The name and address of the sender, preceded by the word "from,'' also any marks, numbers, names, or letters for the purpose of description, such as prices, quantity, etc., may be written on the wrapper of fourth-class matter without additional postage charge. A request to the delivering postmaster may also be written asking him to notify the sender in case the package is not delivered. Registration.-All kinds of postal matter may be registered at the rate of eight cents for each package in addition to the regular rates of postage, to be fully prepaid by stamps. Each package must bear the name and address of the sender, and a receipt will be returned from the person to whom addressed. Mail matter can be registered at all post-offices in the United States. An indemnity-not to exceed $10 for any one registered piece, or the actual value of the piece, if it is less than $10-shall be paid for the loss of first-class registered matter. Domestic Money Orders.-Domestic money orders are issued by money-order post-offices for any amount up to $100, at the following rates: For sums not exceeding $2.50, 3 cents; over $2.50 to $5, 5 cents; over $5 to $10, 8 cents; over $10 to $20, 10 cents; over $20 to $30, 12 cents; over $30 to $40, 15 cents; over $40 to $50, 18 cents; over $50 to $60, 20 cents; over $60 to $75, 25 cents; over $75 to $100, 30 cents; two cents is added to each fee for war tax. Stamped Envelopes.-Embossed stamped envelopes and newspaper wrappers of several denominations, sizes, and colors are kept on sale at post-offices, singly or in quantities, at a small advance on the postage rate. Stamps cut from stamped envelopes are valueless; but postmasters are authorized to give good stamps for stamped envelopes or newspaper wrappers that may be spoiled in directing, if presented in whole condition and with satisfactory evidence. All matter concerning lotteries, gift concerts, or schemes devised to defraud the public, or for the purpose of obtaining money under false pretences, is denied transmission in the mails. Applications for the establishment of post-offices should be addressed to the First Assistant Postmaster-General, accompanied by a statement of the necessity therefor. Instructions will then be given and blanks furnished to enable the petitioners to provide the department with the necessary information. The franking privilege was abolished July 1, 1873, but the following mail matter may be sent free by legislative saving clauses, viz. : 1. All public documents printed by order of Congress, the Congressional Record and speeches contained therein, franked by Members of Congress, or the Secretary of the Senate, or Clerk of the House. 2. Seeds transmitted by the Secretary of Agriculture, or by any Member of Congress, procured from that Department. 3. All periodicals sent to subscribers within the county where printed. 4. Letters and packages relating exclusively to the business of the Government of the United States, mailed only by officers of the same, publications required to be mailed to the Librarian of Congress by the Copyright law, and letters and parcels mailed by the Smithsonian Institution. All these must be covered by specially printed penalty" envelopes or labels. 5. The Vice-President, Members and Members-elect and Delegates and Delegates-elect to Congress may frank any mail matter, not over two ounces in weight, upon official or departmental business. All communications to Government officers and to Members of Congress are required to be prepaid by stamps. Suggestions to the Public (from the United States Official Postal Guide).-Mail all letters, etc., as early as practicable, especially when sent in large numbers, as is frequently the case with newspapers and circulars. All mail matter at large post-offices is necessarily handled in great haste and should therefore in all cases be so PLAINLY addressed as to leave NO ROOM FOR DOUBT AND NO EXCUSE FOR ERROR on the part of postal employés. Names of States should be written in full (or their abbreviations very distinctly written) in order to prevent errors which arise from the similarity of such abbreviations as Cal., Col.; Pa., Va., Vt.; Me., Mo., Md.; Ioa., Ind.; N. H., N. M., N. Y., N. J., N. C., D. C.: Miss., Minn., Mass.; Nev., Neb.; Penn., Tenn., etc., when hastily or carelessly written. This is especially necessary in addressing mail matter to places of which the names are borne by several post-offices in different States. Avoid as much as possible using envelopes made of flimsy paper, especially where more than one sheet of paper, or any other article than paper, is inclosed. Being often handled, and even in the mail-bags subject to pressure, such envelopes not infrequently split open, giving cause of complaint. Never send money or any other article of value through the mail except either by means of a money order or in a registered letter. Any person who sends money or jewelry in an unreistered letter not only runs a risk of losing his property, but exposes to temptation every one through whose hands his letter passes, and may be the means of ultimately bringing some clerk or letter-carrier to ruin. See that every letter or package bears the full name and post-office address of the writer, in order to secure the return of the letter, if the person to whom it is directed cannot be found. A much larger portion of the undelivered letters could be returned if the names and addresses of the senders were always fully and plainly written