic it was found impossible to forward all the parcels by the postal trains, and the Post Office was only permitted to send a limited quantity of parcels by the ordinary express trains.[450] In 1880 it was arranged that parcels which must be delivered without delay--e.g. those containing fish or flowers--should be forwarded by express train on payment of a special fee of 1 Mark each. In 1886 this additional fee was made applicable to all urgent parcels, whatever the contents.

The tariff of 1873 has proved too high both for heavy and for very light parcels, and some curious anomalies result from the combination of zone rates and uniform rates. A parcel of 5 kilogrammes sent for any distance greater than 10 miles costs 50 pf. Eight parcels of 5 kilogrammes each could, therefore, for 4 Marks be sent for any distance; but if made up into one parcel of 40 kilogrammes the postage would be 7 Marks 50 for places in the third zone (20 to 50 miles), and for places in the sixth zone (over 150 miles) no less than 18 Marks.[451] It is therefore to the advantage of the public to divide a heavy parcel, though such a proceeding obviously increases the cost to the administration of its handling and transmission. The despatch of heavy parcels by post is naturally discouraged, and the proportion of such parcels is decreasing.[452] Of the total number of parcels sent by post in 1900, more than 88 per cent. were less than 5 kilogrammes in weight, and the number of greater weight than 10 kilogrammes formed less than 3 per cent. The average amount of postage per parcel on parcels falling in Zones III, IV, V, and VI is not appreciably greater than that on parcels falling in Zone II.[453] The number of heavy parcels in the higher zones is, therefore, negligible,[454] and is least in the highest zones.[455]