Universal Postal Congress 1897

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V. Universal Postal Congress
Venue Washington, DC , Palais Corcoran des Beaux-Arts , United States
Period May 5 to June 15, 1897
Doyen James Albert Gary
Member countries 53
Participating countries 55
Delegates 91

The Fifth Universal Postal Congress was held in Washington, DC in 1897 . It was ceremoniously opened on May 5th in the former Corcoran art gallery . 91 representatives from 55 countries were present at the opening, including China and Korea, which were not yet members of the Universal Postal Union at the time, had sent delegates. The delegates appeared either in tails or in large gala uniforms, and for the most part - as the American newspapers particularly emphasized - their chests were adorned with shiny medals. The representatives from the Far East looked most picturesque in their puffy silk robes. The Koreans wore their high square headgear and the Turks their fez . The welcoming address was given in English by the United States Postmaster General James Albert Gary ; a French translation of the speech had been placed in the seats of the members of Congress. The Postmaster General welcomed the assembled in the name of the United States and the federal capital as the messengers of peace of a federation encircling the world, as the advocates of international traffic, which brings the geographically separated peoples into closer relations. In a brief résumé, he pointed to the extraordinary development that the Universal Postal Union had taken and the great success it had achieved.

The United States Postmaster General James Albert Gary commemorates Heinrich von Stephan, who died on April 8, 1897, as the “soul of the world's postal service”.

The issue of transit was the main subject of discussion. Thanks to the willingness of the affected administrations, an agreement was reached on new provisions which, as far as possible, took into account all concerns raised. The previous regular transit statistics will be canceled, irrespective of special investigations in the event of significant changes in services. The other payments are based on the results of the statistics from May 1896 and the rates of remuneration for land and sea transit are reduced from year to year until 1902. Less significant remuneration is omitted. The congress was particularly concerned with the question of postage stamps. He agreed on the provision that postage stamps with limited validity, which are produced for a special occasion that only affects the issuing country, such as the so-called commemorative stamps (anniversary stamps), should no longer be valid in international traffic, and that those in international traffic mainly Postage stamps that are used at 25 centimes (simple letter tax ) are to be executed in dark blue as far as possible, postage stamps at 10 centimes ( postcards ) in red and postage stamps at 5 centimes ( printed matter ) in green.

The club area, which in 1875 had an extension of 37 million km² and a population of 350 million inhabitants, in 1897 comprised an area of ​​102 million km² and a population of 1,075 million inhabitants.

literature

  • Heinrich von Stephan : Memorandum, regarding the general post-congress. Official Journal No. 15, August 3, 1871, pp. 154–156
  • Concise dictionary of the postal system :
    • 1st edition; 1926: pp. 683-684
    • 2nd Edition; 1953: p. 780 (same article as in the 1st edition with additions)
    • 1st supplement to the 2nd edition; 1956: Erwin Müller-Fischer: Timeline for the history of the postal system
  • History of the Deutsche Post
    • Volume 3: History of the Deutsche Reichspost 1871 to 1945 by Karl Sautter ; Federal Printing Office; Frankfurt; 1951
  • Archive for German Postal History (Ed .: German Society for Postal and Telecommunications History ):
    • Marc Moser: 100 years of the Universal Postal Union; Part 1 in volume 1/1974 and part 2 in volume 1/1975
  • German traffic newspaper :
    • 1897: The Fifth Universal Postal Congress ; Booklet 13, p. 157 and Booklet 22, p. 268
  • Illustrated stamp journal
    • At the opening of the fifth Universal Postal Congress in Washington, issue No. 10/1897, p. 148 f
    • Issue No. 24/1897, p. 349 f

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ DVZ, Volume 21, No. 22; The opening of the Washington Postal Congress . Berlin, Thursday, May 27, 1897, p. 268
  2. ↑ Concise dictionary of the postal system; 1st supplement to the 2nd edition; P. 189
  3. ^ Karl Sautter: History of the Deutsche Post - Part 3 - History of the Deutsche Reichspost 1871 to 1945; P. 291.