SIX-CENT STAMP BEST BARGAIN IN THE WORID
“It’s still one of the best bar
gains in the world.”
That's what Postmaster Paul
Buck said today about the six*
cent stamp, and be recounted
some interesting facts and fig
ures from postal h story to back
up his claim.
Even though the fSpe-cent let
ter rate has suffered the same
fate as the n ckel cigar, first
class postage is cheaper today
than it was in many bygone
areas when a few pennies meant
much more than they do today.
Postmaster Buck said.
In 1816, for instance, a single
sheet letter cost s : x eents for
delivery up to 30 miles. More
sheets and more m les cost more
money. A letter going 400 miles
cost 25 cents per* sheet.
In those days the recipient
had to pay the postage, not the
sender. And if the letter was
actually delivered to" the reci
pient, rather than picked up at
the Post Office, there was an ex
tra charge that was kept by the
carr er.
It wasn’t until 1855 that the
sender was required to pay in
advance for mail, Postmaster
Buck said.
Uniform rates regardless of
d stance and free city delivery
were written into the postal law
books in 1863. When distance
was dropped as a factor in com-'
puting rates, so was the prac
tce of charging per sheet. The
basic unit for letter postage be
came a half ounce in 1863. The
basic unit of one ounce that still
preva ls today went into effect
in 1885.
Turning to more recent history,
Postmaster Buck pointed out
that the 100 per cent increase
from 3 to 6 cents in first
class postal rates since 1032 com
pares very favorably with gen
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' • . s>
THE DORIS SHOPPE
Burnsville, N.C.
TTET YANCEY RECORD
era! increases in prices and
wages.
General consumer prices have
gone up about 200 per rent since
1932 and the average hourly ear
nings of manufacturing workers
have risen by about 550 per cent,
Postmaster Buck said.
“Back in 1947 the letter rate
was still three cents and every
one agreed that it was a really
good deal. Since then family in
come has gone up about 175 per
cent while the cost of mailing a
letter has increased 100 per cent.
If letter postage was worth three
cents in the 1940’5, in terms of
today’s dollar its worth is more
than six cents.”
Postmaster Buck estimated
that the iperease in postal char
ges that went into effect Janu
ary 7 will add only $2.25 a year
to the sl6 the average household
spent on postal services under
the old rates.
rfyDesptte the great distances
many letters must travel in the
United States, our postal rates
are lower than in most other
major countr'es, part'cularly
when based on ability to pay,
Postmaster Buck declared. He
said the average American
worker earns the price of a six
cent stamp In 1.8 m'nutes. It
takes the average Br’tish work
er 2.5 minutes to earn letter pos
tage, the West German worker
2.7 minutes and the French
worker 5.6 minutes.
Postmaster Buck said the
higher postal rates mean that
a greater share of the cost of
runn ng the Postal Service w : ll
bd borne by the users of the
mails rather than the taxpayer.
“The costs of running the Pos
tal Service must be paid,” he
explained. “What isn’t paid by
ma ; l users in postage is paid
from general tax revenues. The
approximately S9OO ’mill’on in
additional revenue the new rates
will brng in w ! U shift that much
rs the burden of paving for the
Postal Service from the taxpayer
to the mail users.
“Certainly its only fair that
the people who use the Postal
Service nav the lion’s share of
Ms operating costs.”
Postmaster Buck delved Into
history for one more comment
on the row ivwtal rates.
"Actually,” he said, "with the
six-cent stamp we are retum ng
to the postal rate charged when
New York was called New Am
sterdam and was a Dutch colony.
Then the postage rate was
’three stivers of wampum’ —the
equivalent of about 6 cents.”
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0
Sooner or Uter, that day comes,
! the day when a woman feels she’s changing.
It’s not a good feeling either. And she could
use a good old-fashioned medicine then.
Could be you feel a little edgy, or maybe
cross. You might even have what we call hot flashes and feel
tad and slightly off-balance.
Whatever you feel, we have something for
the day you need a little comfofting. Lydia E. Pinkham
Tablets. They’re made with gentle, natural ingredients that "
work to give you a better sense of well-being.
With an old-fashioned problem like this,
couldn’t you take an old-fashioned medicine?
■i *'
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Tablets and Liquid Compound
THURSDAY. JAN. 11. 1968