Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1905-10-18

vertising columns of the newspapers
and the magazines that most Of such
letters are promptly forwarded.
In cases Of unusual names Of per-
sons, institutions or streets, 1t some
times happens that such names will be
a guide to delivery Of the letters if no
i. state or city is given in the address.
A letter addressed to prof. Wash
burn, Robert College," with no other
guide to its delivery, was forwarded
to Constantinople, because 1t was
known that there was Presbyterian
college in that city called Robert Col
lege. That was a success gained be-
cause of the general information pos
scssed by the expert who read the adj
Gress This letter, it was learned at
terward, contained a cheque for ST.
500.
Another letter was addressed to
Miss Mary Brown, care Lombard q
Oder. There was absolutely nothing
about the address to give clue as to
where it should go. Mrs. Collins pom
dered for a moment and then remem-
bered having been In Geneva, Switz-
erland, several years ago, where she
saw the sign Of Lombard & Oder,
bankers. She added the words "Gen-
eva, Switzerland"
One really clever Interpretation Of
an insufficient address was recently
made. A letter addressed only to
New York, Chicago, Boston and St.
Louis" was received, and 1t was sent
to firm in Chicago, ILL.,, opened and
found to be for that company. All
the advertisements Of the company
give the address as New York, Chi
cago, Boston and st. Lou,;, and that
combination Of cities was an indica-
ton that led to the delivery Of the let
ter.
It often happens that a prominent
feature Of some well-known advertise
ment will appear on an envelope and
lead to its delivery, although it may
not have any other relation to the ad-
dress. In one case the picture Of q
peculiar sort Of trunk was pasted on
the envelope, with no other indication
Of address, but the letter was prompt
ly forwarded to the correct party. A
picture Of the trunk was feature Of
all the advertisements Of the firm.
One letter was addressed simply to
Dan Patch, champion harness horse
Of the world, valued at $5OOOO." This
was at once sent to the owner Of the
horse at Minneapolis.
A letter directed to young lady, in
care of a school "ten miles out Of
Philadelphia, Pa" was correctly de-
livered at an Institution Of learning at
Bryn Mawr.
Has Wonderful Memory.
One reason why Mrs. Collins has
been so prominently successful in de-
ciphering misdirected, illegible and
strangely addressed letters is because
Of her wonderful memory. It Is true
that she has at hand large collection
Of directories from all parts Of the
world, gazetteers, year books and ref
erence books generally, but her great
est aid Is her memory.
Mrs. Collins can speak and read half
dozen foreign languages as we'll as
she can her own, and this proficiency
has proved great help in her work.
Observation, research and memory,
however, have been Of even greater
assistance.
For instance she is acquainted with
the locality Of all the mining and lum-
Der camps in the United States, and
knows the nationality of the men who
are employed in them; she can locate
nearly all the settlements Of Poles,
Slavs, Hungarians, Russians, Italians,
Chinese and japanese. More than
that she is familiar with the peculiar
tiles of each.
In addressing letter, a Pole, Slav
or Chinaman may be guided by his
own peculiar ideas Of nomenclature
! or conceptions Of location. Because
Mrs. Collins has fathomed this secret
the despair Of SO many Of the postal
off1cials-and because of her remark
able memory, she is enabled to solve
problems that others give up in de-
spair.
Nearly always her annual vacation
Is spent in foreign lands, usually Eu-
rope. Even on vacations she Is stor-
ing her mind with useful information.
Wandering away from beaten tracks,
or even in them, she observes names
Of streets, peculiar signs and anything
else out Of the ordinary. She has COM
mitted to memory names of streets,
towns and country postofices in all
parts Of the globe.
Appointed to the postofflce service
July 3, 1879, from Mississippi, at a
salary Of 5000 year, she has steadily
risen, through her own exertions and
without any political pull" to the
most important position in her bureau
and a salary of $500, one Of the high
est paid to any woman in the govern
ment service.