The Development of Rates of Postage Part 19

Gratuitous transit was still unacceptable to the majority,[595] but both land and sea charges were reduced. The land transit rates were reduced to 1 fr. 50 per kilogramme for letters and postcards and 20 centimes per kilogramme for other articles, for distances not exceeding 3,000 kilometres; to 3 fr. per kilogramme for letters and postcards and 40 centimes per kilogramme for other articles, for distances between 3,000 and 6,000 kilometres; to 4 fr. 50 per kilogramme for letters and postcards and 60 centimes per kilogramme for other articles, for distances between 6,000 kilometres and 9,000 kilometres; and to 6 fr.

per kilogramme for letters and postcards and 80 centimes per kilogramme for other articles, for distances exceeding 9,000 kilometres.

The sea transit rates were reduced to 1 fr. 50 per kilogramme for letters and postcards and to 20 centimes for other articles, for distances not exceeding 300 nautical miles; to 4 fr. per kilogramme for letters and postcards and to 50 centimes for other articles, for distances exceeding 300 nautical miles, between countries of Europe, between parts of Europe, Africa, and Asia on the Mediterranean and Black Seas, and between Europe and North America; to 8 fr. per kilogramme for letters and postcards and to 1 fr. for other articles, for all routes not falling under the above headings.

At this Congress the question of reducing the international letter rate was raised by Sir J. G. Ward, the Australasian delegate. In 1901 New Zealand had introduced a universal penny rate for letters, and the financial results of the change had been regarded as satisfactory. The loss of revenue was some 80,000 in the first year, reduced to 50,000 in the second. There was an increase of 35 per cent. in the number of foreign letters posted in the first year, as compared with an increase of 1.76 per cent. for the last year under the 2-1/2d. rate.[596]

The proposal met with strong opposition and little support. The opposition was based entirely on financial considerations, many of the delegates stating that their administrations were unable to face the sacrifice of revenue involved. In this connection the term "sacrifice of revenue" means sacrifice of gross revenue, and not necessarily that the carrying of foreign letters at a penny would on the whole result in actual loss through the cost of service being greater than a penny, although it is probable that the cost of a foreign letter weighing as much as an ounce would be slightly more than a penny.[597] The proposal was defeated by eighteen votes to three.[598]

(II) INTERNATIONAL PARCEL POST

The Universal Postal Union as at first const.i.tuted provided only for the transmission of what may be regarded in the broad sense as letter post traffic. It made no provision for the transmission in the international service of packages of ordinary merchandise. Such packets could in strictness only be forwarded at the letter rate, which was almost prohibitive; although frequently they were forwarded at the sample rate, in which case the weight of the packet was strictly limited. The French administration proposed, in the project of the Congress of Paris of 1878, to extend in that direction the facilities provided by the Union, by amplifying the definition of samples to include small parcels of ordinary goods,[599] a proposal which was rejected by a majority of the administrations. It was, however, submitted to the Congress under another form. The German administration proposed, not the extension of the sample privilege, but the establishment of a new service, which should provide for the transmission of parcels of general merchandise not exceeding 3 kilogrammes in weight, the parcels to be charged a rate of postage sufficient to reimburse the administrations for the expenses of transmission. Although this proposal was favourably received, many of the delegates had no power to enter into any arrangement of that nature.

The question was therefore referred to the International Bureau, with instructions to call a special Conference for its consideration, if on investigation that course should be found desirable.

At this time the circ.u.mstances in the different countries in regard to the transmission of small parcels varied. In some a service was provided by the Post Office; in others, the majority, the business was left to the railways or other forms of commercial transport. In all cases the services between different countries were regulated by conventions and agreements on such terms as could be mutually arranged between the contracting parties. In general the rates of postage were based on the rates for inland transmission in each of the countries concerned. They were often extremely complicated, and several administrations had mutually agreed to a uniform rate for parcels not exceeding 5 kilogrammes in weight.