or printed inside or on the envelopes. Persons who have large correspondence find it most convenient to use "special request envelopes; but those who only mail an occasional letter can avoid much trouble by writing a request to return if not delivered," etc., on the envelope. When dropping a letter, newspaper, etc., into a street mailing-box, or into the receptacle at a post-office, always see that the packet falls into the box and does not stick in its passage; observe, also, particularly, whether the postage stamps remain securely in their places. Postage stamps should be placed on the upper right-hand corner of the address side of all mail matter. The street and number (or box number) should form a part of the address of all mail matter directed to cities. In most cities there are many persons, and even firms, bearing the same name. Before depositing any package or other article for mailing, the sender should assure himself that it is wrapped and packed in the manner prescribed by postal regulations; that it does not contain unmailable matter nor exceed the limit of size and weight as fixed by law; and that it is fully prepaid and properly addressed. The postage stamps on all mail matter are necessarily cancelled at once, and the value of those affixed to packages that are afterward discovered to be short-paid or otherwise unmailable is therefore liable to be lost to the senders. It is unlawful to send an ordinary letter by express or otherwise outside of the mails unless it be inclosed in a Government-stamped envelope. It is also unlawful to inclose a letter in an express package unless it pertains wholly to the contents of the package. It is forbidden by the regulations of the Post-Office Department for postmasters to give to any person information concerning the mail matter of another, or to disclose the name of a boxholder at a post-office. Letters addressed to persons temporarily sojourning in a city where the Free Delivery System is in operation should be marked Transient or General Delivery,'' if not addressed to a street and number or some other designated place of delivery. Foreign books, etc., infringing United States copyright are undeliverable if received in foreign mails, or mailed here. The foregoing rates, rules, and suggestions apply to postal maiters in the United States. Foreign Mails. POSTAGE RATES AND CONDITIONS. 5 cents. THE rates of postage to all foreign countries and colonies (except Canada and Mexico) are as follows: Letters, per 15 grams (ounce)............ Postal cards, each.. Newspapers and other printed matter, per 2 ounces.. 2 cents. 1 cent. 5 cents. 1 cent. 2 cents. 1 cent. 8 cents. Commercial papers (such as legal and insurance (Packets not in excess of 10 ounces.... papers, deeds, bills of lading, invoices, Packets in excess of 10 ounces, for each 2 manuscript for publication, etc.)....... ounces or fraction thereof................................... Packets not in excess of 4 ounces....... Samples of merchandise. Packets in excess of 4 ounces, for each 2 ounces or fraction thereof Registration fee on letters or other articles........ Ordinary letters for countries of the Postal Union (except Canada and Mexico) will be forwarded, whether any postage is prepaid on them or not. All other mailable matter must be prepaid at least partially. Mail matter for Hawaii, Cuba, Porto Rico, and to United States possessions in the Philippines if addressed to persons in the service of the United States should be prepaid at Domestic Rates, and at Postal Union Rates if addressed to other persons. Newspapers, per 4 ounces.... Merchandise, not exceeding 4 pounds (samples 1c. per 2 oz.), per ounce.. 2 cents. 1 cent. 1 cent. 1 cent. 8 cents, Any article of correspondence may be registered. Packages of merchandise are subject to the regulations of either country to prevent violations of the revenue laws; must not be closed against inspection, and must be so wrapped and inclosed as to be easily examined. Samples must not exceed 884 ounces in weight. No sealed packages other than letters in their usual and ordinary form may be sent by mail to Canada, MEXICO. Letters, newspapers, and printed matter are now carried between the United States and Mexico at same rates as in the United States. Samples are 1 cent for 2 ounces; limit of weight, 84 ounces. Merchandise other than samples may only be sent by Parcels Post. No sealed packages other than letters in their usual and ordinary form may be sent by mail to Mexico, nor any package over 4 pounds 6 ounces in weight. SAMPLES. General limit of weight, 84 ounces; but by special agreement between the United States and France, Great Britain, Belgium, Switzerland, the Argentine Republic, Italy, the Hawaiian I.lands, Egypt and the British Colones, except India, Canada, and the Australian Colonies, the Netherlands, Austria and Hungary, packets of samples of merchandise are admissible in the mails between the two countries up to 350 grams (12 ounces) in weight, and the following dimensions apply to all ostal Union countries: 30 centimeters (12 inches) in length, 20 centimeters (8 inches) in width, and 10 centimeters (4 inches) in depth, or if they are in the form of a roll, 12 inches in length and 6 inches in diameter. Merchandise of salable value and goods not in execution of orders, or as gifts, must be paid at full letter rate. PARCELS POST. Unsealed packages of mailable merchandise may be sent by Parcels Post to Jamaica (including Turk's Island), Barbadoes, the Bahamas, British Honduras, Mexico, the Hawaiian Islands (Sandwich Islands), the Leeward Islands, the Republic of Colombia, Costa Rica, Salvador, British Guiana, Danish West Indies (St. Thomas, St. Croix, and St. John) and the Windward Islands (St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Grenada, and the Grenadines), and Newfoundland, Honduras (Republic of), at the following postage rate: For a parcel not exceeding one pound in weight, 12 cents; for each additional pound or fraction thereof. 