The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1914-01-14
DEPARTMENT TO
EDUCATEPATRONS
1t Aims to Promote Economy in Its
Service by Means Of the Me-
dunn Of Efficiency.
EDUCATIONAL LETTERS ISSUED
To Employees and Then the Public
Vigorous Campaign Started
by Postmaster General.

Postmaster General Burleson and
First Assistant Roper have formulat-
ed a plan for putting the post Office
department on a business basis. The
idea is to get economy through eff
cheney.
"First," said Mr. Roper. 1--WE would
have all patrons of the post Office
treated alike. We would educate the
post Office employees and then the pub
lie. We are issuing series of edu-
cationai letters.
81 have just notified all the post
masters of our cities that Postmaster
General Burles0n has started vigor-
GUS campaign to relieve the postal
service OF the great and needless bur
den imposed upon it by the public
sending through the mails letters and
packages bearing insufficient and i'm
proper addresses. 4Ae volume of this
kind of mail has increased to such
proportions recently as to seriously
impair the efficiency of the service.
This is especially true since the in
auguration OF the parcel post service.
In Chicago. for instance, a recent
count ION Sunday disclosed that out
of 465,750 pieces of first class mail re-
ceived at the main Office, 204 $50 were
insufficientiy OF improperly addressed.
To supply correct addresses on, this
mail through search of the director
les costs the department in Chicago
alone about $4,000 per annum. in ad-
dition to the expense of rehandling
forwarding the returning large per-
centage of it, 1t is of grave import
ance that this burden be reduced to
the minimum.
"The carelessness of the public in
addressing mail matter has been at
tributed to several causes, among
them the impression gained through
newspaper stories of the special apti-
tude of certain clerks in deciphering
freak addresses, that Uncle Sam will
deliver anything bearing a name; the
practice of certain business concerns
of emitting from their stationery
street.aumbers, ETC., with an idea that
this gives them an advantage over
their competitors: the representa-.
tons of certain advertising agencies
tina. advertisers will save by omit
ting from their advertisement street
numbers. etc.
"The postmaster general has di
rected the postmasters throughout the
country to use every proper means O
educating the public in the correc
method of addressing mail and to en-
list their cooperation in the effort tt
improve the postal facilities by point
ing out the delay to which all of the
mail is liable because of insufficient
and improper addresses on part O.
it. Postmasters will be supplied witt
rubber stamps bearing the legend DE
livery delayed on account of incom
plete address, and this will be placed
on all mail which it is necessary tt
subject to special treatment. The
Postmaster general feels confident
that once the public realizes the grave
Importance of properly and sufficient
ly addressed matter and a CORE
spending increase in the efficiency O.
the postal service.
with view of effectively promot
ing the policy of efficiency which the
administration of the department has
firmly determined upon it has beer
decided to organize equip and operate