The suggestion for a special Conference was, in general, well received, and the Conference met in Paris in 1880. All the countries of Europe (except Greece), Canada, the United States, Egypt, British India and Persia, were represented. The fact that in many of the countries the Post Office had not at that time undertaken the transmission of parcels was a serious obstacle to the adoption of any sort of general agreement; and on the question of rates there was divergence of opinion whether the principle of uniformity should be accepted, and a fairly high maximum limit of weight conceded at a low uniform rate of postage, in order that the service might be of real advantage to the public, or whether the rates should be graduated according to scales of weight and distance.

The original suggestion had been for a limit of 3 kilogrammes, but at the Conference a proposal for a limit of 5 kilogrammes was submitted.

Several delegates were unable to accept the higher maximum, and the limit originally proposed was retained.[600] As regards the rates of postage to be charged there was also diversity of opinion. Some delegates held that the rate should be so fixed as to avoid the possibility of the service involving an administration in loss, while others, in view of the public benefits to be derived from the establishment of the service, were prepared to agree to rates which might prove insufficient to cover the expenses.[601] Simple uniform rates were regarded as a cardinal feature of a postal service for parcels.[602]

After prolonged discussion agreement was finally arrived at, and a Convention was signed by all the delegates, with the exception of those representing Great Britain, British India, Holland, and Persia, to be brought into operation on the 1st October 1881.

Financial considerations were the chief obstacle in the way of the partic.i.p.ation of Great Britain.[603]

The contracting parties undertook to provide a mutual service for the interchange of parcels not exceeding 3 kilogrammes in weight. Liberty of transit was guaranteed throughout the territory of each contracting country, and for transit services the respective countries were to be remunerated as follows: The administration of the country of origin was required to pay to the administration of each other country concerned in the transmission, and to that of the country of destination, 50 centimes for each parcel in respect of land transit. In cases where a sea transit was involved, the sum of 25 centimes for each parcel was payable on sea routes not exceeding 500 nautical miles; 50 centimes for routes between 500 and 1,000 nautical miles; 1 fr. for routes between 1,000 and 3,000 nautical miles; 2 fr. for routes between 3,000 and 6,000 nautical miles; and 3 fr. for all routes exceeding 6,000 nautical miles. The rate of postage was based on the foregoing payments, and amounted to as many times 50 centimes as there might be administrations concerned in the transmission, with the addition of all rates for sea transit, and with the reservation that each country might charge an additional 25 centimes (raised in certain cases to 50, to 75 centimes, or to 1 fr.). In addition, the country of destination might charge a delivery fee of 25 centimes. It was not antic.i.p.ated that these rates would in all cases be sufficient to cover the expenses of carrying on the service, but the general advantages were regarded as adequate compensation for any monetary sacrifice which might be entailed.[604] Any administration which did not at that time conduct a parcel post service was authorized to arrange for the international service to be undertaken on its behalf by railway and steams.h.i.+p companies.

At the Lisbon Congress in 1886 the maximum limit of weight was raised to 5 kilogrammes, at which point it remains, and special rates were established for parcels which, on account of their size, shape or fragility, were inconvenient for transmission.[605] Such parcels, which had previously been excluded altogether from the service, were now admitted, subject to a rate of postage 50 per cent. greater than the rate on ordinary parcels.

At the Congress of Was.h.i.+ngton in 1897, power to charge special rates was given to the administration of British India, viz. a rate not exceeding 1 fr. for land transit, a surtax not exceeding 1 fr. 25 on each parcel posted or delivered in British India, and a scale of rates graduated according to weight on all parcels posted in British India, provided that the average receipt of the Indian administration did not exceed 1 fr. 75 for each parcel.[606] The special transit charge was abandoned at the Rome Congress of 1906.

No changes of importance were made at the Rome Congress of 1906. Several proposals in regard to the maximum limit of weight were discussed. The Bulgarian delegates proposed an increase of the maximum to 50 kilogrammes, but the proposal found no support.[607] The Swiss delegate proposed an increase to 10 kilogrammes. This met with some support; but in view of the practical difficulties which would have been imposed on certain administrations in dealing with parcels of so great a weight, the proposal was negatived.