12 cents. The maximum weight allowed is eleven pounds-the extreme dimensions allowed for Mexico, Costa Rica, and Colombia being two feet length by four feet girth, and for the other countries not more than three feet six inches in length, nor more than six feet in length and girth combined. Parcels must be wrapped so as to permit their contents to be easily FOREIGN MAILS-Continued. examined by postmasters. Poisonous, explosive, and inflammable substances are excluded. Parcels may be registered for 8 cents each to any of the above places, except Barbadoes. Rates and conditions to countries not in the Universal Postal Union are now the same as those to Universal Postal Union countries. GENERAL REGULATIONS RESPECTING FOREIGN MAILS. Postage can be prepaid upon articles only by means of the postage stamps of the country in which the articles are mailed. Hence articles mailed in one country addressed to another country which bear postage stamps of the country to which they are addressed are treated as if they had no postage stamps attached to them. Unpaid letters received from the Postal Union are chargeable with 10 cents per 15 grams ( ounce) Insufficiently prepaid correspondence of all kinds is chargeable with double the amount of the deficient postage. Matter to be sent in the mails at less than letter rates must be so wrapped that it can be readily examined at the office of delivery, as well as the mailing office, without destroying the wrapper. Newspapers and periodicals sent in the mails to foreign countries other than those of the Postal Union should be wrapped singly. Those sent by publishers to regular subscribers in Canada and Mexico are transmissible as in domestic mails, except that packages addressed to Mexico must not exceed 4 pounds 6 ounces in weight. The United States two-cent postal card should be used for card correspondence with foreign countries (except Canada and Mexico, to which countries the one-cent card is transmissible), but where these cards cannot be obtained, it is allowable to use for this purpose the United States one-cent postal card with a one-cent United States adhesive postage stamp attached thereto. Mail matter of all kinds received from any country of the Postal Union is required to be reforwarded at the request of the addressee, from one post-office to another, or to any foreign country embraced in the Postal Union, without additional charge for postage. All articles prohibited from domestic mails are also excluded from circulation in the mails to and from foreign countries. Postal cards or letters addressed to go around the world will not be forwarded, being prohibited. The act of March 3, 1883, imposes a duty of 25 per cent ad valorem on all printed matter not therein otherwise provided for, without regard to mode of importation. Under said act all printed matter, except newspapers and periodicals, and except printed matter other than books imported in the mails for personal use, is subject to the regular duty of 25 per cent ad valorem. FOREIGN (INTERNATIONAL) MONEY ORDERS. Rates and regulations regarding money orders for Hawaii, Cuba, Porto Rico, and United States possessions in the Philippines will be revised on the consummation of negotiations pending when the Almanac was printed. There are now in operation postal conventions for the exchange of money orders between the United States and the following countries, viz.: Switzerland, Great Britain and Ireland, Germany, France, Italy, Canada and Newfoundland, Jamaica, New South Wales, Victoria, New Zealand, Queensland, the Cape Colony, the Windward Islands, the Leeward Islands, Belgium, Portugal, Tasmania, Hawaii, Sweden, Norway, Japan, Denmark, Netherlands, Dutch East Indies, the Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, British Guiana, Republic of Honduras, Austria, Hungary, Hong Kong, Salvador, Bermuda, Luxemburg, and South Australia. Upon receiving an international money order from the issuing postmaster the remitter must send it, at his own cost, to the payee, if the latter resides in Canada, Great Britain and Ireland, Queensland, Cape Colony, France and Algeria, New Zealand, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, Hawaii, Jamaica, Leeward and Windward Islands and Constantinople, Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, British Guiana, Hong Kong, Bermuda, and South Australia. But the order should be retained by the remitter if the intended beneficiary live in any of the following named countries: Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Italy, Belgium, Portugal, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, British India, Egypt, Japan, Salvador, Luxemburg, in which case it is of no value except as evidence of deposit of the sum therein mentioned. Another and different form of order will be forwarded to the payee by the exchange office in the country of payment. The rates of commission or fees charged for the issue of all international money