The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1912-08-28
SUNDAY MAIL
AND POsTOFF|CE
New Law Prohibiting the Delivery Of
Mall on Sunday Not to Interfere
With Important Mall
Matter.
HITCHCOCK STATEMENT
Mails For Hotels and Newspapers
viii Not be Delayed and Emers-
cncy Mali Can be
i Obtained.
HITCHCOCK STATEMENT

WASHINGTON, Aug. 27.--Plans
We're perfected by Postmaster Gener.
al Hitchcock today whereby the adj
ministration of the new law prohibit
ing the delivery of mail on Sundays
will have no serious effect upon the
handling of important mail matter.
Hitchcock tonight issued state
ment explanatory of his administra-
ton of the new law. His assurance is
that there will be no embarrassment
to the business public and that
through the arrangements he outlines
urgent mail matter will reach its des
tination promptly. Orders necessary
to carry Hitchcock's plans into effect
will be issued Immediately. The post
master generals statement follows:
There appears to be some misap-
prehension as regards the provision
| in the postal bill relating to the de-
livery of mail on sundays. This pro-
vision does not require the closing OF
4 post offices on Sunday, which would
be impossible, owing to the fact that
the transit mail has to be sorted and
4 also the mail collected in cities for
dispatch to other destinations. To
4 stop the movement of this mail
would mean serious clogging of the
whole system of mail transportation
and consequent inconvenience to the
/ public.
At present most of the mail receiv-
! ed on Sunday for delivery by carrier
Monday morning is worked after
midnight on Sunday, and, therefore,
the law will not affect this mail. 1t
will be delivered as promptly as hith-
erto. Mail received up to midnight
on Saturday for lock boxes will be
\ distributed to the boxes and will be
available to box holders on Sunday,
as usual.
4 There is at present no street deliv-
cry of mail by letter carriers on Sun
]. day and, therefore, the law makes nc
change in this regard. In short, the
4 only mail that will be affected under
a reasonable construction of the new
4 law is that received at the post off
ces on Sunday and hitherto sorted on
that day for distribution to lock
boxes.
i As the purpose Of the law, which
was clearly enacted in the interest OF
employees Is to reduce as far as prac-
4 ticable the amount of Sunday labor
the work of distributing Sunday mail
to lock boxes will be limited to GER
tain classes of mail that can not be
held until Monday morning without
i serious inconvenience to the ad
dressees. This mail will include that
for newspapers and hotel guests
:. The latter is peculiarly transient in
4 character and should not be delayed
i This mail, like the special delivery
mail, will be sorted out at the offices
of dispatch and on the railway mail
trains in order to simplify the work
of distributing 1t In the post offices
on Sunday. AS practically all houses
are now closed on Sunday, they dc
not object to the plan which has beeH
in force for year of holding their
mail until Monday morning, realizing
the benefit thus conferred on posta
employees who are thereby relieved
from Sunday labor.
| In order to give the new provision
as liberal construction as possible
postmasters will be instructed or
application to have their employees
sort out in emergency cases on Sun
day letters of special Importance
This will supplement the present
privilege of having all mail on Sunday
that carries special delivery stamp
BY the proposed changes in the
method of putting up mail in the of
, fices of origin and in its handling or