Newark evening star and Newark advertiser., 1914-12-23
MAIL CARRIER AS
CHIEF ASSISTANT
TO SANTA CLAUS
Record-Breaking Rush Is Now
on at the Local POST
office.

santa Claus's CHIEF assistant, the
man with the gray letter-carrier' $
lniform. had the busiest day OF the
year yesterday Approximately 1920
Christmas packages were handled at
the postofiice yesterday.
Forty extra wagons have been
pressed into service to collect and
distribute all sorts OF mail Although
q large force OF clerks and carriers
vas at work clearing away the mass
of mail matter received yesterday,
khe postoffice was flooded last night
sith packages collected from the sub
stations and package boxes through
out the city. From one station, at
orange street and Roseville avenue,
eight truckloads OF packages we're re-
ceived.
The demand for additional mail
sacks at the sub-stations became so
great that Postmaster Frank J. Book
telegraphed to Washington for 5.0U0
additional sacks. These were for
warded from the storage rooms in the
New York postoffice. An idea of the
volume of business done at the post
office yesterday may be CLEANED from
q report of the days sale Of stamps,
which totaled nearly $4,000. This IN
cluded the sales in the wholesale
stamp department. from which the
sub-stations and department stores
obtain their supplies.
Every available substitute carrier
and clerk was put to work yesterday
at the postoffice, where a force of 500
men is busy helping Santa Claus TO
deliver his presents on time. Ap-
.proximately $1,000 packages were dis
patched from the Office during the
dav and about 10000 more were re-
ceived for delivery in this city.
Thousands Send Gifts.
Thousands Of persons crowded into
the corridors of the postoffice today
to send off their Christmas gifts. The
postmaster expressed the hope that
he public had taken heed OF the
warning to mail Christmas packages
early. Judging from the jam at the
Office yesterday the majority OF per
sons had followed Uncle Sans ad-
vice, but the stream of packages
which flowed in today indicated that
another record in the amount of mail
matter would be made before night
fall. IT was estimated that $4,000
persons crowded into the Office be-
tween o'clock yesterday morning
and 10 o'clock last night.
Three stamping machines run by
electricity. each OF which stamp 55,-
600 letters or postcards in an hour,
were kept busy all day. Thus far the
carriers have been able to dispose of
he thousands of cards received but
at the rate which the cards came In
during one hour today it was estt-
mated that 100000 would be received
Tor delivery Christmas eve.
To make certain that all OF Santa
claus's gifts reach their destination
on Christmas Day, Postmaster Book
has issued orders that all mail re-
eeived up to Christmas morning be
delivered. The usual holiday sched-
lle Of one delivery will be in force,
but wagons and automobile trucks
viii be used in distributing the pack
ages. In this manner it Is likely that
the delivery on some routes will e1-
tend into the afternoon and evening
so that gifts are received on the hoH-
day.
Packages and letters will be given
preference over postcards. The car
riers will deliver as many Of the
cards as possible, but as the more
substantial gifts are contained In the
parcels this class OF mail will be dis
tributed first.
The money order and postal bank
departments at the postoffice will be
closed all day Christmas. The regis
try. city delivery and inquiry diviS-
ions will be opened until noon. Ono
win oe made in the morn
ing, but the carriers will spend the
rest Of their time making deliveries.
There will be one stamp window open
FOL. sales on Christmas until 10 o'clock
at night