The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-12-11
CHRISTMAS MAIL.
Postmaster Rodgers Tells of
Postal Clerks Troubles.
Christmas Time, of Course,
Worst of the Year.
PACKAGES GET LOST.
Because Not Properly Tied and
Addressed.
GET LOST.
insufficient Postage - Easily
Avoided by Little Care.

During the Christmas holiday sea-
son which is now opening, the ordinary
everyday troubles of the average postal
employe are increased tenfold. At other
times he has many things to contend
with, but at the holiday season when
the volume of business Is increased in
a large degree he sometimes begins
to think people are misdirecting letters
and parcels and otherwise doing things
they ought not do, just to annoy him.
said Postmaster A. K. Rodgers, in
speaking of holiday postal conditions.
During an ordinary time, all
through the year for that matter, we
get letters for transmission which lack
the name Of the addressee but often
1t Is the postoffice or the state that is
missing. Letters and postal cards are
dropped into the boxes every day upon
which no stamps have been placed.
Such either are held and the person
sending the letter or postal is notified
to stop at the office and pay postage,
or else the person addressed is notified
that a piece of mail is being held here
pending the payment of postage.
Another trouble is with fancy post
cards. Under the postal regulations
no card which has mica or similar ma
terial. or to which any rough substance
is attached may be sent without being
securely sealed in an envelope. The
sealing entails the payment of 2-cents
postage, which is not understood by
the average person. The strange
things some people do with them are
surprising. Some of them are placed
in thin envelope, the stamp affixed
to the card, under the impression that
it will be forwarded.
Although the stamp is in plain
sight it cannot be cancelled and we
have no right to open the envelope
to cancel the stamp. Therefore it is
held up. Others cut a hole in the cor
ner of the envelope. thus exposing the
stamp to cancellation. This is against
the rules. Several have come in re-
Gently in which the stamp has been
used to seal the tissue paper envelopes
We cannot consider such securely
sealed and cannot forward them.
Care in Wrapping.
"But during the holidays things are
worse than ever. Letters and parcels
come to the office On which insuffi-
cient postage has been paid. That is
Is collected before the letter or pack
age is turned over TO the person to
whom addressed. Parcels come in
loosely or carelessly wrapped, and
which have lost the address,.
"The sender expects to hear from
the person addressed and does not An
inquiry is started and sometimes it is
complicated matter to locate a
missing parcel Sometimes it never is
located. Other parcels have been
wrapped SO carelessly, that the wrap
ping with the address has come off the
package. Perhaps part Of the contents
has been lost. 1t all makes trouble,
almost endless trouble, not only for
the postoffice men but for persons
sending and receiving parcels by mail.
Another cause of trouble is the
sending of breakable articles through
the mail. The goods may be received
in bad condition, or perhaps the con-
tents of a package have been crushed
that. Such things ought not to be sent
by mail, and persons sending must
take their own risk in doing so.
"The illegible address is some
thing that we always have to contend
with The postal clerks as a general
ciphering difficult writing. The lack
of proper address is an old story, and
generally if sufficient address is given
to make a guess at what is meant the
letter is forwarded to guess address
in a hope that it may prove the right
one. It is the carelessness exhibited in
mailing parcels and the folly of doing
as so many persons do in sending deli
cate materials through the mails that
makes such extra work.
"If I were to give a set Of rules I
should say, first of all be sure the
package is wrapped properly. Be
sure that it contains nothing that
might break in transit. Be sure that
the address is properly attached in a
way that it will not be likely to come
off. OF course it would be nice if
people would take still further pre-
cautions and see that sufficient postage
is applied and that the address is
written so that it may be deciphered
easily, but such things do not bother
SO much as the other. The people at
large can help or hinder the postoffice
department in the proper distribution
of the mails especially during Christ
mas time, more than any system that
can be devised
(y0Sf