Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-12-16
RUSH OF MAIL MATTER
CITY POST OFFICE IS NEARLY
SWAMPED.
Letters in Greater Quantity Than Ever
Before, Also Packages Of
Every Description.

The Christmas season rush Of mail at the
city post office has already begun, and the
local Office is swamped with packages ad-
dressed to people in Washington as well as
with parcels going out of the city to the
dear ones away from home. This year the
rush began early. There Is no denying the
general prosperity of the country, the post
Office officials say, when the present condi-
tion Of the mails is taken into cons!dera-
uon Usually the rush begins about the
2vth and continues until after New Year
day. Uucle Sans Santa Claus business is
the most extensive of any that is carried
on, and as result the work of the depart
ment Of posts is increased by as much as
three or four hundred per cent. 1t becomes
necessary for the post office to seek help
to handle the enormous mails that come
with the Christmas rush, and within the
course of the next few days there will he
put on duty a sufficient force to make up
go days extra labor. This force will go
on duty for about ten days. extending five
days before and five days after Christmas.
Undelivered Packages.
Each year there are hundreds of packages
sent out in the mail that are never deliv-
cred. This is not the fault of the post Of
fee officials, but the fault Of the senders
themselves. The addresses in some in
stances are wrong and at other times are
neglected altogether. There seems to be a
general ignorance among the people Of the
country as to the proper method of address,
ing mail packages According to the men
who have charge of the work of delivering
these packages the senders should follow
the following rules: Write the name and
address of the person to whom the pack
age is to be delivered plainly on the pack
age; write the name and address of the
q I'm r.
tant of all, register the package II it is
valuable. A registered letter costs just
8 cents more than the regular letter, and
Uncle Sam guarantees to deliver the pack
age safely or pay. its value, up to $25 If 1t
is not delivered and cannot be found. The
method of addressing, as recommended by
the post office officials is as follows:
MR.. JOHN SMITH,
No. 2J2 A street southeast,
Washington, D. C..
Sent by
William Jones,
45 East 23d street, New York.
It is guaranteed by the post office that no
letters marked thus will remain undelivered
The office will not accept responsibility for
the delivery of letters improperly addressed.
Letters to Santa Claus.
The usual number Of letters have been
received at the post office addressed in
childish scraWls to Santa Claus. Letters
have been received from every section Of
the city with various addresses, all de-
signed in some manner or other to reach
Santa by the children who wrote them. All
such letters are sent to the dead letter
office, where attempts are made to return
them, often without avail. The letters are
often pathetic in extreme, and some of the
most ludicrous requests are contained in
them also. So far this year none Of the
letters the contents of which have been
examined by the post office authorities
contain requests for coal, that commodity
seeming to play but small part in the list
of childish desires.
Major James E. Bell superintendent of
free delivery Of the Washington office, has
asked that the public be cautioned as to the
proper use of mail. Major Bell states that
withhold letters, some persons appear to
of letters that have any clew to the ad-
dresses which are delivered every year
shows very conclusively that his force
works hard to decipher the addresses on
the missives sent through the mails, but the
task is impossible of execution in some in
stances. A large force is maintained at the
Washington office, whose sole duty it is to
decipher illegible addresses and during the
Christmas holidays this force is largely
augmented by extra help. Major Bell states
that when letters and packages are not de-
lvered the senders Of the same have only
themselves to blame. He points to the rules
he has defined to govern the actions of such
persons, and if these are not complied with
he does not think he can be held accounta-
BILE for non-deHvery.