Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1898-01-20
POSIOFFICE REFORM
ORDER ISSUED Or IMPORTANCE
TO THEATRICAL PEOPLE.
MAIL MUST BE FORWARDED
Lack OF Uniformity in the Postal Ser
vice Pointed Out by Circus Adj
vance Agent Who Complained to
the Department Instances Given
Where Clerks are lnsolent.


The order issued few days ago by
the Postofliee department directing
postmaSteIs to forward mail, whether
so requested or not, to travelling men
and persons connected with theatrical
and circus companies, was brought
about upon the complaint OF Mr.
Charles T. Murray. who is the advance
advertising agent OF Barnum 4 Bal.
ley's circus, and who has had some
very remarkable and annoying ex-
periences with postofice clerks in
charge of general delivery windows.
The abuse OF which Mr. Murray COM
planned seems TO be SO general
throughcu, the country that the publ
cation of their recital by him will
doubtless result in leading Co partial
correction at least of the abuse. In
his letter Mr., Murray says: at is an
outrage that the federal government
should conniye at the impudence of a
set of employees who apparently re-
gard the public as nuisance, to be
snubbed and bullied at pleasure, and
as having no rights whatever. Such
a service would not be tolerated In
any other civilized country. A letter
will hunt the addressee all over Eu-
rope. and usually finds him 1t is only
in this country that every technioality
is made as an excuse for non-deliyery
| never before realized the real char
acter of a thoroughly inefficient pos
tai service, confused tumble of in
diyidual responsibility and inefllci-
ency There is no cohesion, no unifor-
nifty, no system at all, when ii comes
to the vital point of contact with the
people, for whose service the post
Office is established and maintained
1t is only by travelling from one post
Office to another. the length and
breadth of the country. that l found
that out
Most people imagine that the postal
service is uniform in the various
towns and cities of the Unietd States,
but 1t is not We cover the principal
towns during the season, and proba-
bly, have n better opportunity of judg-
ing of the efficiency of the postal ser
vice than even a postoflice inspector,
who covers a restricted territory. The
most conspicuous fact to the traveller
is the lack of uniformity, Although
every postmaster is supposed to be
operating under the same general
! laws, and under the same special reg
ulations of the department there Is a
/ wide difference in the actual admin
/ istration of individual Offices. In
many towns the regulations are SO
strict that ii is difficult to get your
mail at all. In many Others they are
so lax that anybody can get It, Some
places harbor extremely impertinent
delivery clerks. Some OF these en-
ployees OF the people go out of their
way to be offensive to strangers. The
mail of the seventy-fiye or eighty men
of Barnum & Bailey's advance party Is
mostly addressed to route towns ahead,
in care OF certain advertising cars, or
more broadly In care OF the show.
Usually the first thing the car mana
ger does on arriving at a new place is
to go % the postoffice. He takes out
all of the mail that belongs to his ear.
and If there are letters belonging TO
the car ahead gives directions to for
ward to some point where they will
catch the proper person. Sometimes
| the postofIice man viii hand out all
the letters and tell the agent TO ad-
dress them himself and sometimes
/ that privilege is refused when re-
quested.
! 1T often happens that the mall IL
not taken out by the manager at once,
! but la left for individual members OF
/ the force to get their own letters. il
( often happens that delivery clerks at
! the postonice Will not deliver indiyld-
iual mail. ] viii give YOU few in
stances Of my own experience in this
| regard IN ST. Louis inquired for
letters addressed TO me, and the clerk
found one or two. IN reply TO his
inquiry as 10 whether ! was manager
o. the car, ! Informed him that ! was
not. but that the letter he held n his
hand was addressed TO me, and that
desired TO be placed In possession OF
IT, We'll, you can't have g. was the
tart reply, as be showed the bundles
Of letters back into the hole. only the
manager Of the car or porter can get
the mail, Re viii get II all at once
and deliver your letter. / remarked
that / had nothing TO DO with the
manager Of the car, that ! desired To
ret my own personal mail and in-
formed the official that he had no
more right 10 refuse it7 delivery Than
he would have 70 open and read II
After further parIey the clerk decided
~ let me have il.
AT Chicago ] Was informed ~ the
general delivery window that all let
ters addressed IT, the show we're sent
70 a certain hotel, ard that ! would
have to get my letters there. re-
marked that ! never stopped AZ that
hotel. but yas stopping ~ another
3 A.