The Portland daily press., 1881-01-12


Stamps cancelled. 1862 ,44O.54 S136, 7O7.24
During the first seven days of last December
1861 pieces were received for mailing, and
| 92,3S5 for delivery during the same number Of
days; in all 399, 163
| No. of advertised letters. $50 $500
| Monthly average. ................ 416 81
So that more than six times as many letters were
undelivered nine years ago than now, although
100000 letters were delivered by carrier alone
| IN 1850, or more than five times as many as in
1871. This exhibit shows to how high degree
| of perfection this part of the business has been
| brought.
| The reduction of IS per cent. in the box
rents is an evidence of the increased populari-
| ty and efficiency of the free delivery system.
The extraordinary diminution in the adver-
tised list is the fruit of plan adopted for the
delivery of unclaimed letters.
When city letter is not directed to street
aud number, or to box or to box holder,
| and is uncalled for, its address is compared
with the Directory. and the street and number
supplied if possible, SO that while this neglect
of the sender occasions delay, it seldom re-
suits in miscarriage OF return to the dead letter
| Office.
cities are in constant use and list of the prin-
| clpal firms in the various other Portlands, as
well as OF all offices in Maine which are liable
! to be mistaken for Portland, such as Poland,
| Hartland, &C., has been complied.
Nearly 1900 misdirected letters have thus
been forwarded to their intended address since
| this plan was devised.
| Each carrier is required to enter in book
| the names and addresses of all new corners on
| his route, and to return his book weekly to the
general delivery, clerks to be copied into the
! directories kept by them. Over 1900 names
have by this means been added during the
! past twenty months.
| Several days before each Mondays advertis-
| ing preliminary list is made and about 300
inquiry slips sent out by the carriers to persons
whose names resemble those addressed. The
carrier indorses on each slip whatever informa-
| ton he can obtain and returns them promptly
| to the general delivery clerks.
In order to fix individual responsibility on
each clerk, the system of slipping all pack
ages OF letters, cards and circulars as we'll as
all sacks and pouches was adopted in 1874, con-
siderably in advance of many other offices of
the same class. By this plan each clerk, when
making up mail, is required to enclose in or
afhx to every, package written or printed
label giving his name and the post mark of
this office. Whenever an error is found in
such package at the Office addressed it is in
dorsed on The label, which is then returned to
our postmaster and the error charged against
the delinquent clerk, and monthly statement
thereof sent to the General Superintendent
of Railway Mail Service at Washington, Mr..
Thompson.
This precaution has greatly diminished the
percentage OF errors. Not less than 245,0O0
such labels were used on mails despatched
from the Portland postoffice during the past
year.
While the average postage paid by each in
habitant of the United States during the last
year is 6S cents, the average postage Of every
person in Portland is $4.36, noarly 81 times as
much as the rest of the country.
The postmaster is aided by an assistant, a
cashier, 16 male and female clerks, and 10
carriers; in all postal family of 36 persons
all told.
The profits of the New York postoffice have
been stated at the enormous sum of So, 75S,717
for 1880, but those of the Portland office are
proportionally greater.
For the population of New York city is L.
zoe, $50, while that of Portland is onlv $3.50
This ratio would give the Portland office a
profit of $77 .33 to the government, where
as it is in fact sos, 380.71, or $31, 07S38 more
In other words, Portland would, if as popu-
lous as New York city, pay $4,O57 1883.
In 1887 the city erected at the corner of
Middle. Exchange and Lime streets, hand
some granite Exchange, three stories high,
surmounted by dome. The front was orna-
mented by fine row of futed columns. This
was destroyed by fire in 1852, and the United
States built on its site an ugly, hatiron shaped
structure of granite for the custom house and
| postoffice.
| In the great fire of 1866 this building was
| fatally damaged and the next year the present
| beautiful marble edifice was commenced. In
|
office and United States courts.
The building has already proved too small
| for the increased business, but has undergone
several very important improvements.
| The original plan assigned the carriers to a
damp, gloomy room in the basement. POST
master Goddard had them removed to daylight
| on the first floor, and at length room was
| finished OFF in the north corner of the build
ing by taking away the northeastern wing of
the bronze staircase from the corridor.
/ This hoe h
| desks for the carriers and adjoins the room
| occupied by the assistant postmaster, and both
| have been rallied in.
Adjoining the postmaster's room on Elk
| change street, an enclosure has been rallied off
from the main office for the cashier and his
money order and registry clerks.
The entire mailing department has also been
rallied in to secure due freedom to the clerks
and security to the mails.
For more convenient and rapid distribution
an "oven" has been built where letters and
papers are thrown from a central table into
| 1l9 compartments on the inside, and let out
| into bags hung on the outside.
| A full and accurate bulletin board has been
put up in the main corridor, announcing the
hours of arrival and departure of all the
mails &C., surmounted by clock. Another
contains the weekly ship letter and adver
tised letter lists, with the daily wea ther report
from the U. S. Signal office.
A platform and lantern facilitate the receipt
| and departure of mails at ,the rear entrance.
Storm doors have been affixed to the main
entrances on Middle and Exchange streets fol
the protection of the corridors, and the marble
steps have been fitted with winter covering
Seven hundred and seventy-four narrow
letter boxes have been replaced by others OF
suitable width.