The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1884-03-06

'Thev call US the 'guessers, she
SAYS, "but it isn't all guess work.
Every day thousand of these letters
come in for us to correct or decipher
the address Let US look at some Of
those that have just been laid on my
table,,
FEW RIDDLES.
Here is one directed TO Mount IScl-
Ia She glances at IT for an instant,
picks up her pen and writes in red
ink. "Monticelio. There can't be
much que stion about that, " she says, as
she losses it into the box ready for re-
mailing. .
This is harder one. Let's see
what can be done with it. The post
Office is written Frank coalyoun.
She looks intently for a moment or
two. refers To a directory and writes
"Franconia. That corresponds with
the State and county and think it Will
20"
Now here is one that should not
have been sent here at all. ANY post
master ought TO be able to read that. D"
1t is addressed "Tuppke, Rance" l
venture the suggestion that the design
of the writer would ne carried out by
sending it to Topeka, Kansas. That
is undoubtedly right, says the lady,
and the letter properly addressed Is
tossed into the box.
This one is directed to the Wood
C0uqiy Sentinel, o. That paper is
published. believe, at Bowling Green.
That is easily fixed.
Here is one of kind that some
times trouble us. 1t has the street and
number, but no city or State is given.
This is directed to '2jl8 St. Mary
Avenue, corner Twenty-siXth Street,
and that is all. look at the directories
| and | find that several cities have streets
so designated; but these streets cross
| each other in Omaha. So st. Mary S
Avenue. corner of Twenty-siXth Street.
must be there. 1t is strange how
thoughtles5 many people are in address
ing letters, and then they blame the
Post Office Department because they do
not 90. There Is more excuse for those
who make mistakes through ignorance.
We get good many so badly written
that we are utterly baffled; we can't
make anything at eli of them. Such
letters have 10 be opened, and if We get
no clew by that means they are de-
| stroved.'
This letteris addressed 1896 Tchoupi-
toulas Stree, and no city, county or
State is given. But we know that
street is in New Orleans and we send il
there. Here is another with NOTHING
but '2l0 Woodward Avenue;' that gees
TO Detroit. Ii in an address Of this
kind the name is q common one such
as Washington. or ia k>Or.' we are
at sea, for it may 60 - any one OF
twenty cities BY opening such !letter>
we often find the full address, or some
thing that enables us to complete it.
This is comical one. 1t was evi
IDENTITY written by an Englishman. He
wants it sent to '!;yewood, HillinOie,
but H ghw0od. H., will do better ant
we'll send it there.
Look ut this: 'Norage. Couicut.
We will mail that to Norwich, Conn.
The writer hit very closely to the va!
they pronounce it.
'tHere is letter addressed, rs yoy
see, in very plain business hand, T.
'Crotty, La Sale County, III Tn
nearest can come to that in La Sail
, County is Ottawa and presume tina
was what he intended. Wen try it.
ave can't do anything with this
Mrs Rose Story. Montana. That vii
have to 90 tn the openers.
This is pretty good: pat o Donnell
State of West Sconsen. OirentOwn, Sc
Co | think if change that TO Iron
ton. Sank Co, Wis., Patrick will ge
his letter.
THE HARD ONES.
ain many cases it Is not nearly as dill
ficult to solve these riddles Is might Z
first appear. If we can decipher til
writing we can almost always make OF
in some way what the addresses are il
5 tended to be. Illiterate persons, VIII
have not mastered ne intricacy of on
post o lice oCtaogranhy. can only writ
l from the sound Is th2y hear the name
pronounced. 1t is painful TO think {
the struggles such persons have wit
} many OF our post-oiliceS, that ofte
bother the best OF us. 1t is not strane
= that people make a mess of such ba
e harous words as Ypsilanti, Kalamazoo
L Oshkosh, SkOwhegan, WaukeSha an
hundreds more that lnight be mel
: toned.
'NoWlet ne show you how compar;
lively easy it is. sometimes, to CORE
+ an address that at first sight seems IL
I terlv unreadable. Here is one cam
= across little while ago. If You ca
tell ut glance what that was intende
=, for'-covering the corrected address
> 81 will pronounce YOU 2 tirst-class g.
pert"
>, And it does seem rs hard rs the IF
. teen ,uzzle." 1t is written "0cre
a ALA" Without hazarding guess v
:. turn an inquiring eye to the lady.
II You give it up? Well, don't wo
: der ut it. We take n word like that ar
O pronounce it in every possible way unit
II we hit upon something that sugges
= the right one. 1t is evident that tn
!. word has two syllables. If we sour
D the 20 short and the g hard, we cs
u make nothing of it. We will try it a
h other way. We will divide the VOL
It on the first two letters. Now we Wi
k sound the 90 long, the &C. hard and :;
e soft. We pronounce it slowly and "
a have something that sounds very muC
IKE 'Oah Rlure. Inc SIate l. pId
v enough, if il has an an extra IL The
:, is such post-olfice in Alabama, and
n have no doubt that is where the writ,
,e wants the letter to 60. This examp
n will illustrate our plan of 'gueSSin;
,e out these misSpelled words. Last We;
2; s., 900 of these instructed letters we
d corrected and delivered to the rig
l. persons.
% "You can readily understand that v
N have mu h difficulty with letters fro