The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1909-08-24
POSTMASTER AND PATRON.
CONTINUED from page 2.)

There are many other things which
the postmaster has to contend with.
The city delivery patron who calls
on Sundays and holidays after thv
carrier windows are closed, and then
it is the devine pleasure of the post
master or clerk to skirmish through
the numerous compartments of let
ter carriers case in a blind search
for mail. But he does it and is
outwardly glad to accommodate the
patron who really ought to have
made it his business to call at the
Office before closing time.
Then there is the young girl who
wants her mail in the general de-
livery and the parent who. objects;
the guileless youth who sends sweet
dreams of love on a tinselled postal
/ card, and then wonders why it fail
ed of delivery, when the regulations
prohibit the transmission of this
class of matter through the mails
unless inclosed in an envelope; the
patron who carries on a secret cor
| respondence under an assumed
name, and rails at the postmaster
! who refuses to rent him a box for
the reception of such matter; the
patron who wants part of his mail
delivered by carrier and part of it
put in his lock box, and thinks un-
kindly Of the postmaster when the
carrier inadvertently delivers at his
residence mail which should have
been placed in the box; the patron
who wants the postmaster to wit
ness the contents Of registered let
ter, and the patron who wants you
to take a bank check for money
order; the patron who drops two
pennies with letter into the post
office drop, and wonders why one of
the pennies should become lost and
his letter "held for postage;" the
patron who telephones you that he
wants you to go to the postoffice
and get a letter which he mailed
and later desires TO make correc-
ton; the patron who calls after
hours and wishes his mail or to
purchase few stamps when they
are all locked up in the vault; the
patron who continually calls at the
general delivery window for a letter,
stating it may not have been direct
ed to his number; the patron who
misses his daily paper and concludes
it must have been put in another
box when some one else has already
gotten the mall the patron who fails
to incolse money order and Won
ders why it has not been received
by the payee; the farmer who wants
the rural delivery changed for his
benefit; the over sensitive patron
who makes groundless Complaints
against employees; the business man
who rushes breathlessly to the post
office with an urgent letter to go
in the mail which has already been
tied up and lock in the pouch; and
last, but not least, the patron who
wants his stamps licked, or the lady
| patron who wants the postmaster
or clerk to affiX the stamps or seal
the letter to avoid the antying of
her veil; but the greatest joke Is
the young lady who asks the clerk
to lick the stamp because she does
not like the taste, and what clerk,
if she is a good locker, would not
lick a dollars worth of one centers
for her? And so on we might go
Indefinitely.
But there are other phases of the
relationship between the postmaster
and the public that will readily oc-
cur to all of us. The postmaster's
influelce is not confined to the COM
munity in which he lives, as he acts
almost daily in the capacity of an
information bureau for the public
| throughout the country at large; and
| in this matter he must also exercise
his discretion. The postoffice depart
ment does not trace up bad debtors,
but it some times is the privilege
of the postmaster to solance some
broken hearted mother by giving in
formation as to the whereabouts Of
her lost son, or act the Good Sama-
ritan along singular lines.
Finally, the relation Of the post
master to the public is of supreme
importance in the respect that 1t is
the grand test as to his fitness and
qualifications, for no postmaster can
have a good record with the Depart
ment unless he is successful in all
his varied relations with the post
office patrons. He serves them, and
they are the real factor in determin-
ing the tenure of his position.
The postmaster is closely allied
with the business interest Of the city
and community he serves, and his Of
flee should be conducted in such a
manner as to assure the business
men Of the best possible service.
even to the extent Of some possible
inconvenience to himself and his en-
ployes. Every facility must be given
them for the dispatch Of out going
mail, as we'll as the prompt delivery
of incoming mail, for certificate
Of appreciation from the business
men Is one of the most valuable
|