Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1873-11-07

HON fEUpAt NlEtNA anu h4NuAttAb Ahth ANNNN''F
Postmaster Burt, Of Boston, delivered
lecture on postoihce matters, in that city,
recently, which contained some interesting
things. lie said
In other matters We DO things very much
alike. but every man has his within and his
fancy about the form Of his letters. About
100 900 letters are daily handled in the Bos-
ton Post Office. and stamps cancelled ON
them. Ii they could be written plainly on
envelopes Of uniform size, with stamps on
the same corner and in such form that the
clerk could utilize them at once, It would be
a great help. The simplest device should
be used TO have the letter 90. People are
needless in this regard, and then charge the
p0stoiIicc with careiessness. He then ex-
planned the work OF the office in declpher-
ing the superscripti0ns and comparing
them with the directory, and the care ne
cessary in keeping q list Of changes in adj
dresses lie kept a directory Of every city
in the Union, and more than fifty business
letters day are dropped in the Office direct
ed to Boston when they were intended for
New York or some other city, and his clerks
had to hunt up the address and forward the
letters Letters come directed to such
name in Boston, and they find three or four
of the name. 1t is taken to one and be
opens It and finds it is not for him, and 1t Is
taken to another and he complains about It's
being opened, and then ruShes to n newSpa-
per and makes a complaint that there Is
something wrong in the 'stoiice lie
dwelt thus at some length upon the care
lesSness which people display in the super
scription Of their letters and the.embarrass-
ment to the oyer-worked post office officials
in consequence. lie narrated one instance
Of a bank cashier who was particular to
send letter. as he thought, plainly direct
ed to Detroit, Michigan, which was not re-
ceived, and after the officers had spent SIX
weeks in trying to hunt it up came back
from the dead letter office directed to De
tr0it, Illinois. In another case a missing
money letter. after it had been given up as
stolen, was returned from paper mill, and
after careful examination showed that it
must have been delivered to the person to
whom it was addressed and accidentally
dropped into his waste basket. He related
a number of instances of people who had
carried letters in their pocket for weeks,
and supposed they were mailed and l0st,and
other innocent mistakes for which COM
plants were made,a well as the complaints
which arise from persons who claim to send
money. but fraudulently neglect TO do so,
and then charge the postoifce cler Ks with
stealing. lie then appealed to business
men to transmit money properly by money
order. lie exhibited package OF nearly
hundred business letters which accumulated
in the Boston Office on Saturday and were
improperly directed or on which the post
age was not properly paid, some having two
cent stamps. some revenue stamps, ana
some none at all. He also exhibited lot
Of postal cards, some FIVE hundred in num-
Der. which had accumulated in few days |
with no superscription another lot was
directed to places that were not IN the pos
tai directory third lot of postal cards
was directed to Canada. All OF these had |
no name or possible clue by which to return |
them to the writer.
Such facts as these seem incredible to all |
but postal officials, But every postmaster,
in an Office ofany size, can match them from
his own experience.