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 circumstances 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
participation 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 anticipated 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 steamship 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 Washington 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 substitution 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 participating 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 ANALYSIS 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 circumstances, 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 vers[^a], 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
classes 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 passed 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
classes 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 Canal 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;
and in the case of those packets which pass through more than one office
there are, for every such office, the additional operations of sorting
and conveyance.[618]
The bags are conveyed between the various post offices by mail-van
(horse-drawn or motor), by mail-cart, by railway, or in a few cases by
carrier-cycle, tricycle, or motor-cycle.
The vans, carts, or cycles of course convey the bags from office to
office, but when the bags are sent by railway it is necessary to provide
for their conveyance to and from the railway stations. This is largely
done by mail-van, mail-cart, or carrier-tricycle; but in a great number
of cases throughout the country, where only two or three small bags are
concerned, their conveyance between the station and the post office is
provided for by cycle postman or "runner" service; that is to say, the
bags are fetched or taken by a postman or porter.
COST
In order to ascertain the cost of dealing with postal packets of the
various classes, the relative cost, and the actual cost, of the various
operations must be ascertained, and all general charges apportioned.
The cost of the "postal" service, shown in Table B,[619] i.e. the cost
of the whole of the services controlled by the Post Office, less the
cost of the telegraphs and telephones, may be grouped, as shown in Table
C, under the following main headings:--
(1) Cost of Staff,
(2) Cost of Conveyance of Mails,
(3) Cost of Buildings,
(4) Cost of Stores, and Miscellaneous Expenditure.
STAFF
Since parcels are, to a considerable extent, dealt with separately, it
has been possible to estimate the relative cost of the manipulative
services in regard to parcels on the one hand, and all other postal
packets (letters, postcards, halfpenny packets, and newspapers) on the
other. The ratios of cost are shown in Table D, and the total cost of
the manipulative services in respect of parcels calculated on this basis
is shown in Table F.
No similar ratios of relative cost have been estimated in regard to the
various classes of packets other than parcels, since they are dealt with
together, and it is necessary, therefore, to ascertain the actual cost
for staff under the various headings of collection, stamping, sorting,
and delivery. As regards collection, it is difficult to discover a basis
on which a computation of the relative cost for the different classes of
packets may be made, because the cost varies greatly, not only as
between each class, but from place to place, in regard to any particular
class of packet. Many of the ordinary letter packets are posted in large
numbers at head post offices, and in respect of packets so posted there
is no cost of collection. Light letter packets and halfpenny packets
(especially halfpenny packets) are, moreover, handed in at post offices
in considerable numbers for prepayment of postage in cash. In that case
the cost of subsequent handling is slightly reduced, because under the
regulations for such prepayment the packets must be tied in bundles with
the addresses in the same direction, that is to say, the operation of
facing must be performed by the person who posts the packets. Against
this, however, must be set the very considerable expense incurred both
in towns and rural areas for the collection of ordinary light letter
packets, postcards, halfpenny packets, and newspaper packets from
posting boxes, and the cost of van services, which are frequently
provided for the collection of letters from business premises. Very
little of the cost of these services can be attributed to the heavier
letter packets, which are to a large extent handed in at the post office
counter to be weighed. This involves considerable expense, which
corresponds to cost of collection, and may be dealt with under that
heading. The best estimate that can be made is that the cost of
collection per packet is approximately the same in all cases.
Facing and stamping may be regarded as one operation, the one being
really preparatory to the other. Here there is less difficulty. The
relative cost per packet may fairly be taken as the ratio of the time
taken in performing the operation in the case of each class of packet.
In regard to facing and stamping, and also in regard to sorting, the
letter packets proper, that is to say packets sent at the ordinary
letter rate of postage, fall in general into three classes according to
the facility with which they can be handled, viz. (1) "short letters,"
(2) "long letters," (3) "letter packets" (that is, the bulky packets
sent at the letter rate).[620] In order to complete the calculation, the
number of packets which fall respectively into these three classes must
be estimated.
It has been indicated that the actual division is made according to the
size and shape of the packets. The division corresponds approximately
with variation in weight. Few packets weighing more than 3/4 ounce would
come within the class of short letters, that is, of letters which can be
dealt with at the ordinary sorting frames; but as there is no analysis
of the number of packets of less than 1 ounce weight, there is no
alternative to the adoption of 1 ounce as the limit of this class.[621]
The effect of this is slightly adverse to the short letters and
favourable to the heavier packets. As between long letters and the
heavier packets the limit is less definite. In many cases packets of the
same weight fall into one or other class according to their size or
shape, but the mean weight of such indeterminate packets is roughly 4
ounces, and that weight is adopted as giving the mean upper line of
division for long letters.
In Table H are shown the relative rates of stamping and sorting for each
of the various classes of packets.
The proportionate cost per packet of stamping and of sorting, based on
the rates shown in Table H, is given in Table J.[622] The actual cost is
shown in Table L.