On Communication before the Days of Radio

It is stressed that the really important factor in com-munication systems is not their speed of operation, but their reliability. This has been true throughout history. The earliest known postal system was that of the Persian empire which was later taken over by the Greeks and then the Romans, being used by them in their occupation of Europe 2000 years ago. The system which they adopted will be described briefly; it remained substantially unchanged in Europe until the later part of the Middle Ages. Every effort was made to make such systems reliable; it was of no value to Caesar to send messages if he could not be sure they would reach their destination. These early systems were used by an aristocracy, and the most significant thing about modem telecommunication systems is their universal use by every man, woman and child. But their use is confined to areas of high literacy in the world, not so much because of wealth, but because of mental attitudes. The growth of modern postal services during the past 300 years is described and the effect of the coming of telephones and telegraphs commented upon