New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-01-16
OTHEi, PEOPLES MISTAKES.
HOW THEY ARE CORRECTED BY THE
DIRECTORIES ARCHERS.
rosroTFlcN cIAnKs nEcoME EXPERT IN DE

cIpnEIlNG Pt'XzI.Es-HOOXs THAT ARE
VALUABLE AIDS XEw-YoRK A
DUMPING GROUND" FOR
TIE COUNTRY
To the employees Of the directory searching de-
parsmcn, in the General Postoficc the two pre-
dominating qualities OF humankind must appear
to be ignorance and careleSsness. III this Is their
view they are certainly not to be blamed Tor H.
since all their daily experience tends to confirm
them in such belief Mr.. stone. head OF this
department. who has grown old and gray in the
service. says that the number of letters of all
kinds which are misdirccted. illegibly directed
or not directed at al averages about nfteen
hundred a day. Each one OF these letters is a
separate puzzle to be solved by Mr.. Stone or
some one of his eleven assistants. Long prac-
ticc has enabled the workers to dispose OF many
of the letters rapidly. but there are quantities
besides which require some study 10 compre-
bend and il is often difficult to finish each days
CONSIGNMENT before the next mornings contribu-
ton begins to pile up in formidable heaps. ON
certain days. when several steamships arrive
with the foreign mails. the work is much heavier
and gets ahead Of the directory searchers TOT
time They must manage to catch up again IN
the succeeding days whenever Slight lu gives
them an Opportunity.
SPECIAL POSTOFFICE DIRECTORY.
The department has all possible aid in the
way of books to facilitate its work. Besides
the regular New-York Directory 1t has private
directory Of is own. containing hundreds OF
names and addresses not found in TIE other IL
necessary therefore, it could issue a directory
which would be far more nearly complete than
the common edition. All new streets and new
buildings are recorded. and to the lists Of firms
and business enterprises Of all kinds are con-
tinually being added names. thus keeping
this special Postotlice directory absolutely up
to date and accurate These lists Of names are
not obtainablc elsewhere. being compiled solely
for the use of the postal authorities Another
volume of great value contains long lists OF
business houses in various parts of the country
which are constantly being addressed by letter
writer's as New York firms Many Of these con-
Germs are prominent advertisers throughout tho
country and people in remote districts familiar
with the names but not with the addresses, as
sumc that the headquarters Of each firm must
be located in York. and address their or
Gcrs in accordance with this notion. When let
ters for certain firm are received two or three
times that name is added to the list with It's
address. whether it is situated in Jersey City or
in San Francisco The directories Of other cities
are. Of course drawn upon for information AZ to
addresses of this kind.
One Of the most useful books in the depart
nent is that containing list of all the streets In
the cities and towns OF the United States. This
Is now in regular printed form. but in its earlier
days ii was in manuscript, just as 1t was com
piled by Mr.. stone who conceived the idea OF
making such a volume. The streets are ar
ranged in alphabetical order, under each name
appearing a list Of all the towns in which such
a street is to be found Main street" FOLDS first
place the number Of towns whore ii occurs &C
cupying several pages Of the book There are a
few streets with such odd names that they are
not duplicated anywhere, and in such cases
Identification is. Of course. easy. AFTER the name |
Of a street in each town are the numbers IL
contains These serve to distinguish 1t still FUR
Their. as for example if South-st. in one town
is numbered from to 40 and in another place
up to 800 the address the letter in question
may show that the first town need not be con-
sidercd This book is useful in the many
where the street name appears upon the envel-
ope with the town name cithe: omitted or inn
possible to understand
LETTERS WITH NO ADDRESS
A surprisingly large number Of letters and
postal-cards come to the Postofice with nothing
whatever in the way Of address In such
Instances ii is evident that the writer's have
mailed their communications hurriedy and for
gotten to write anything on the envelopes
faces Of the cards. Such matter is sent to the
Dead Letter ONCE at Washington. where it is
opened, and If 30 cicW is found to the addressce
II is returned. when possible. to the sender
Many letters come to the postoiiicc addressed
merely 20 "John smith Now York" or a name
which is for all practical purposes equally vague
Sometimes the directory furnishes the necessary