million cards being
sold in the first three months; and following on this success the cards
were soon introduced in most other countries.

Except in France, and for the first two years in Germany, the rate
charged has from the first been one-half the minimum rate for letters.
In France the minimum for postcards bearing ordinary messages has never
been less than 10 centimes.[523] This reduction of 50 per cent. cannot
be justified on any ground of cheaper handling. The manipulation and
conveyance of postcards is perhaps slightly less expensive than that of
ordinary light letters, but any such difference is small, and in point
of fact postcards are usually regarded as causing a little more trouble
in the process of sorting. For all practical purposes it may safely be
assumed that postcards and ordinary light letters involve approximately
the same cost for their handling and transmission.[524] This difference
in the rates of postage charged on ordinary light letters and postcards,
respectively, is therefore either a standing evidence of the fiscal
character of the rate for light letters, or of the uneconomic character
of one or other of the rates, or of both.

The postcard has proved immensely popular. Its use for formal and
unconfidential communications is a great convenience. By avoiding the
necessity for folding and enclosing in envelopes, time is saved in the
making up of correspondence for the post; and the saving in postage when
a quantity is sent out is very considerable. The cards are a convenience
also in the practical working of the Post Office service. Their use
diminishes both the weight and bulk of the mails; on account of their
lightness and uniformity of size and shape large numbers can be packed
together in small space. In this respect they contrast strongly with the
irregularly shaped packets of books or of general merchandise, which
represent the maximum of encumbrance to Post Office working. The
introduction of the picture postcard gave a great impetus to the use of
this means of correspondence. Except in France, the traffic has assumed
large dimensions. In the United Kingdom in 1913-14 the total number of
postcards was about 926,000,000, while the total number of packets
passing at the letter rate was about 3,478,000,000.[525]

(V) RATE FOR PRINTED MATTER FOR THE BLIND

The low rate for matter printed in raised type for the use of the blind
is a purely philanthropic concession.[526]

In the Unite