Chicago eagle., 1894-03-17
VALUABLE MAILS.
Postal Notes, Money Orders, Regis.
tered Letters and the Special Os.


"Give me one of those special reg.
istry ORDERS" said the woman to the
clerk at the branch Post Office. "How
much Is Ito cents?"
BY dint Of considerable question.
ing, the clerk ascertained that the
customer wanted to send a small sum
Of money in letter, and knew that
the United States Government had
provided some means by which she
could insure Its safety in its course
through the mails, but her .mind was
In hopeless confusion as to the nature
Of this device, for every friend she
had consulted had called It by diff.
ferent name, and she had conceived
that all the names referred to the
same things. 1t took the clerk some
time to explain. He told her that he
was not surprised ut her misappre.
hension, for hundreds of valuable
letters passed through the local Post
Office every day whose writer's had
evidently resorted to some insurance
process other than the precise one
suited to their case.
"You can take your choice of four
ways, ma'am, according to just what
you want" said. "If you are going
to send only little money-less than
$5-and your only wish is to avoid.
Ing inclosing coin or postage stamps,
or paper as soft and bulky as u green.
back, which may be felt through the
envelope, we can give you postal
note for 3 cents. This is printed on
thin, stiff, paper, of size which
will lie fiat in an ordinary folded let
ter sheet. The clerk and letter car
riers might handle your letters all
day and they would never guess from
the feeling what was inside of IL.
When your correspondent receives 1t
he can take II to the post Office and
get II cashed, or bank 1t as he would
u piece Of money, or use It to pay his
grocer, or send 1t away in q letter
himself, for II Is good at any post
Office in the United States, and in
anybOdy's hands, 80 long as 1t IL pre-.
sented for redemption within three
months from the day Of issue. But
this very convenience Is the chief
drawback Of the postal note, for, II
any dishonest person should get hold
Of 1t 1t would be the same as money
In his hands.
III absolute safety II what YOU are
most anxious to secure, we can give
you u money order. This Is pretty
nearly as good rs n bank check. We
send from here n private letter OF ad.
vice containing your name, and when
your correspondent receives your
order he can collect the money on II
only by telling who sent 1t to him
and by being himself identified as the
person In whose favor 1t Is drawn, or
else by endorsing 1t to somebody who
Is known ut the Post Office. This,
you see, Is decided advantage on
the score Of safety. But, more than
that, II your order should be stolen
or destroyed, the Government holds
itself responsible, and, II you comply
with certniD requirements, will issue
you new order. This Is something
1t will not do for you II anything hap.
pens to your postal note. The bad
feature about the money order, how.
ever, Is that 1t can be cashcd only at
the one Post Office on which 1t Il
drawn. A fvc-dollar order would
cost you ) cents, and u ten-dollal
order 8 cents, u fiftecn-dCllar order
10 cents, and so on upward.
"Then, again, there Is the regis.
tered letter. You give your envelope,
sealed and endorsed in your owr
handwriting. We know nothing
about its contents. You may pu,
only love letter In 1t, or Il one-thou.
snnd-dollar Government bond; IL IL
all the same to us, and the price OF
registry Is uniform for everything
s cents. This process has the advan
tage Of absolute secrecy, for you don't
have to take single soul into your
confidence. 1t has the further nd
vantage Of assuring you that what
ever you send reaches it's destination
for We refuse to deliver 1t to any one
except the person addressed, who
must either present himself in person
and be identified or give us his au.
thority In writing to deliver 1t tc
somebody else, whose Identification
We require In the same way, and who
ever receives 1t Is obliged to give us 9
written receipt in his own handwrit.
ing, which we send back to you with
out expense. The safety OF the reg
istered letter is pretty well guarded
Every Post Office official through
whose hands it passes has to account
for IL to the One from whom he re-
ceived it; so that, II it is lost, it car
be traced by our vouchers to the yer,
point where 1t disappeared--evcr
into the hands Of the carrier who
took it out to deliver. Registered
letters do sometimes 60 astray, but
the risk attending the loss or theft II
too great to make either carelessness
or dishonesty profitable.
Finally, II your great object IL
speed, you may find it best to use
the special delivery. We sell you q
peculiar kind Of ten-cent stamp
its regular postage. The instant the
letter Is taken out of the box into
which you drop 1t, 1t Is hurried into
the first mail, on top OF the whole
pile Of other letters, with the stamp
sticking up, so as to catch the eye ol
every clerk who handles the package
When it reaches the town to which
it Is addressed it Is picked out with
out an instant's delay and sent tc
your correspondent by special mes
senger, 30 that II the ordinary carrier
deliveries are infrequent it may reach
Its destination one, two, three, OF