Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1890-09-25
Post Omce Regulations.

the most important articles contained
therein:
Oversix million pieces of mail matter are sent
annually the Dead Letter Office by reason of
Incorrect ilegible or deficient address, insuth
cient postage, insecure inclosing, whereby
matter mailed becomes separated from the
envelope or wrapper, or the failure to be called
for or delivered to the person addressed. rms
is daily average of over twenty thousand
| pieces.
OF these the greater portion either are not
called for at the post Office to which they are
directed, or, in case of tlee-deliNery 9iices tne
| addresses cannot be found, Notwithstanding
every known means is res0rtcd TO ON the part
of the postal officials to effect delivery.
Matter sent to the Dead Letter Office, which
cannot be delivered to the one addressed, Is re-
quired to be opened in its treatment for the
| purpose of return to the sender, and if the
name and address of the sender be not shown
| or cannot be ascertaincd from the contents,
and it contains no valuable inclosure, 1t must
Letters opened and found to contain any in
| closure OF obvious value are entered upon
proper records, and of such, those winch do
not disclose sufficient information to enable
them to be returned are filed, subject to
reclamation upon properappcation and identi-
hcation
Letters which contain no inclosure of obvious
| value are not recorded
Packages and parcels are recorded, and
| where they do not disclosure the name and ad-
dress of the owner are fled if not called for or
claimed within two years they are disposed OF
| at public auction and the proceeds cONereulnto
| the United States Treasury.
| a large proportion OF the packages and par
/ GELS sent TO tine DEAD Letter p1Hct 1ill 10 DC
| restored to the owners because OF the absence
! on the wrappers or Enclosures of anything to
| indicate ownership thereof
Information as to the character and nature OF
the matter thus received at the Dead Letter
| Office, and the conditions and influences which
occasion its failue to reach the persons to whom
| the senders designed it to go may be of interest,
and the mere statement OF it carry with it sug-
! gestions which may serve the public in its eXer-
else of postal privileges.
| Msdirection, incorrect, llegible and deficient
| address are given us Lending causes which oc-
cason 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 matter
| mailed to cities or freedelivery Offices are the
| failure to give street or number business or
| occupation, some designated place OF de-
! livery of the person 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 matter upon moving
| from one part of the city to another, together
| with the failure of newcomers to furnish the
post office with their names and places OF adc
| dress Ii is to these causes, with others oil
more or less consequence, 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 pe
remedied by the people themselves. -,
The following suggestions, if observed, will
aid the dispatch and delivery of matter sent
through the mails, or its return directly to the
sender in the event of non-delivery, and thus
prevent the annoyance, delay, and embarrass,
Mail matter should be plainly and correctly
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 siIni-
larity of Authorizations, as frequently used the
name of the State should also be given in full
In case of mail addres sed to small offices, or
where there are like names in dlnerent 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 clerks and at
the post offices in the cities, too much care can
not be exercised in addressing mail matter
clearly, plainly and correctly.
Where mail matter is addressed to cities or
l free-deliyery offices the street ana house num-
ber or post-ofice box number of the person
, addressed are important, and should always be
given when il is possible to do so.
Where this cannot be done, the business or
: employment of the person addressed, If stated,
will often secure delivery . go
, The free-delvery Offices being in the cite
! and larger townsville trade centers of the
I country-have large, varying transient popu
e lation, which cannot be known to the post
y y Office officials in the same degree as in the
smaller places and delivery is, therefore, made
e the more difficult; and where recourse must b'
r had to city directories they are often found i'm
perfect and incomplete, so that the means o
ascertaining the location of the addressed
+, frequently is found wanting, and delivery tail
: because the person is not known or cannot D'
, found.
$ A small proportion only of the mail received
at the frce-deivery Offices is called for ut The
4 general delivery of the post Office, the pubic
expecting delivery by the letter carriers; ant
hence the importance of giving street an'
: number, or some other designation whereof.
Il the person addressed may be found.
~ Matter mailed to cities and trce-devery of
Z fees, addressed without street and number, "
Y some other designation enabling delivery, goc
II into the general delivery, subject TO be calle'
Il for; and of such matter, the statistics of TIN
u post offices of some of the larger cities shov
! that not more than 25 per cent. is called for.
4 Letters addressed to persons temporarily so
p journing in city where the letter-carrier sys
: TEN Is in operation should be marked iran
sent' or General Delivery" ii not addressed
: to a street and number, or some other design
/ ated place of delivery.
| The name and address of the sender, ethe
G printed or written, should be placed upon thu
S upper left hand corner of the envelope o
, wrapper of all matter mailed,
This will secure its immediate return to the
sender from the mailing office for correction
if improperly addressed, msufiiciently paid, ol
| otherwise defective; thus nhOrding opportunity
: to comply with the postal regulations and re
n quirements, and place the matter in proper
condition to entitle it to all the privileges o
E the mails and is especially useful in the case
l. packages and other matter mailabe ut les
+ than letter rate of postage, which is restrcte,
to certain conditions and requirements us t.
u weight, size, manner of incosure, etc
G Letters and all other matter mailed, so mark
It ed with the name and address Of the sender
: person addressed and upon which full lette
,, rates of postage has been paid are not sent t.
n the Dead Letter Office but are returnable {,
y the sender directly-without additional charge
l. and with the reason of non-dclivery indorseo
IS thereon.
IN
. of unclaimed and undeliVercd mail matter
D directly to the sender from the post Office ad
e dressed, refers only to letters and other mai
T. matter upon which full letter postage has been
, paid.
Packages and all matter mailed at less than
letter rates of POSTAGE should, in addition tC
the name and address of the sender upon the
envelope or wrapper, bear in connection there
with request for It's return in the event of
non-delivcry in which case ii is also returnable
directly to the sender from the post office
addressed, charged with return postage at the
rate required for the class of matter to which
il belongs.
The distinction, under the postal regulations
as regards the return of unclaimed and unde-
lyered matter is that letters and other matter
prepaid at full letter rates returnable free
whereas matter maaDc mt less than letter
| postage requires the payment of return postage
/ If il be borne in mind that only such lln-
| claimed and undelivered letters and other mat
ter prepaid at full letter rates of postage as do
not bear the name and address of the sender,
and such other matter mailed ut less than letter
rates of postage as does not bear n request for
its return, is required to be sent to the Dead
| Letter ONCE, the Importance of the suggestions
IN respect to placing the name and address of
the SENDER etc. on all matter mailed, is ap-
| parent
All matter mailable at less than letter rates of
postage must be so wrapped or inclosed that it
! can be readily examined at the Office of de-
livery, as well as at the mailing Office without
destroying the wrapper; otherwise it is subject
to letter postage.
Much of the package and parcel matter re-
ceived at the Dead Letter Office is that which
has been deposited for mailing sealed and
closed against inspection and prepaid ut less
than letter rate; being unavailable in such
condition, and the name and address of the
sender not appearing upon the cover, whereby
II might he returned for correction and proper
compliance with postal conditions it necessarily
is sent to the Dead Letter Office.
A large proportion of the packages sent to
Letter "a rp nd tn pp