Feliciana sentinel. [volume] (St. Francisville, La.) 1877-1892, 1891-05-02

returned to the postal administrations
Of their respective countries of origin,
Two hundred and hve thousand were
letters, and forty-seven thousand were
parcels, books, samples Of merchandise,
etc., which had been mailed within the
United States addressed to foreign
countries, and having failed Of delivery
at their destination, were sent to the
Dead Letter Office by foreign postal ad-
Over five million of the letters re-
ceived at the Dead Letter Ofilco con-
tanned no inclosure of obvious value,
although doubtless many of them were
quito as valuable and important to both
sender and addressee as thousands OF
other letters containing money, checks,
stamps, etc., and yet Of this immense
number of letters over three million
bore within either no definite or SUI
ficient address Of: the writer-in most
cases no address whatever-or there was
no signature whereby the writer might
be identified or determined, without
make return.
Misdirection, incorrect, illegible, and
deficient address are given as leading
causes which occasion tho failure of
mail matter to reach its proper destina-
ton, and effect alike that which is 80
addressed to either city, town or vii
lage.
In addition to these, in the case OF
matter mailed to cities of free delivery
Offices, are the failure to give street or
number, business or occupation, or some
designated place Of delivery 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 mail matter upon moving from
one part of the city to another, to-
gether with the failure of new
comcrs to furnish the postofiice
with their names and places of
dress. 1t is to these causes, with others
of more or less consequence, that the
non-dclivery of mail matter is, in the
main, attributable, and they are con-
ditions over which the postal service
has no control, and may alone be
remedied by the people themselves.
The following suggestions, il OBJ
served, will aid the dispatch and de-
livery of matter sent through the mails,
or its return directly to the sender in
vent the annoyance, delay and embar-
rassment caused by sending matter to
tho Dead Letter Office.
Mail matter should be plainly and
correctly addressed, tho name of the
postoffice to which 1T is to be sent should
be clearly and distinctly stated, and to
avoid confusion from the similarity of
abbre eviations, as frequently used, the
name of the State should also be given
in full. In the case of mail addressed
to small Offices, or whore there arc 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 at tho postoffices in
the cities, too much care cannot be ex-
crcscd in addressing mail matter clear
ly, plainly and correctly.
Where mail matter is addressed to
cities or free-delivery offices the street
and house number, or postoffice box
number of the person addressed are i'm
portant, and should always be given
when it is possible to do so.
Where this cannot be done, the busi
ness or empl oyment of the person adj
dressed, if stated, will often secure de-
livery.
The free-delivery Offices, being in the
cities and larger townsville trade con-
ters of the country-have a large, vary
ing. transient population which cannot
be known to the postofiice officials in
the same degree as in the smaller
places. and delivery is, therefore, made
the more difficult; and where recourse
must be had to city directories they are
often found imperfect and Incomplete,
so that the means of ascertaiNing the
location of the addressee frequently is
found wanting, and delivery fails be-
cause the person is not known OK cannot
be found.
A small proportion only of the mail
received at the free-delivery Offices is
called for at the general delivery of tho
postoflice, the public expecting delivery
by the letter carriers; and hence the i'm
portance of giving street and number,
or some other designation whereby the
person add ressed may be found.
Matter mailed to cities and frce-de
livery offices, addressed without street
and number, or some other designation
enabling delivery. goes into the general
delivery, subject to be called for; and Of
such matter, the statistics of the post
offices Of some of the larger CITIES show
that not moro than 25 per cent. is called
for.
Letters addressed to persons tempor
arily sojourning in city where the
letter-carrier system is in operation
should be marked transient or gen
eral delivery" if not addressed to a
street and number, or some other desig
nafed nface of delivery.