The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1902-08-15
RECALLING A LETTER
INV YOU MAY GET 1T OUT OF The
' MAIL AFTER POSTING 1T.

postoI Authorities Have a Sys-
am nv which Document May BE
tanned if Application Is Made
n.tore 1t Is Delivered.
fow DAYS ago young woman hur-
"a into the office of the postmaster at
Nv, W.. York and asked to have letter
,.h1rown from the mails. She had
w." If an hour previously, she said,
Ud since then had learned something
' Uni Mr. Blank that incensed her;
.Sorofore she did not want to keep the
commitment she had consented to in
. orr Latter. Could she reclaim the mis-
~ before it reached the addressee?
she inquired
The postmaster referred her to the
,rnerintendent of mails, and within
hoif IN hour the letter was picked out
son, among thousands of its mates
and restored to the claimant, who tore
q into hits and walked out of the post
office.
Tho authorities of the postoffice have
made every provision for absent and
eclle minded patrons of the mails.
Among the most interesting and valu-
able is the process by which a letter
NOV 10 reclaimed after it has been
posted.
+his can be done, and fewer care to
fake the trouble of going through the
forms which have been prescribed
forms which are to a degree cumber-
some md time consuming, but which,
nevertheless, are necessary to prevent
deception and fraud
Occasions arise when the writer of
nm important letter desires to with
draw It before it reaches it's destina-
tion Oftentimes additional knowledge
of proposed transaction is acquired
after letter has been sent to the post
office. making it highly desirable that
tbp facts related in the letter do not
reach the person for whom they were
originally intended. In case, too, where
knowledge of the failure of a mercan-
file firm or a banking house reaches a
person who has mailed check or draft
TO that concern it is sometimes wise
70 withdraw the letter before it is de-
liyercd
The postal authorities have a system
BY which such lettermay be reclaimed
if application is made for it before it
IS delivered. Application must be made
in person. The government provides
blank upon which the applicant writes
the address that is given on the letter.
If that letter has not left the postoffice,
the superintendent of mails finds it and
compares the address on the envelope
with the address on the applicants
slip If the addresses are identical, the
letter is returned to the claimant and
the authorities lRep the slip as re-
ceipt
To reclaim letter sent out of the Of
fee the writer must fill out the pre-
scrbcd blank and deposit 81 for tele-
grams The superintendent of mails
then telegraphs the postoffice to which
the letter has been sent and asks him
to return it. When it reaches him, lie
compares the addresses, and if they
are alike he returns the letter to the
applicant. The expense of telegraph
In is deducted from the deposit, and
the balance is returned.
This involves a study of handwrit-
Ing # there is a noticeable difference
in the little things which are charac-
teristic-the manner of crossing the
IT'S or the dotting of the ''i's" or the
peculiar little fourishes which are
made after a name-the letter is not
delivered TO the claimant. In cases
where letters are addressed by type
writer it is impossible to identify the
applicant in this way.
When the claimant is a we'll known
business man, however, personally
known to the postal authorities, let
tiers are sometimes returned upon his
mere request, receipt, however, being
asked.
At the New York postoffice, accord
Ing to the first assistant postmaster,
the average number of letters with
UaWn each week is ten. Most of these
are from the domestic mails. Few are
rom the city mails, because the let
terS are collected so frequently and
delltefed SO quickly that there is little
Chance of catching" a letter in the
Office
Occasionally letters which have been
addressed to foreign countries are
asked to be returned. In such a case
a deposit of $50 is required to cover
the expense Of telegraph and cable
Tolls. Letters addressed to points in
almost every country on the face of
Inc earth may be reclaimed In this way
II application is made before the mis-
slVe IS delivered to the addressee.
Great Britain, however, takes the
stand that letter when once dropped
II mail box becomes the property of
Tue addressee, but makes exception in
'le cases of the Cape and Australian
colonies Why this exception the local
postal authorities do not knew.-New
York Times
A GENEROUS EDITOR.