Omaha daily bee., 1909-03-29
CARELESS LETTER WRITER'S
Examples in Missives Returned to
Omaha P~ostofice.
M1sDRECTIoN A COMMON FAUL,
Correct Addressips OF Envelopes is
10 Ne Taught I'm the
schools from Model
Forms.

The population Of the United States is
more than s~o.0co.OOO. which includes men,
women and children. They comprise So
900. 600 of the best educated and most intelli-
gent people on the face Of the earth. OF
that number at least rs per cent read and
write.
But listen. More than 100000 pieces
OF mail were sent to the dead letter office
during the year 1908 as unavailable. Not
Illegally unavailable, but because of insuffi-
cient address.
Ninety per cent OF the business of the
United States is transacted through the
postoffice. or is at least initiated through
the United States mails. The Postoffice
department touches more closely upon the
real business activities of the nation than
any other department. 1t also comes closer
in touch with the people, the homes and
the home life of the people than all other
departments of the government. 1t Is the
continuous aim of the government to make
this department as perfect as possible.
Scarcely a day passes but some new sug-
gestion or rule is adopted to perfect this
postoffice system, and after all there Is
no department of the government OF which
the public Is more ignorant and In which
the public exercises more inexcusable care
lessness.
This fact was recently illustrated at the
Omaha postoffice, whereby in the morn
ing's receipt OF mail four letters were
returned from the dead letter office at
Washington for insufficient address. In
one was a steamship and railway ticket
from some point in Greece TO Omaha, that
had been sent by an Omaha party to a
relative there. The cost of that ticket
represented over 800. but it could not be
delivered because of insufficiency Of ad-
dress, and so 1t was returned to the post
office In Omaha. Even the name OF the
sender was nowhere to be found In the
letter of transmittal.
Busy Business Mans BIunder.
Another letter contained a draft for $50
sent by a well-known business man Of
Omaha to his wife in Chicago last Thanks
giving day. The letter was simply adj
dressed to Mrs. -, No. 75 Fifth ave-
nue. west. There was no postoffice desiRna-
ton on the envelope. neither was there a
signature to the letter. Fortunately the
postmaster knew the name and Omaha ad-
dress of the writer and the letter will be
returned to him.
In the two other cases one contained a
check for $40 and the other a postal order
Tor a similar amount. But the letters
which had been mailed from Omaha were
not legibly addressed. The writer's will
nave to be traced through the bank on
which the check was drawn and through
the sender of the money order.
These cases are of daily occurrence >.
said Postmaster Thomas. but Just think
what disappointment and what suspicion
has arisen over the failure Of these letters
to reach THAR ropsr do.ln.al- ~.
only were those expecting them bitterly
disappointed. but a suspicion was doubtless
thrown upon the Postoffice depa rtment and
some carrier or mail clerk may have been
put under surveillance through the care
lessness of the senders of these four let.
ters."
How The bee Helps out.
Only a few months ago a certain officer
Of the United States army died in Cali
fornia. He had occasion to borrow a few
dollars from a relative in Cleveland, o.
The money was sent. He returned IT,, but
misdirected the letter to Toledo. The reIa-
tive came to his funeral. He was an Off
Ger stationed at Fort Omaha, and the BODY
was brought here for burial. Coincident
with the arrival of the relative in Omaha
The Bee published a little item that such
a letter had been returned from Toledo.
The letter had been written several weeks,
but efforts to find the party In Toledo were
unavaillng, so the letter came back To
Omaha. The Bee item was noticed by an
officer at Fort omahs and 1t so happened
that the man for whom the letter was
really intended had Just reached Omaha
being from Cleveland, and upon prone,
Identification the letter with Its enclosure
was restored to its owner. This is but one
OF a score of instances where letters hav,
been restored to the proper parties through
such newspaper notices.
Saturday there was received at tn,
Omaha postoffice several thousand sampl,
postal cards indicating the proper name
in which a postal card or letter should b,
addressed. These are to be sent out u
the pub ic schools to instruct the school chill
dren in the proper way to address letter,
and postal cards.