Daily Kennebec journal., 1905-09-12
BOX NUN BERS
To Be Required on the Boxes OF Rural
Delivery Patrons.

Instructions were received, Monday
hy Postmaster Lane to have box num-
hers assigned for the r. F. d. boxes on
all routes running from this office. The
following taken from the letter of IN
structions describes the objects OF TINS
new feature in the service:
For public convenience and to ia
ciltate a more accurate handling OF
mail by rural free delivery carriers, 1t
has been decided that each rural mail
box in use on a rural route. which, un-
der tn regulations of the Department,
is entitled to service shall be designat-
ed by number in the manner and by
the method hereinafter set forth; and
the delivery by rural carriers of ordi-
nary mail matter of all classes ad-
dressed TO such boxes by number alone
is authorized so long as improper and
unlawful business is not conducted
thereby.
POStmaSterS at the respective dis
tributing offices are hereby directed to
instruct the carriers of all rural free
delivery routes which have been oper-
ated sixty days or more. TO review the
rural mail boxes in use on their routes
in the interval between the recent of
this order and September 30, 1905, and
report which of them conform To the
regulations and are thus entitled to de-
signative numbers.
''The following, when found to be-
safe, weatherproof. and fit receptacles
for mail, are entitled to numbers:
ta) RoXes approved under Order
No. .39
b) Non-approved boxes erected
prior to October /, 1902
NO nOnw weathcrprOOf or otherwise
unfit receptacles for mail shall be num-
bered. All such must be replaced with
regulation approved boxes by the
owners, or no numbers will be assigned.
NO rural mai! box erected within the
limits of an incorporated city or town
or within Onc-half mile of a pOstoffice
at an unincorporated town or village
shall be numbered unless such box
was erected prior to October 3, 1903, or
is being served by specific order of the
Department.
'The numbers assigned to boxes on
each route will commence with NO. L.
which will pertain to the first regula-
ton box reached by the carrier after
leaving the starting point of his route
scription; box after box thereafter to
be counted and given the proper num-
Der in regular sequence in order of ser
vice from No. l to and including all
those boxes entitled to service located
on the route.
''!As soon as possible after cOmplct-
ing the assignment of box numbers on
q route the postmaster will furnish each
box owner with the official number of
his box, and request that this number
be at once legibly and durably in
scrbed in a conspicuous place on the
outside Of the box.
Boxes served regularly by more
than one route must, in cases where
such double service is duly authorized,
be given numbers in regular cOnsecu-
tive order on each route. by the me-
thod prescribed in the preceding para
graphs for numbering boxes served by
but one carrier
New boxes erected subsequent to
the original numbering, between those
already in position on a route and con-
secuti:cly numbered, will be designat-
cd by applying thereto in the regular
order the next consecutive numbers
shown by the record OF numbered box
eS already on the route to be unused
THE work of numbering boxes Oh
newly established routes must not be
undertaken until the great ma jority
are permanently in place. Not less
than 90 days should elapse, however,
after service begins, before the num-
berS are assigned"