The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1910-07-27
MAIL SYSTEM
IS IMPROVING
New Method of Handling Registered
Matter and no Receipts Is,
sued Here
After.
TRACE OUT OF CURIOSITY
Many of the Inquiries for Mail, Reg.
istered Packages, etc, Have
Been Made to Satisfy Pr.
vate Purposes.

| Thespostoffice department is making
radical changes every day in the man
ner of conducting the service and Is
finally getting down to good business
administration. The changes effected
during the past year have been in the
interest of economy, but they have
also afforded better mail service.
The handling of registered mail has
been simplified and large portion of
work with which the system was burd-
ened has been removed. For many
years it was believed that 1t would be
unsafe to do away with the red tape
surrounding registered mail but few
months experience has proven that
the system is even more secure than
ever before.
| Commencing last week, senders of
registered articles will not, receive the
return receipt card showing the de-
livery of the article to the person to
whom it was addressed. The only re-
ceipt that the sender will have is the
one from the postoffice making the
postmaster or the clerk personally liza
BILE for the article. This is in line with
good business and is the same as rail
road and express companies. very
/ slight number of the return receipt
cards are necessary or even desired
iby the senders, yet the department
has been tracing each shipment and
showing its delivery. 1t has been
found that many of the inquiries and
itracers for mail matter, money orders,
etc, were made out Of curiosity or for
some other private purpose to which
the department should no lend itself
without cost to the parties interested
| However, where necessary, the sender
can have return receipt without cost.
by endorsing on the wrapper or envel-
jope of the article the words: Return
Receipt Desired"
Before the close of the year the
heavy envelopes, in which registered
articles were enclosed by the post
office before being sent to the office
of address, will be discontinued The
cost of these envelopes and tags and
the labor involved in their use is
Eenormous and 1t has been found that
they can be dispensed with withou
injury to the service
The method of accounting for and
reporting money order business at
postoffices and stations will be radi-
cally changed before the first of Oc-
tober, statements and reports will be
simplified and large percentage of
the present cumbersome work will be
done away with. About that time the
money order advice will also be dis
continued This in itself will effect a.
large saving in the cost of operating
the money order system
The cost of vacation service for the
carriers and clerks has been reduced
this year about one-third, without
in any way impairing the service. The
work in all divisions is being simpli-
fled and the entire system of the de-
partment is being rapidly placed on a
sound business basis.
If the department continues In its
] development of these business-like
4 methods, the necessity for an increase
4 in newspaper postage will be entirely
done away with, as the revenues will
fully provide for all necessary ex-
penses.