The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-12-09
A POSTAL STORY
F MISSING ARTICLES
 THROUGH THE MAILS.
What Becomes of Coin and Merchan- disc Sent Through the Mail I'm properly wrapped-A Hint to
 People Worth Remembering.

What becomes of the many little ar ticles that start out in the mail for kim folks, friends, sweethearts and dealers and turn up missing?' This Is a question that puzzles the general public and stirs the ire in the breast of the unfortunate sender Of course the losses are insignifi- cant when viewed as percentage Of the millions of packages committed to the mails; but 1t is the old Biblical proposi- ton revived. There is more distress over the one lost than joy over the mill lions saved. It is a fact well known in the postal service that losses and delays in the transmission of mail matter are usually chargeable to the ignorance Of carelessness of the senders. Delays oc- cur in the postal service by reason Of missent letters. for the postal force Is constantly changing and new men are liable to make errors: but the losses di- rectly charEeable to the service are very few.
 As an illustration of the carelessness of the public in these matters, nothing serves so well as the monthly reports of the various divisions of the railway mall service which are mailed to the principal offices for information. The ninth division reports list of 12l articles found loose in the mails during the month of September and turned into division headquarters. The list is interesting. Sev- enty-one pieces of silver and copper first attract attention. The coins are generally found loose in mail sacks or on the floors of the mail cars. The ability of a millsd coin to cut it's way out of an envelope intp which 1t has been dropped unwrapped is simply marvellous. The experience of the department on this point has been such that it will not permit registry clerks to receive for transmission letters contain ing loose coins If people send coins in letters they should be so wrapped with additional paper as to prevent their cut ting the envelope when subjected to the weight of other mail and the frequent handling of the sacks which contain tlem.
 The remainder of the list referred to em- braces a varied collection of articles, such as keys, spoons, collar aand cuff buttons. hinges, gold rings. pencils. neck ties, beads, gem ornaments, wire, pipes, eras- CTS. chains valves, bracelets, pens brushes, films, stamp pads, books. bicycle supplies, purses, cloth. photos, shuttles, socks, castings, knobs, tiling, pocket knives, brasses, card cases, medals, nail files. clocks medicine, sifters shoes, razor straps, tassels, lining, spools, torches harness fitting, salt cellars, cards. tooth- brushes, watches, locks, wrenches, stick pins, chisels, plasters, seeu, fountain pens, thimbles. balls. scissors and-false teeth. Think of a man inquiring day after day at his local postoffice for his delayed teethi
 The point in this long report which embraces but one month and one division out of sixteen, is that these 124 articles were found loose in the mails, showing them to have been improperly packed and the losses or delays chargeable to the senders.
 = It does not follow, however, that these articles named do not reach their destt- nation in the end. The broken covers from which they escape, when decipher- able, are delivered just as though notn- ing had happened. On complaint of loss at the receiving office an investigation Is begun, which finally ends in the recovery of the missing article
 Too much care cannot be exercised in the preparation of articles for mailing Sometimes additional covering or back ing adds a few cents to the. postage, but 1t pays in the long run. Don't forget that a drawing or a single photograph may in the transfer of the mail sacks fall edge down under a thousand pounds of mail matter. In such case your work of art gets a crease in it and your photo wrin- kles that do not improve. Place such mat ter between stout covers