Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1910-07-15
the next train unless a street or no
tel address were given.
Another Common Mistake.

tel address were given.
Another Common Mistake.
Another common error is to give
the city wrong with the correct street
address. Several Wisconsin cities
have state streets and Washington
streets. If letter addressed to state
street, this city, proves to be wrongly
addressed. it usually is sent to the
nearest place with street OF the
same name At the local postoffice
directory is kept of all the large cltles
end VIXEN a letter is found Which
cannot be delivered here, the nike
clerks apply their wits and usually
figure it out.
Mistakes are most frequent in
mail sent by foreigners. People win
an inaccurate knowledge OF a lang
mage often spell phoneucally ana
when q letter is received, addressed
to a postoffice which has no existence
the mike clerk often is able TO guess
Nv merely pronouncing aloud what Is
written and then finding the nearest
equivalent to that in an existing post
office. This is done every o"''
There is a great deal of work in
this connection of which the PUBIC
las no conception. Suppose letter
is received here marked to be DEW
cred to location in State street that
does not exist. The nike clerk does
not take a chance and send the letter.
He sends card to the postmaster
The card reads: Can you deliver
mail to Mr.. Blank, No. SO and so
State street," If the answer comes
back yes, then the letter is forwarded
otherwise the mikes keep on looking
up State streets.
Sometime mail fails to be delivered
because it may not bear stamp.
When such a letter has return ad-
dress it goes back, otherwise 1t is
held at the point of deposit Tor 80
days. If the letter received has. only
Madison address and the person is
not known, it goes to the general de
livery. If the address is unintelligiblc
or impossible, the letter goes to the
dead letter office. Thus 1T is that
whenever there is a complaint of a
letter lost the inquiry passes through
all the departments.
But 1t Costs Money.
Madison receives more than $4,000
pieces of first-class mail daily and
forwards as great or greater amount
Out of this vast amo0nt the number
cf lot+ hot Il ~ naoh fhniN
tination is almost a negligible Juan
tity, thanks to the NIKE clerk
Just what it amounts to, no one
can tell except the statisticians of the
at Washington. 1t must be
tremendous. Postmaster
Davis of Pittsburg, recently told the
PIttsburg Association of Credit Men
that it cost the Pittsburg Office $751;
600 annually to supply deficiencies
and Postmaster Keyes of Madison es-
Inmates the local cost at not little
each year.
This is one item that goes to make
10 the tremendous postal deficit, and
it was to minimize this deficit that
the department recently advanced the
registration fee from eight to 10
cents. As the chief effect OF this was
to increase the number of insured
letters, with a consequent decrease of
registered letters. the plan is not
the revenue that was expect
9d Of it. So the department is look
ing for something that will serve the
purpose.
Two things will be Done, and orders
putting them in force may be expect.
I'd at any time. One will be a ruling
hat letters which lack specific street
addresses or an indication that they
ire to go to the general delivery will
be returned to the sender if they bear
.eturn cards, and will be sent to the
lead letter Office if they do not This
will do away with the salaries of the
iiXie clerks.
The other will be that O letter may
be forwarded once, free, on a change
Jf address, but if it is to be refor-
NarJed, it will be treated as a new
etter, on which additional postage
must be paid. This will eliminate
tremendous expense. and these two
are expected to go far toward eimin-
1ting the postal deficit.