The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1891-02-19

enclosure at all on the first of the
month reads "please remit" almost as
plainly on the outside as on the in
side. OF course all sorts of people
come there, Doors as we'll as gentle
men, the ignorant and cranky as we'll
as the intelligent and polite, and a
postmaster must certainly draw on a
supply of inexhaustible patience. The
postmaster at this place especially
has had many
TRIALS TO ENCOUNTER
and many times has been wrongfully
blamed. There are as patrons of this
office four Sam Harris, four Henry
Perrys, three Sam Aliens, two Henry
Watkins two Willie E. Moss, two !.
T. Moss and half a dozen or more
Jones of the same name, all of which
expect the postmaster to discriminate
at glance which is which, and if
there should be a mistake made the
postmaster is held accountable for it.
There are also several Hendersons in
and out of the State. Sometimes let
tiers come here that have been on the
road and at other Offices several weeks
and yet the postmaster is held ac-
countable for the delay. Not long
since there was a check sent by a firm
in Richmond to party here and it
was directed to Hendersonville. There
it remained for several weeks. From
there it was sent back to Richmond.
from there on here to its proper desti-
nation, yet when the parties received
it they were disposed to blame the
postmaster here for its long DELAY.
Letters by the same name are fire.
quently placed in boxes really belong
ing to other parties. They are broken
open and thrown back and when they
are given to the proper person they
are too apt to blame the postmaster
for it, when it was matter of impos-
sibility to determine who it belonged
to. For illustration, several days ago
l was at the general delivery when
party came to the window very anxious
for letter. l gave him three letters
and he went off pleased, saying they
were all his. At the expiration of
three days he came back with all the
letters broken open, belonging to an
other party, and when the party to
whom they properly belonged received
them he blamed the postmaster. l was
asked for letter several days ago by
a very nice and intelligent lady. l
gave her letter by the same name as
hers. She took it and broke it open
and found five dollar bill in it. She
soon found it was mistake, and wrote
on the back "Opened by mistake"
(Which the law requires to be done).
carefully resealed it and it was called
for about one week afterward by a
lady of the same name, living three
miles in the country, and that lady
blamed the postmaster very much (for
nothing of course). On the sixth day
of February gentleman handed me a
letter, complaining very much, stating
it had been in the Office thirty days.
l asked him to let me see it and, be-
hold, when l examined it 1 found it
was written in Boston on the second of
January and it was not mailed until
the third of February following, ex-
actly thirty days. 1t reached this
Office February 5th, and was so post
marked, yet he had blamed the clerks
for not giving it to him thirty days
before it LETT Boston, so you can all see
how we are blamed without a cause
sometimes. l will confess that have
made many mistakes and am sorry to
have done so, yet am doing all can
to remedy them. 1t is a matter oil
impossibility to learn the given names
of all the families and children in an
office of this kind. Time alone will
teach them to the clerks and post.
master.
CONCLUSION
the postmaster presents his klndest' re.
CARDS to the public, with whom he has
been so closely connected for the past
twelve months, especially to the editor
of the GOLD LEAF for the publication
of this article, and tenders this advice
to the letter writer before closing:
Address your letter plainly with
black ink, not with pale ink or pencil
write the town and State plainly, and
if a small town write county also
write your own address on the upper
left hand corner, give your own post
Office and State on the inside, place
the stamp on the upper right hand
corner as the law requires. If you mai
drop letter in the city put two cen'
stamp ON it like all Others. Do moi
use authorizations except well-knowr
ones