Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1889-09-12
A NEGLECTED ART.

0ssas AnnSyances Growing Out Of Poes
Writing and Imperfect Addressing.
We have before u letter from postmas
tar. This letter contains q wise suggestion
that should be perfectly practical In this en-
hghtened country.
We had had some little correspondence
with him ia regard.to variety OF subscribers
from his cisy, who had sent their subscrtp
tons, but had given no street address, thus
by their neglect involving both him and US
In q considerable waste Of time AID labor
We asked him as TO methods OF reaching the
the general public and teaching the necesst
ties of full address with their signature.
To this he replies a. follows: your sug-
gestion about notices posted In the Offices Is u
very good one, but, am afraid, hardly prac-
tical; In fact, it would not be read, perhaps,
BY one in thousand calling at the office.
The only remedy know OF which suggests
any practical benefit will be to offer q pre-
MUM in our schools for the best addressed
letter and newspaper by the young folks 50
as to educate them up to the great necessity
Of properly directing all mail matter, and 1t
will, Of course, bring about the desired re-
suit in the future"
The suggestion Of our correspondent Is an
excellent one and has at the same time the
merit Of being perfectly practical. But, as
he remarks, the future alone will be bene-
flied What we want ID an improvement In
the letter writer of today. II our sub
scribers could once step into our Office and
see for themselves the time and trouble
wasted in righting their neglect, we think
the necessity Of clear address would be i'm
pressed upon their minds
The neglect Of street addresses, where such
are necessary. means delay on our parts, and
annoyance and irritation on the part of the
subscriber. The paper does not reach its des
tination, and we are notified of mail lying in
the office, unbelievable for want Of address.
All this affects our business, Of coUrse, but
there Is moral in the matter that lies deeper
than all this Since the days when all the
letters Of the young ladies who had been
graduated from a female seminary" were
constructed on precisely the same principle,
both as to wording and as TO chirography, are
vulsion has taken place. and as is always the
case with such revulsions, we now run TO the
other extreme Young people are permitted
to scrawl or to cramp, at their own sweet
will, and that which was at one time an over
cultivated art is now neglected almost en-
tirely, and education in letter writing is
practically unknown.
good letter is an excellent thing, and do
let us cultivate our children up to the stand
ard in this point. Just why recitation in a
foreign language should be more important
to an American than good letter in the
English language, it is hard to understand.
but such seems to be the case
Let US have higher the highest even, educa-
ton, but let US give the children the best
chance for acquiring that education by
grounding them thoroughly in what are
called g the common branches" not the least
important among which s-letter writing.
At least let them be taught to sign their full
name, their street address, their town and
their state, us well rs to address their envel
ope in the same clear manner.--Ladies Home
Journal