The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1889-11-22
ANExPERT IN ADDRESSES.

ANExPERT IN ADDRESSES.
A Woman Who Can Read the
Worst Hieroglyphlcs.
OF the many million pieces OF mail
matter which pass through the hands
Of the postofice officials, says the
Washington Post there are many
which are illegibly addressed, others
have the wrong state or city, and
others possess nothing which can give
a clew to aid in ascertaining the
wishes of the sender.
To decipher the illegible addresses,
to correct the addresses. and to start
the letters on the right track for de-
livery is the task of one of the divi-
sions of the postofice department in
this city. The results accomplished
are marvellous. Half a million letters,
misdirected and otherwise lacking in
the address, reach the office annually.
OF this amount from IS to IS per cent
have been delivered. The envelopes
are not opened, and to decipher the
handwriting on some OF them would
puzzle an ordinary person for month.
And yet there are Typographical ex-
perts in the dead-letter Office to whom
the reading of all the modern Ian
guages, as expressed on envelopes, be-
sides good many of the dead ones, is
a peculiar pleasure. When German
undertakes to write an address. and
mixes up his mother tongue in fool
hardy attempt to make English out OF
it. he makes the postal clerk very
weary, and the same is equally true OF
any foreigner. But the experts of the
postofice laugh at it.
They are ladies, of course. A man
could not fill the position. He would
take up aletter with an indecipherable
address on it and wrestle with it for
about two minutes, and then in all
likelihood he would swear for ten
minutes or more, say that a person
who couldn't write any better had no
business to be sending letters, and con-
clude by allowing the letter TO go to
the dead-letter Office to be opened.
But the ladies who look after this
work are more patient They have
been at it so long and have acquired
such experience in dealing with the
foolishly and illegibly directed letters
that it does not require long to pass on
each one Mrs. P. l.. Ceilings is in
charge of this work, and by years Of
experience In blind reading is en-
titled to be ranked as the leading
autographed expert of the country.
She has four or five assistants, and
they are are all competent to do work
which would set a man crazy in less
than week.
Some of the misdirected letters have
curious addresses, while others have
no address at all except the state. By
a process of associating the name of
the addressed with the postmark on
the letter the intended destination of
the missive can be ascertained. A
great deal depends upon the expert.
She is thoroughly acquainted with the
name of every postoffice in the coun-
try, and an intimate acquaintance with
the geography of nearly all the princi-
pal cities
In all cases where the correct address
is ascertained and the letter delivered
request is made for the envelope, and
it is usually returned to the depart
ment Some of them are curious
samples of chirography and stupidity,
while others show that the fool-killer
has little hope for vacation for some
time. Some people like to play jokes,
and think it funny to write the names
Of parties with whom they are corre-
spending backward. To decipher this
is easy, and the letter is delivered.
Other witty persons like to show their
smartness by writing puzzling adj
dresses. The old chestnut of writing
a name under another and over the
address is common, and the address
wood, John. Mass" each below the
other, is so common that John Under
wood, Andover, Mass, receives his
mail as quickly as if the add ress was
legibly and sensibly written.