The Indian delegate proposed the insertion of a provision enabling any country to charge postage on parcels originating in that country according to a scale of weights of its own choice, in subst.i.tution for the existing single rate.[608]

The general proposal was rejected,[609] but a clause was added provisionally according to India the faculty of applying to parcels posted in India a tariff graduated by weight, provided the mean of the rates was not in excess of the normal rate of the Union.

The land transit rate remained unchanged, viz. 50 centimes for each country partic.i.p.ating in the territorial transit.

Russia was given power to collect a transit fee of 1 fr. 25 per parcel in respect of both Russia-in-Europe and Russia-in-Asia, separately; and Turkey to collect a transit rate of 1 fr. 25 on a parcel sent across Turkey-in-Asia. Owing to the undeveloped state of the transport services in Persia, that administration was empowered provisionally to decline the transport of parcels for and from other countries.

The maritime transit rates were reduced to the following:--

25 centimes for transits not exceeding 500 nautical miles 50 centimes " 500-2,500 " "

1 fr. " 2,500-5,000 " "

1-1/2 fr. " 5,000-8,000 " "

2 fr. " exceeding 8,000 " "

For parcels not exceeding 1 kilogramme the transit rate should in no case exceed 1 fr.

VII

AN a.n.a.lYSIS OF COST

METHOD

The Post Office[610] performs but one service in respect of the ordinary postage paid on a packet, under whatever rate or regulations the packet is posted. Whether the packet be a letter, a postcard, a halfpenny packet, a newspaper packet or a parcel,[611] the service performed in respect of the ordinary postage is simply to transmit the packet without delay to the place of its address.[612]

There are, of course, several intermediate stages in the progress of the packet from the place of posting to the place of delivery. Under the most favourable circ.u.mstances, as in the case of a letter from one small town to another small town for which there is a direct mail, the packet is handled two or three times by various officers; and in many cases, as with the letters from a suburb of one large town to a suburb of another large town, or to a place in a rural district or vice versa, as many as ten or twelve times.

Although the character of the service to be performed, viz. transmission to the place of its address, is identical in every case, the character of the packet naturally has considerable influence on the nature and cost of handling at the various stages, and the methods adopted in dealing with the packet. But the operations are in essence the same, and the chief difference is in the amount of time occupied and the nature of the office fittings employed.

This variation of cost and method does not correspond with variation in the rate of postage paid on the packets. Except in the case of parcels, all distinction on the basis of rates of postage disappears once the sorting office is reached.

In regard to the chief indoor operations there is, except at the smallest offices, complete separation between packets sent by parcel post and all other packets; but parcels are in some cases taken out with other packets for delivery at the same time and by the same officer.

Except in rural districts they are, however, generally taken out separately for the first morning delivery, and frequently for the last evening delivery. Speaking broadly, there is as regards delivery, as for other operations, essential separation between parcels and all other cla.s.ses of packets.

In regard to packets other than parcels, the chief, and in many cases the only, separation in actual handling is as between those packets which can be pa.s.sed through the stamping machine and those which cannot; and between those packets which can conveniently be dealt with at the ordinary letter-sorting frames, and tied in bundles for enclosure in the mail-bags, and those which on account of their irregular size and shape are sorted at pigeon-hole frames, and cannot be tied in bundles, but are forwarded loose in the mail-bags. The dividing line is almost identical in both cases, and is determined by the size and shape of the packet. In the largest offices more divisions are made, in some cases as many as five.[613]

The more usual number is three, "short letters," "long letters," and other packets.[614] The division of the packets is made in all cases, not with reference to the various rates of postage under which the packets may have been posted, but with the view simply of securing that packets of the same shape and size shall, as far as possible, be brought together, and their subsequent handling thereby facilitated.

In cases where there are four or five such divisions of the packets, the separation is likewise made from considerations independent of the rates of postage, although it happens that, as a rule, a large proportion of the packets posted under a given rate fall into a certain group. Thus all postcards fall to be handled with the short letters; all newspapers fall to be handled with the heavier packets sent at the letter rate; and a large proportion of the halfpenny packets, viz. the short halfpenny packets, fall to be handled with the short letters.

