The Portland daily press., 1891-01-21
REGISTERED LETTERS.

Its patrons. Besides the regular mail ser
vice 1t has registry department, where, by
a system of intricate keeping of accounts
which would afford material for q lengthy
magazine article, letters and parcels are
watched and guided on their journey through
the mails. The government does not con-
tract that they shall be safely delivered. but
for fee of ten cents takes such good care of
them that the number of pieces lost is so
small as to be hardly noticeable In compari-
son with the great volume of business tran
sacted
The patrons Of the mail registry system,
after paying the registry fee of ten cents,
rarely glvea seconds consideration as to
how the letter is treated after it disappears
over the receiving counter. The only con-
Germ Is that 1t shall reach its destination
safely and with dispatch. How does it get
therep We will briefly sketch the operations
taking place with a registered letter from
the time 1t enters the postofice till dis
patched therefrom. When letter is pre-
sented for registration, the clerk enters on a
receipt book the name and addresses of the
sender, and of the addressed, the. office Of
destination and gives the letter a registra-
tion number
The numbers run serially and are changed
at the end of each quarter, the first letter
registered at the beginning of new quarter
being No. 1.
After this entry is made on both the re-
ceipt and stub, the receipt form is torn out
and given to the sender. The letter is then
numbered to correspond with the receipt; 1t
10 fhnr 1aofr bod Tn fha nrft Acf
Office an automatic time stamp is in use for
p0stmarking. which stamps on the letter the
exact time of its receipt The clerk then
cancels the postage stamps and makes out
a return receipt on which is entered the
name and address, of the sender, the num-
Der of the letter and its destination, and the
name Of the addressed. The return receipt
is for the addressed to sign and return to
the sender on delivery of the letter.
The next step is to take the letter on a
registery bill showing the same facts con-
tanned in the return receipt, with the ad
ditional entry of the number of the registered
package envelope in which the letter Is to
receive dispatch. The package envelope is
then numbered and addressed to the post
master at the place Of destination. The
| registry bill is then recorded on a mailing
book giving all the facts about the letter,
After careful veriication and inspection the
letter, return receipt and registry bill are
| placed in the registered package envelope
and securely sealed. The whole then be-
| comes what is officially known as a registered
package. 1t lis the usual custom when there
are several letters for the same office of des-
tipafinD N m a Haf than n inf =
package. The package is now nearly ready
for mailing which may be by one of four
ways, by through registered pouch, iron
lock pouch, inner registered sack or by direct
delivery to railway postal clerk. Each
| package is now entered upon manifold
book with its history. If the package is to
be mailed in a through pouch or in an inner
registered sack, 1t is placed In the pouch.
| with the pouch bill, one clerk standing by
to witness another clerk putting the
| package into the pouch. The pouch is then
locked and carefully tested to ascertain If
the lock is secure. These pouches are
locked with what is known as a rotary lock
which bears serial letter and number.
This rotary lock can not be opened with
| out advancing the number one figure. As the
| pouch bill enclosed discloses the condition
of the number at time of closing 1t cannot be
opened in transit without showing that fact
at destination. After locking the pouches
are labelled. Record is then made on the
transit book showing state of lock. and then
delivered to the postal clerk on his receipt.
Packages despatched by any of the other
methods receive practically the same care
full treatment. In the Portland postofice all
the elaborate bookkeeping, listing and
registering is performed by three ladies and
the work done by those last year may be
summarized as follows: