The Nashville globe. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1906-193?, 1908-12-25
YEARLY LOSSES
THROUGH MAILS


and insufficient address on letters
packages and papers, and other mai
Major A. w. Wills, the Postmaster o.
this city, will deliver the followins
interesting and instructive address
to school children and students in the
colleges that make Nashville what is
today an educational center, hence
the proper place to begin to dispense
such knowledge.
THE Honorable Postmaster-Gener
al has directed postmasters to con.
fer with school authorities with the
view of adopting the most effective
method of instructing students and
school children as to the organiza-
ton and operations of the postal serv-
ice, covering such features of the serv-
ice, as the delivery of mails; the
classification of mail matter; regis
try and money order system, and, par
ticularly the proper addressing of let
ters, and the Importance of placing
return cards on envelopes. Personal
talks by pOstmasters to the pubils are
suggested, and they are to give teach
ers access to the postal guide and
the postal laws and regulations and
render every assistance in securing
the necessary information.
"As Nashvilles postmaster, will
take great pleasure in introducing
this measure, and as an evidence of
the necessity for so doing, submit
some very important facts bearing on
the subject:
THE report of the Director of Dead
Letters for the year 1907 shows that
there were sent to said Office during
the year 1905. 255 pieces of mail mat
ter, and of this number 76,724 pieces
inclosed negotiable paper, money or
ders, etc, to an apparent value of
$2,O18, 07636, and currency to the
amount of $67,715.69. The depart
ment was able to secure the delivery
of 5,225,792 pieces of the above mail,
which, exclusive of printed documents
and cards, amounted to about so per
cent $20,76701 of the money $751;
71469, found in the maiD could not be
identified nor delivereG to either the
addressee or the sender, hence, was
forever lost to the senders.
1--WE sent from the Nashville office
during the same year to the dead let
ter office 25,251 pieces of mail which
we had received for delivery, but
which we were unable to deliver, and
because the letters bore no return
card we could not return to the writer.
IL addition to this number sent to the
-read letter Office, we were able to de-
liver from one to two hundred pieces
a month, of poorly addressed letters,
tut which bore the sender's address.
and to whom we sent a card asking
FOR a better address, which was sup
Piled us, thus showing the careless
ness in addressing the mail in the
first instance
There were mailed at this Office
during the year 100,312 pieces of
mike" mail, that is to say, mail in
sufficiently or poorly addressed or
bearing no postage, and which could
not, therefore be forwarded to desti- |
nation; 66,543 pieces of this mail bore
the sender's ca,6 and we were there !
fore able to return same. Our clerks |
were able to correct and supply the
proper address on 1876 pieces; 49,
0OS pieces were held for postage and
the addresses notified that by send
ing the necessary stamps same would
be forwarded, and only about 50 per
cent. sent the necessary postage, and
the mail was forwarded 6213 pieces
were sent to the dead letter Office and
1,172 pieces of printed matter was dis
posed of as waste paper.
Thus it will be seen that through
the ignorance or carelessness of our
people one hundred thousand piesec
of mail matter was delayed in dis
patch, and a considerable portion failed
completely of dtliitry
This being the condition in the
Nashville postoffice, what must it be
in the larger Offices of the country?
In the Cincinnati, o., postoffice there
were handled one year in the mailing
and delivery divisions 1,476,O00 mis-
directed letters, and the postmaster
appealed to DR. r. G. Boone, Superin-
-endent of Public Schools, and asked
t letter setting forth the conditions,
gould not be read to the pupils in the
0lblic schools so as to awaken a dis
!. msition to exercise more care in adj
,yessing letters, which was not con-
ined alone to ignorant people, but in
,apny instances to people of educa-
R'0rl. Many examples of carelessness
-1lt address were submitted to DR..
De me- few of which, taken from
10, DAVIS mail fOroih1v iII,,c+ro+od