The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1879-10-20
The Postomce.
Why the Postmaster General Issued thet
Order.

Printed copies have been received of letters
sent by the Postmaster-Genersl to Senator An
thony of Rhode Island and Congressman Wait
of Connecticut, in reply to their statements OF
complaints by business men at the remarkable
order concerning misdirected letters recently
issued. To Senator Anthony he writes undsr
date of the 14th: at has not been the inten-
tion of the Department to prevent the delivery
of matter whose destination is positively known
to the postal officials handling it," After quot
ing his order and the explanation published
with it, the Postmaster-General writes: 1T
must also be considered that while the local
names are perfectly familiar to persons living
in the locality they are, of course, perfectly
unknown to postal employees thousand miles
distant who handle mail addressed to such To-
calities and it is impossible for them to know
bv what route such letters should be SENT or
whether they are intended for the locality in
question or for postottice OF the same name
in another State, or in the same State but dlf-
ferent county,.
Congressman Wait, in his letter to the Post
master General, illustrates the reasons for the
complaints made to him by business men, as
follows: "The town of Sprague has two posi-
offices in it. Baltic and Hanover. One OF the
immense mills of A. & w. Sprague, the Bal
tic MILL" is in Sprague, and there is a village
of fifteen or eighteen hundred people, mer-
chants, mechanics, etc., outside OF the mill
people proper presume that more than han
Of the letters of this village are directed simp-
lv TO ''Sprague" and, If this order is enforced,
the business men of Sprague will have to wait
for their correspondence to go through the dead
letter office. These are not isolated cases. The
town of Sprague was carved out Of the towns
of Franklin and Lisbon not many years ago,
but the postoffce at Baltic had been established
when the great mill was built and prior to the
erection of the new town. All over the coull-
ties of New London and Windham are such
places bearing names different from the post
office, and the postal clerks know just what to
do with the letters. If letters to- A. q w.
Sprague are directed to Sprague, the postal
clerk puts them off at the Baltic office II Col
onel Ethan Allen, who is large manufacturer
at the village of Hanover, has letters directed
to him at 'Sprague,' the route agent puts them
off in the mail that goes to Hanover. L VIII
thank ' ou, my dear sir, to make full examln's-
ton into the effects of this order, and L cannot
but believe that you will rescind 1t.
To the foregoing the Postmaster-General re-
plies: "At least seventy-tive per cent. OF the
arrests for stealing letters have been based up
on the taking of letters not addressed 10 posi-
nffices No other postal service undertakes to
deIiver letters not addressed to postoffice, and
when you consider that the number of local
names in the United States is at least 10000,
while the number of postoffices is $4,000,
think you will agree with me that it is enough
to require the employees of the postal service to
be able to locate all the postotfices. 1t is not
expected that distributing clerks shall read
anything of the address of mail matter except
the name of the postohice, county and state,
and to require them, as you suggest, to be ape
to know that mail matter addressed TO Jonn
Smith, Sprague, Conn.,, goes to Baltic postomc',
Sprague, Conn, while matter addressed 10
William jones' Sprague, Conn, must DO sens