Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1891-01-23
LETTERS AND PACKAGES THAT
DON'T GO.
Carelessness in Preparing and Di-
recting Mail Matter Some Ar
ticles That Failed to Reach
Their Destination.
"NiXiesl"

tons, of this ''nixey" matter is dumped
into the dead letter office at Washington
because people will not learn to write
decently or take the time to do it, or
they will not take the precaution to
properly address their mail. Some peo-
pie have an idea that their letters ought
to go if they simply write the name of
the town and not the State. They never
pause to think that often there are hun
dreds of towns in different States of the
same name and there are often towns of
the same name in the same States. So
county must be put on, or else the
canoes are that the capacious nav
of the dead letter office will receive it.
People will direct letter or package
to Mr.. Smith or Mr.. Jones on such a
street in such city, and they probably
will not write the initials or the given
name of the party, and very likely they
will not put on the number of the house.
Well, there are good many Smiths and
a good many Joneses in large city, and
letter carriers or postal clerks haven
time to run around and find out just what
Smith or what Jones is meant. But you
would he surprised how much OF this
"lookiBg ZIP" there is done, though.
There are certain attaches of the service
detailed to scan the directories and en-
deavor, by all possible means of clew and
conjecture, to get such mail to its desti-
nation. Much is saved in this way that
doesn't deserve to be saved, as far as the
person sending is concerned. But they
will slap on the address in handwriting
that they can't cad themselves when it
gets cold, and then they expect such
letters to go. But "nixey." They don't
go. A clerk once scanned superscrip-
tion until his neaG sv... saG his ~
sight blurred, and he finally threw it
down with an exclamation of "nixey."
And the name has stuck ever since.
"The 'nixey' business is beginning to
increase fast now" said Superintendent
Burt, of the railway mail service, "and
if you want to render genuine service
to the public and to the mail service, you
will give a severe warning concerning
the carelessnes of people in preparing
and addressing their mail"
"Give case in point"
"Here it is. A lady, we'll say person,
for it is always so natural to blame
everything of such a nature onto the
ladies-well, person will go into a
store and buy nice silk scarf to send
away to someone for gift. 1t is wrapped
in the ordinary MANILA paper and
tied with the little cord. The party viii
90 up to the postofiice, write the address
with lead pencil, buy a stamp and slide
it into the receptacle for it and 90 away
with satisfaction that they have per-
formed their duty. But the days will
roll around and no response, and finally
they learn that the article was never re-
ceived, and then they begin to "roast"
the postoffice or the railway mail service.
In the first place these little flimsy
packages are broken and crushed between
the larger bundles and packages in the
mail bags. The address is perhaps rubbed
off, even if the package does not get
through, and so you see there are so
many ways in which mail is lost solely
through carelessness. Just think how
much one can do toward securing the
prompt and sure deliverence of their
mail, and how much time they can save
to the service by careful directing aud
careful tying up or otherwise securing of
their packages"
"Can you give some estimate of these
nixies2"
"During the year 4,62S, ,9S1 pieces of
the mike matter were handled; of
which 2, 1856, 993 pieces, or forty seven
per cent. were either forwarded to their
destination or returned to the sender.
" This is a matter the report says,
sin which it is believed that every pa
tron of the postal service is more or less
interested, inasmuch as all are liable
through inadvertence or some other
cause to deposit for mailing a misdirected,
unpaid Of unmailablc letter or package.
Mikes ofld be returned, the most of
them, il the writer would see to it that
his own name aud address were written,
stampedppr printed on the envelope at
the end 'yr corner so as not to interfere
with the'letter's address.
"Name some of the mike articles you
find in the mail"
"Well. you would be surprised, bu.
It would, perhaps, be easier 20 name
what we don't fird. Here is the state
ment for last month; more than you
want to print, likely, but you can pick
out some, just to show people what
things get lodged in the mails as mix
les.
Here is the list:
One black plume, dry goods samples,
small. brown jug, package Simmons liver