_Free Delivery in Cities._--Free delivery of mail in the larger towns and cities was first introduced during the Civil War, and the service has been extended to include all places of not less than 10,000 inhabitants or where the postal receipts are not less than $10,000 per year. In 1885, provision was made by which immediate delivery ("special delivery") of a letter upon its arrival at a city post office could be secured by payment of ten cents. =Registry Service.=--In 1855, Congress established the registry service, by which upon the payment of extra postage--the extra rate is now ten cents per letter or parcel--special care is taken of letters or parcels registered. Thus the safe delivery of a valuable letter or parcel is practically assured, and by a recent law the post office department has provided a system of insurance against the loss of parcels mail--the maximum amount allowed in case of loss being one hundred dollars. =Money-Order Service.=--In 1864 the money-order service was established, by which upon the payment of a small fee, ranging from three to thirty cents according to the amount of the order, money may be sent through the mails without danger of loss. At all the larger post offices and at many of the smaller ones, international money orders may also be obtained at rates ranging from ten cents to one dollar, payable in almost any part of the world where the mails are carried. The primary object of the postal money-order service is to provide for the public a safe, convenient, and cheap method of making remittances by mail, and it is the declared policy of the department to extend the service to all post offices where its introduction is practicable.