postal rates between the United States and its noncontiguous possessions is the same as the rate within the United States. Our domestic postal rates also apply to mails sent to Canada, Mexico, and Cuba.

The Universal Postal Union maintains at Berne a central office, called the International Bureau. This bureau is in charge of a director, and is under the supervision of the Swiss Postal Administration. The expenses of the bureau are borne by the governments that are members of the union. "That bureau is charged with the duty of collecting, collating, publishing, and distributing information of every kind which concerns the international postal service; of giving, at the request of the postal administrations concerned, an opinion upon questions in dispute; of making known propositions for modifying the acts of the Congress (the Universal Postal Congress); of giving notice of the changes adopted; and, in general, of undertaking such researches and labors as may be intrusted to it in the interest of the Postal Union." 1

The Universal Postal Congress, composed of delegates from the governments belonging to the Universal Postal Union, convenes once in five years, its last session convened in April, 1906, at Rome, Italy. It is the legislative body that controls the policy of the union, and decides upon the rules and regulations to be observed by the members of the union in the management of their foreign-mail service.

The ocean-mail service has had a stimulating influence upon the development of ocean transportation generally. As with the passenger traffic, so with the carriage of the mails, speed is necessary, and steamship companies, in order to secure the liberal payments which governments are willing to make for a fast mail service, have steadily sought to reduce the time required for ocean transit.

1"Report of the Post-Office Department, 1904," pp. 461, 462.

Moreover, in making contracts with steamship companies for the carriage of the foreign mails, most governments include with the transportation of the mails various requirements as to frequency and speed of the service, and sometimes there are requirements regarding the passenger and freight accommodations to be afforded by the mail steamers. For these services intended to aid commerce the Government often remunerates the carrier by liberal payment for carrying the mails. Ship subsidies not infrequently take the form of mail payments; the Government requiring the vessels that carry the mail to be of home registry, to be built in domestic shipyards, and officered and manned in whole or in part by citizens of the contracting country.

In the subsequent discussion of Government aid to shipping, the policy of the United States and other countries will be considered, and the discussion will show that the payments for the carriage of the ocean mails have been influential in developing the ocean transportation facilities of several countries.

REFERENCES FOR FURTHER READING

“Annual Report of the Post-Office Department." (The annual reports of the Superintendent of Foreign Mails to the Postmaster-General contain a good account of the ocean-mail service.)

"The Navigation Laws of the United States," published by the Bureau of Navigation, Department of Commerce and Labor. (This gives the laws relating to the ocean-mail service. revised edition appears every few years.)

CHAPTER VIII

THE INTERNATIONAL EXPRESS SERVICE

A SMALL but increasing volume of international traffic consists of express matter, including parcels of relatively high value as compared with their weight, papers and documents, printed matter too heavy for transmission by mail, paper money and coin, and, in general, such articles as require especially rapid and safe transportation and a prompter delivery than can be secured by means of the freight service.

The line separating freight from express traffic is not a sharp one, but the charges on foreign express matter are necessarily so high as practically to confine international express to parcels. The boundary between freight and express is more definite in international traffic than in domestic traffic by rail, where commodities ordinarily shipped as freight may be sent as express whenever their prompt delivery is especially important.

The companies that conduct a foreign express service also carry on an international banking business to some extent, by selling travelers' checks that can be cashed in any one of a large number of foreign cities. These checks are purchased in increasing numbers by tourists, some persons preferring the checks to the customary letter of credit.

Three companies in the United States now conduct a foreign express service: the American Express Company, the United States Express Company, and Wells, Fargo and Company. The express service between the United

States and Europe was organized soon after the inauguration of the domestic express business in the United States. William Harnden, about 1839, first organized the express service in the United States, and within a short time started a service between the United States and Europe, probably because, in 1840, Alvin Adams began competing for the domestic express business. Harnden found the foreign business profitable, and gave it more attention than the domestic business, which Adams steadily enlarged. In 1854, Harnden and Company and Adams and Company consolidated with two other firms and formed the Adams Express Company.

The American Express Company was formed in 1850, by the combination of two existing firms, and became an active competitor of the Adams Company. However, the express business in the United States came to be controlled by a few large companies that were easily able to restrain competition by dividing the field or by agreeing upon common rates for like services. The Adams Express Company withdrew from the international business, leaving the express traffic with Europe to the American and United States Express companies. The transpacific traffic is carried on mainly by Wells, Fargo and Company.

There are no statistics published of the domestic or foreign express traffic handled annually by American companies. The American Express Company has the largest traffic of the three main companies doing a foreign business, and is apparently giving more attention than are the other companies to the development of the international traffic. This is indicated by the fact that the American Express Company recently entered into a parcels-post agreement with the British Government. Packages accepted by the British Post Office for delivery by parcels post in the United States are consigned to the American Express Company for delivery; likewise the