The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1905-10-05
RURAL MAIL BOXES
WILL BE NUMBERED

the mail boxes on these routes all be
numbered consecutivelY, beginning
with the box first on the route and
continuing throughout the route.
Postmaster Yates states that in few
days he will send out notifications to
the patrons of the rural routes from
this office, telling what their number
will be. Each route patron will then
be expected to inscribe his number
on his box with some durable paint
or other marking material.
While this system of numbering the
boxes might work very well for con
yenience in an old settled community,
it will be of little use here, where
changes of residences ownership Of
farms is an every day occurrence. In
few months there will be very few
numbers running consecutiVely along
the route. The order as sent out is
as follows
To postmasters:
For public convenience and to facil-
itate more accurate handling of mail
by rural free delivery carriers, 1t has
been decided that each rural mail box
in use on the rural route whicO, under
the regulations of the department, Is
entitled to service, shall be designated
by number in the manner and by the
method hereinafter set forth; and the
delivery by rural carriers OF ordinary
mail matter of all classes addressed to
such boxes by number alone Is author
ised so long as improper and unlawful
business Is not conducted thereby.
I -, - l,, Nt,Yg Il 10
tributing offices are hereby directed
to instruct the carriers of all rural
free delivery routes which have been
operated sixty day or more,t to review
the rural mail boxes in use on their
routes in the interval between the re-
ceipt of this order and September 30,
1905, aud report which of them con
form to the regulations and thus en-
titled to designate numbers.
2 The following, when found to
be safe, weatherproof, and fit recepta-
cles for mail, are entitled to numbers
(a) Boxes zap. roved" under order
No. 739; (b) Non-approved boxes
erected prior to October |, 1902.
3. No non weather or other
wise unfit receptacles for mail shall
be numbered. All such must 1be re.
placed with regulation approved"
boxes by the owners or no numbers
will be assigned.
No rural mail box erected within
the limits Of an Incorporated city OF
town within one half mile of post.
office at an unincorporated town OF
village shall be numbered unless such
box was erected prior to October 3,
1903, OF Is being served by specific
order of the department.
Service must be withdrawn, how
ever, from any box now being served,
until such withdrawal is expressly or
dered by this office.
4. The numbers assigned to boxes
on each route will commence with
"No. l." which will pertain to the
first regulation box reached by the
carrier after leaving the starting point |
of his route, travelling in accordance |
with official description; box there |
after to be counted and given the |
proper number in regular sequence in |
order Of service ''No. |" to and in |
cluding all those boxes entitled to ser.
vice on the route.
5. Each number thus arrived at
should be recorded In the carriers ros-
ter book opposite the name of the
owner of the box SO designated, and
also opposite the name of every other
person entitled to receive mail in said
box. Numbers thus applied to boxes
and registered must be properly re-
ported to and recorded by the post
master of the distributing office to
which they belong and must not be
changed thereafter except by specific
authority of such postmaster.
&. As soon as possible after com
pleting the assignment of box num-
bers ON route the postmaster will
furnish each box owner with the Off.
cial number of his box, and request
that this number be at once legibly
and durably inscribed in a conspicu.
ous place ON the outside of the box.
Z. Boxes served regularly by more
than one route must, in cases whore
such double service Is duly author
ised, be given In regular consecutive
ordNr on each route, by the method
prescribed in the proceeding para
graphs of numbering boxes served by
Cnl carrier.
8 New boxes erected subsequent to
the original numbering between those
already in position on route and
consequently numbered, will be desig
mated by applying there to in the reg
ular order the next consecutive mum,
bers shown, by the record OF numbered
boxes already on the route, to be
unused.
8. The work of numbering boxes
on newly established routes must not
be undertaken until the great majority
are permanently In place. Not less
than sixty days should elapse, how
ever after service begins, before the
numbers are assigned.
10. Carriers must keep their roster
books corrected up to date. New
boxes erected, removals, change of ad-
dress, names of new patrons, etc,
must be punCtually entered up and
promptly reported to postmasters.
The latter must carefully oversee the
work of the carriers, and also main
tain In their offices accurate and com
plete lists of the names and box mum.
bers of all patrons of each route at
taohed to their office
IL. Any instructions issued by this
office conflicting with this order are
hereby revoked.
II. On receipt of this communica.
tion postmasters will give it the wild
est possible publicity to, the patrons of
the rural service, without expense to
the department.
The Good Old WAY,