Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-12-16
Postmaster Merritt to Expe-
dite the Christmas Mail,
SEES HEAVY WORK AHEAD
Additional Clerks and Wagons Tenn.
porarily in Service.
ELECTRIC AND GASOLINE CARS
Says Eighty Per Cent of Holiday
Packages Are Usually De-
layed by Senders.

Twenty-three temporary clerks have
been appointed to assist in handing
Christmas mail at the city post office
These temporary appointments represent
but a fraction of the preparations made
by Postmaster Merritt to anticipate the
Christmas rush and dispose Of the mail
expeditiously that no one will be dis
appointed by the non-arrival of gifts.
The permanent force of the post office
includes 40 clerks. 10 substitute clerks
:i222 letter carriers, 40 substitute letter
carriers and 80 special delivery messen-
gers, besides force of laborers and por-
ters which is not permitted to handle in
dividual pieces of mail matter This
force has been augmented by 10 tenn
porary clerks. ~ substitute clerks, is
letter carriers and 5 special delivery mes
sengers. all of whom will continue in
the service until May 10, to meet the ex-
ira demands of the Office caused not only
by the holiday rush, but by the current
session of Congress as we'll
Seven additional wagons will also he inn
pressed into the collection service Mon
day morning, while today for the first
time. new electric automobile. in addi-
ton to the three gasoline cars which al
ready operate from the main office will
be put in service at station Con G street
near 9TH street northwestern collections
ana to carry large quantities Of mail to
given points for delivery by the carriers.
Collections Seven Times Daily.
The new car will collect from 100 letter
boxes seven times daily in the territory
bounded on the north by Florida avenue,
| on the south by NJ street, on the west by
9th street west and on the east by North
Capitol street and lexington 1t will
travel eighty miles day in making It's
trips and be operated during sixteen of
the twenty-four hours in charge of a
chauffeur and carrier. each of whom
will be relieved after eight hours of sery-
ice 1t will be the first test yet made of
and its work will be closely observed by
the department.
1t was explained by Postmaster Merritt
today that notwithstanding the early
Christmas mail is received at the post
Office between December 10 and %, and
90 per cent of it between December %
and December %. He says that it fire.
anently occurs that packages are received
the day before Christmas which by no
possibility can reach their destination
and be delivered until possibly week
later: yet when they do not find their ad-
dresses until that time the sender with
commendabe regularity will file his or
her complaint OF poor mail service.
Big Business Last Year.
During the holiday season last year
261 ,9S2 packages Of printed or third-class
mail matter were handled in the mailing
division between December il and De-
cember a. both dates inclusive, an aver
age Of 1925 a day; and 447, 262 packages
of merchandise, or fourth-class mail mat
ter, or an average of $3.50 day. The
estimated number of postcards contain
ing Christmas greetings mailed during
the period was $4,000, and all this eX-
elusive of letters, or first-class mail, and
the official mail received from or for the
departments. The postmaster said the in
coming and outgoing mail is approx
mately the same in volume. Of the arti-
cles sent last year about 5000 were sent
by registered mail.
While the rush last year was on the
week days, there was an unusually heavy
business Sunday, December Is, the num-
Der of books and third-claSs mail pieces
amounting to 1920 and the packages Of
merchandise to S,571. The folks who
mailed this large quantity of matter, the
postmaster said, probably forgot their
Sunday Scruples Christmas week.
Profits by Experience.
flee was endeavoring this year to profit
ny tht cAptIl cuCo VI past years, anu uS
felt certain the Christmas mail would be
handled this year up to the minute" so
far as the post Office and It's employees
are concerned.
There may be mistakes" he added,
"for it is unreasonable to suppose that
more than a million pieces of mail matter
can be handled absolutely without error,
with their varying addresses, some of
them crudely and poorly written: but mis-
takes will also be made by the public,
many of them. and all We ask Is reason
able consideration for our employees, who
are just human as the rest Of man.
kline. despite their high efficiency and
best endeavors."
A0NEnTo 40 En0 lA NAOIl