St. Landry democrat., 1890-11-22
DEAD LETTERS.
ITEMS OF INTEREST FROM THE DEAD LET
TER OFFICE.
Continued

| GELS OF printed matter, samples, etc',
which had been mailed in foreign countries
to post offices within the United States
and failing of delivery were sent to the
Dead Letter Office. and thence returned to
the postal administrations of their respect
i've countries of origin, unopened
Two hundred and five thousands were
letters and forty seven thousand were
parcels, books, samples of merchandise,
etc. which had been mailed within the
United States addressed to foreign coun-
tries, and having failed of delivery at
their destination, were sent to the Dead
letter Office by foreign postal admin
| istrations.
Over five million of the letters received
at the Dead Letter Office contained no in
closure of obvious value, although doubt
less many of them were quite as valuable
and important to both sender and address
see as thousands of other letters contain
ing money, checks, stamps etc, and yet
of this immense number of letters over
three million bore within either no definite
or sufficient address of the writer-in
most cases no address whatever-or there
was no signature whereby tine writer
might be identified or determined, with
out which the Dead Letter Office could
not make return.
Misdirection, incorrec', illegible, and
deficient addresses are given as leading
causes which occasion the failure of mail
matter to reach its proper destination, and
affect alike that which is SO addressed to
either city, town, or village.
In addition to these, in the case of mat
ter mailed to cities or free-delivery offices,
mn q
business or occup patton, or some designated
place of delivery of the persop addressed /;
| inability to find transient people, and
their neglect to give forwarding orders for
their mail; the neglect of permanent or
temporary residents to notify the carriers
or post office of change OF place for the
delivery of their mail matter upon moving
from one part of the city to another, to-
getber with the failure OF newcomers to
| furnish the post office with their names
and places of address. 1t is to these
! causes with others of more or less con-
sequence, that the non-delivery OF mail
matter is, in the main, attributable, and
they are conditions over which the postal
service has no control and may alone be
remedied by the people themselves.
The following suggestions, If observed,
will aid the dispatch and delivery sent
through the mails, or return directly to the
sender in the event of non delivery, and
thus prevent the annoyance delay and en-
barrassment caused by sending matter to
the Dead Letter Office.
Mail matter should be plainly and cor
rectly addressed, the name of the post
office to which it is to be sent should be
clearly and distinctly stated, and to avoid
confusion from the similarity of abbrevi-
atoms, as frequently used, the name of
the State should also be given in full. In
the case of mail addressed to small offices,
or where there are offices Of like names in
| different States, the name of the county
should be- added.
As the immense quantity of matter sent
| through the mails is necessarily required
to be handled rapidly by the railway mail
clerks and at the post offices in the cities,
too much care cannot be exercised in ad-
dressing mail matter clearly, plainly, and
correctly.
Where mail matter is addressed to cities
or free-dellvery offices the street and house
number, or post office box number of the
person addressed are important, and
should always be given when it is possible
to do SO.
| Where this cannot be d )ne, the business
or employment of the person addressed, If
stated, will often secure delivery.
The free-delivery offices, being in the
cities and larger townsville trade centers
of the country-have a Large, varying,
transient population, which cannot be
known to the post office officials IN the
same degree as in the smaller places, and
delivery is, therefore, made the more diff
cult ; and where recourse must be had to
city directories they are often found i'm
| parfect aud incomplete. so that the means
of ascertaining the location of the address
see frequently is found wanting, and de-
livery fails because the psrson Is not
known or cannot be found.
small proportion only of the mail re-
ceived at the free-delivery offices is called
for at the general delivery of the post
office. the public expecting delivery by the
letter carriers; and hence the importance
of giving street and number, or some other
designation whereby the person addressed
may be found.
Matter mailed to cities and free delivery
offices, addressed without street and num-
Der, or some other designation enabling
delivery, goes into the general delivery,
subject to be called for; snd of such mat
ter, the statistics of the post offices of
sorue of the larger cities show that not
more than rs per cent is called for.
Letters addressed to persons tenn
porarily soiourning in a city where thu
letter carrier system is In operation should
be marked transient" or General De
liyery." il not addressed to q street and
number, or some other designated place
of delivery.
The name and address of the sender,
either printed or written, should be placed
upon the upper left-hand corner of the
envelope or wrapper of all matter mailed.
This will secure it's immediate return to
the sender from the mailing office for cor.
rection if improperly addressed, in
sufficiently paid, or otherwise defective;
thus affording opportunity to comply with
the postal regulations and requirements,
and place the matter in proper condition to
entitle it to all the privileges of the mails,
and is especially useful in the case of
packages and other matter mailable at
less than letter rate of postage. which is
restricted to certain conditions and require
ments as to weight, size, manner OF In
closure. etc.
Letters and all other matter mailed, so
marked with the name and address of the
sender, that should fail to be called for or
delivered to the person addressed, and
upon which full letter rates of postage has
been paid are not sent to the Dead Letter
office, but are returnable to the sender
3;rao+lv NIT ou+ odditinna1 cha roe and