The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-03-20
IN THE POSTAL SERVICE.


Curious Features Noted by Auditor
for the Department.
Henry A. Castle in Washington Post.
A Texas postmaster sometimes mingles
observations on the weather with his official
returns. He writes to the department: I'VE
have needed rain badly. and the roof-soaker
we got yesterday will benefit our crops:
but the gully that came to-day will
impede the mails, l fear" The distinction
between roof-soakers and gully-washers is
believed to be Indigenous to the Lone Star
Commonwealth.
At the Chicago postoff1ce record is kept
of the different ways of spelling the name
of that city on mail addresses. At last &C
counts 2S7 varieties had been tabulated.
Among the less intricate of these are,
Zizazo. Jagjago, Hipiho. Jajijo and Cha
chicho.
The exasperating patron of the stamp
window is the lady who demands black
bordered 2-cent stamp to harmonic with
her mourning stationery.
Alligators over ten feet in length should
not be intrusted to the mails-some not over
three feet long have been sent to the dead
letter Office.
Mail matter of any kind addressed in a
vague and indefinite way, such as to THE
most prominent physician" etc. is not de-
liverable. The postoffice refuses to accept
the responsibility of determining who is the
most prominent physician, etc.
A letter carrier thus tells how he received
Christmas disappointment: II suppose
there are few carriers who will shrink from
81 bill on Christmas morning, but will
always look upon one with suspicion. Walk
ing up the stoop of Dr. Wilmer, on Kenil-
worth place, on Christmas morning. he
greeted me with a Merry Christmas l
around TO the side door, he said, my
daughter wants to see you l walked
around. and there stood the daughter with
mas she said, at the same time giving me
the 81 bill. / wished her the same and
turned to go. when she replied, Bring me
100 2-cent stamps"
The Washington city postoffice employs
462 clerks, while Cleveland, Ohio, with
greater cash revenues, employs only 1S5. The
Thanking privilege accounts for the excess.
Out of total of 1911 arrests by postoffice
inspectors in one year. 10l were postmasters,
forty were assistant postmasters, sixty-five
were clerks in postoffices, ten were railway
postal clerks, twenty-seven were letter car
riers, forty-three were mail carriers and
nineteen were employed In minor positions
in the postal service. The total number of
postoffice burglars arrested was 327 and the
with the service.
Odd addresses cause great trouble. For
instance, INST should be NJ. Siebenthaler;
a letter addressed with typewriter read y.
KY" another letter was addressed Mr..
johnson, who drive, a-white horse in his
buggy, Cincinnati, O."
Thousands Of letters are mailed every day
without the vestige of an address TO indi-
cate for whom they are intended. Many are
dropped into letter boxes without stamps
but with two pennies instead for the pre-
payment of postage-a decidedly hazardous
proceeding. Millions of people know as lit
tie of the operations of the postal service
with which they are In daily touch, as they
do of the procession of the equinox.
An Indianapolis lover set fire to the con-
tents Of a street letter box into which he
had seen his rival drop a missive presume.
bly, intended for the object of their joint
and several affections
record breaking sale of postage stamps
| is reported by the Chicago postoff1ce. The
sale was 100000 stamps, for which the pur-
| chaser gave a check for SIS 900. In one pack
| age We're 500 900 Accent stamps. and in the
other the same number of l-cent stamps
| This is the largest individual purchase OF
Snaps offieel IN the history Oh 'Ae o"''As0 post
Postoffice inspectors have been investi-
| eating charges against certain Missouri
| postmasters who were accused of increas-
| ing their salaries by means of soliciting
| business from their offices. The plan was
to write to friends living in other towns
and request them to purchase their postage
stamps and postal cards from their Offices
The salary attached to a presidential post
| office depends upon the amount of business
| transacted at the Office. and when these
| foreign purchases were considered severa
| postmasters received an increase in salary
Each of the offending postmasters viii
| probably be removed from office,
| A traveller from the Pacific coast going
East on a fast express may go forward or
| his own train and mail a letter to himself
When he arrives at his destination he will
| find the letter already delivered. The ex
| PLANTATION is that as soon as the trair
| reaches an upgrade il splits into section:
| and the forward mail section rushes OIL
| ahead.
II has been stated by the department tha
| two-thirds of the gross weight of all tn,
mail matter carried annually in the United
| States Yields the government but $1,000. 900
| The other one-thrd nets S10S0O0,000 The
| two-thirds comprises the mail matter tina
| is transmitted at the second-clasS rate of
| cent for each four ounces, and has included
4 besides newspapers, railroad guides, novels
| law books and great many other sorts o.
| publications
A Colorado postmaster, after applying re
| peatedly to the department for increased
| help without success, forwarded this ire
| sistibie appeal: THE citizens of this neg
| lected but necessary region are painfully
aware that the people of our Eastern wate
4 front are created superior; born old ant
| educated; endowed from aforetime will
| certain riparian rights. among which ar
universal knowledge. infallible wisdom ant
! inherited supremacy. But when we SCI
| that the intellectual giants of Canal street
| New York city, get eight mail deliveries {
| day and want ten, whereupon the postmas
| ter who has 1,6G0 letter carriers. calls fo
| 200 more-why, then our people of Cactus
| Forks. who have three carriers and two de
| liveries feel warranted in demanding on'
1 more carrier for the outskirts where ther,
| is no delivery. And we must have him.
| They got him.