orders are as follows: For sums not exceeding $10, 10 cents over $10 and not exceeding $20, 20 cents; over $20 and not exceeding $30, 30 cents; over $30 and not exceeding $40, 40 cents; over $40 and not exceeding $50, 50 cents; over $50 and not exceeding $60, 60 cents; over $60 and not exceeding $70, 70 cents; over $70 and not exceeding $80, 50 cents; over $80 and not exceeding $90, 90 cents; over $90 and not exceeding $100, one dollar. India, China, Japan, and Australia Mails. FIGURES in parentheses indicate number of days in transit from port of embarkation. The Post-Office Department allows 6 days for transmission of mails from New York to San Francisco, 7 days from New York to Vancouver, B. C., 6 days from New York to Tacoma, Wash., and 9 days from New York to London, Eng. Leave London, Eng., every Friday for Aden (10), Bombay (15), Colombo (18), Singapore (22-25), Hong Kong (29-32), Shanghai (35), Yokohama (39-41). By Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. and Messageries Maritimes. Leave San Francisco, Cal., about every 9 to 16 days for Singapore (35-40), Hong Kong (29), Shanghai (26), Yokohama (19). By Pacific Mail and Occidental and Oriental Steamship lines. Leave Vancouver, B. C., about every 28 days for Hong Kong (22), Yokohama (14). By Canadian Pacific Steamship Line. Leave Tacoma, Wash., about every 10 to 35 days for Hong Kong (27-29), Yokohama (16). By Northern Pacific Steamship Co. AUSTRALIA MAILS.-Mails for West Australia are all sent via London, Eng. Leave San Francisco, Cal., every 2 to 14 days for Honolulu, Sandwich Islands (7); and every 28 days for Apia (15), Auckland, New Zealand (21), Sydney, New South Wales (26). By Oceanic Steamship Co. Mails also leave Vancouver, B. C., about every 28 days, and must be marked via Vancouver." Leave London, Eng., every Friday for all parts of Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania, etc. The Spanish-American War War Began...... Peace Protocol Signed....... OF 1898. Thursday, April 21, 7.00 A. M. CHRONOLOCICAL RECORD January 1-12. The North Atlantic Squadron assembled in the neighborhood of Dry Tortugas, Gulf of February 8. A letter by Minister De Lome, in which he wrote disparagingly of President McKinley, February 14. Resolutions requesting the Pres.dent to transmit information relative to the situation in Čuba were adopted by Congress. February 14. Señor Luis Polo y Bernabe was appointed Spanish Minister to the United States to succeed Señor De Lome. February 15. The battle-ship Maine was blown up in the harbor of Havana by a floating mine; 260 American lives were destroyed. February 16. Spain officially expressed regret for the Maine "incident." February 17. A naval court of inquiry into the cause of the destruction of the Maine was appointed by the United States Government. February 18-25. The Spanish cruiser Vizcaya visited New York Harbor. On the last date she sailed for Havana. February 20. The Court of Inquiry began its session in Havana. February 22. The cruiser Montgomery proceeded to Havana. March 5. Spain asked for the recall of Consul-General Lee, which was promptly refused by the United States Government. March 7. A bill appropriating $50,000,000 for the national defence was introduced in the House of Representatives. It passed the House March 8 and the Senate March 9, and was signed by the President. March 11. The War Department began the mobilization of the army. March 12. March 12. March 14. March 14. The battle-ship Oregon sailed from San Francisco to join the Atlantic Squadron. The Spanish fleet sailed from Cadiz for the Canary Islands. March 19. The Maine Court of Inquiry completed its labors. Its report was delivered to the President March 25, and transmitted by him to Congress March 28. March 25. Commodore Schley took command of the Flying Squadron in Hampton Roads. March 30. The President requested permission of Spain to relieve the reconcentrados, which was granted. April 2. The Spanish fleet arrived at the Cape de Verde Islands. April 4. The Pope appealed to Spain in the interests of peace. April 5. United States consuls in Cuba were recalled. April 7. The diplomatic representatives of the great powers of Europe walted on the President with a plea for peace. April 9. Consul-General Lee with many Americans departed from Havana. April 11. The President sent a message to Congress outlining the situation, declaring that intervention was necessary, advising against the recognition of the Cuban Government, and requesting Congress to take action. April 19. Congress adopted resolutions declaring Cuba independent and directing the President to use the forces of the United States to put an end to Spanish authority in Cuba. April 20. The President signed the resolutions of Congress. An ultimatum to Spain was cabled to Minister Woodford. April 21. April 21. April 21. April 22. April 22. April 22. April 23. April 20. The Spanish Cortes met and received a warlike message from the Queen-Regent. Proclamation to the neutral powers announcing war was issued by the President. April 25. April 26. Great Britain issued a proclamation of neutrality and was followed subsequently by the Batteries at Matanzas were bombarded. April 27. Admiral Cervera's fleet left the Cape de Verde Islands for the West Indies. May 5-7. Riots in Spain. May 11. Commodore Dewey was made a rear-admiral. May 11. Attack on Cienfuegos and Cardenas. Ensign Bagley and four men on the torpedo-boat Winslow were killed. [CONTINUED ON PAGE 65.] |