There are in general three methods of handling. The sorting is done either at the ordinary open frames, or at the newspaper frames, or directly into the mail-bags, the two latter methods being alternative.

Short letters are dealt with at the ordinary sorting frames. Long letters (which include a large proportion of "circulars") are dealt with in some cases at the ordinary frames, and in some cases at the frames provided for the larger packets (the "newspaper" frames). All other packets are dealt with at the newspaper frames, or are sorted directly into the mail-bags in those cases where frames for hanging the bags are provided. Stamping is performed either by hand or by machine.

When first brought into the sorting office the packets are placed on an open table, and the ordinary letters, circular letters, and postcards are arranged in order with the addresses in the same direction, or, as it is termed, "faced." Simultaneously, all other packets are picked out for treatment separately. The postage labels affixed to the letters and other packets are then obliterated with a dated stamp. After stamping, the letters and packers are taken to the respective sorting tables, where they are separated (in one or more operations) into groups corresponding to the various towns to which they will be despatched.

Before enclosure in the mail-bags, all short letters, postcards, and short halfpenny packets, and some of the long letters, are tied in bundles, other packets being sent loose.

From the first office of destination many of the packets are sent forward to another office, since it is naturally not possible always to enclose a packet in a direct mail-bag for the town to which it is addressed. These packets are resorted and despatched. The letters, etc., for immediate delivery do not require to be faced, as they are received in bundles, in which they are arranged with the addresses in the same direction. But, except when received for the first morning delivery, letters are stamped to show the date and time of receipt, after which they are sorted in the order of delivery, and delivered by the postmen.

In the delivery of the packets one division is made, viz. between the short letters, postcards, and short halfpenny packets, which are tied in bundles; and the letter packets and halfpenny packets of irregular size and shape, and the newspapers, which are carried loose in the delivery bag. The postman takes out of his bag a bundle of letters, etc., from which he delivers in order. These have been sorted up in the order of delivery at the sorting office, so that no time is lost in finding the proper letter for delivery. It is not possible, however, to arrange the irregular-shaped packets in this manner. When the postman has such a packet to deliver, he has first to find it among those in his bag. He then frequently finds that it is too large to be put through the letter-box, and further time is lost in gaining the attention of the householder.[615]

There is, therefore, in the matter of delivery, a heavy balance against the heavier and more bulky packets, as compared with the short letters, postcards, and short halfpenny packets.

As regards the actual transmission from post office to post office, there is only one real division of the whole of the packets, viz. that between the parcel post on the one hand, and the whole of the remaining cla.s.ses of packets on the other. In a number of cases separate mails are made up for newspapers and large packets; but compared with the total number of mails, the number of such separate mails is small, and the arrangement may be regarded as exceptional. In a considerable number of cases, however, packets sent at the parcel post rate are enclosed in the same mail-bag with packets sent at other rates. The arrangement is made somewhat extensively for mails from a post town to subordinate and other small offices in the immediate neighbourhood, but only exists in those cases where the number of parcels to be enclosed is small. As in every case where on the average as many as eight parcels are available at the time of despatch a separate mail may be made up, the arrangement does not exist extensively between any large centres with any considerable traffic; but it has been extended in recent years, and the total number of parcels forwarded in this way forms an appreciable proportion of the total number of parcels sent by post. There is in these cases, so far as mails conveyed by railway are concerned, complete separation in regard to one important element of cost, viz. the cost of conveyance. Separate payment for the conveyance of parcels is made under the arrangement established by the Parcel Post Act; while comprehensive payments are made for the conveyance of all other packets, arranged by negotiation with the individual railway companies or, failing agreement, fixed by the Court of Railway and Ca.n.a.l Commission in the manner prescribed by statute.[616]

The handling of a postal packet from posting to delivery therefore comprises the following operations in order:--

Collection, Facing, Stamping, Sorting, Conveyance, Stamping,[617]

Sorting, Delivery;