The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1918-01-24

Is not wide enough 10 print INC hunger
names and allow us to print the month
or the year in full, hence we are OBJ
liged to abbreviate both, giving the
abbreviated form for the month and
emitting the first two figures Cl9)
from the year Please keep in mind
that your subscription expires always
on the first of some month and you
will then be readily able to determine
from the copy you receive, any week,
to Just what date your subscription
is paid. Where five or more papers
90 to the same postoffice address, the
name and expiration date only are
stamped on each paper itself, and
these papers are done up in bundle
with the name of the postoffice on the
wrapper enclosing them all. At the
postoffice of destination, this bundle is
opened and the distribution Is made.
In the larger towns of Somerset
county, we send several bundles to
each postoffice. AT Bingham, for ex-
ample. we have bundle~which con-
tains the Bingham Village subscrib-
ers; one for the Carratunk stage,
(Which is known as Bingham Star
Route) we also have in the same Of
flee separate bundle for tine lock
box subscribers and for those whose
mail goes to the call box section
This Is for the convenience OF the
postmaster, and somewhat, also to
the convenience of the subscriber. for
it enables the mail to be sorted much
more rapidly, hence each subscriber
gets his paper a few minutes earlier.
Much the same plan is followed in
Scion, North Arson, Arson, Madison,
Skowhegan, etc. In most OF these
places there are local or rural deliv
cries, and paper are put up in bundles
so as to expedite their handling. For
these reasons our patrons in Somer-
set county towns should state wheth
err their paper comes to them through
general delivery, lock box, rural de
livery, or star route. In case of rural
, delivery, 1t is we'll to give the number,
whether one, two, etc. The above in
| formation is much more useful than
the stating of the box number, for the
box number alone does not tell us
whether 1t Is lock or a call box.
After the name is entered in the
subscription list above referred to,
something further Is necessary to get
it into the machinery of the mailing
department. This Is done by having
the name, with expiration date, and
necessary address set up in our COM
! posing room, and the type containing
this matter put in alphabetical order
with other names in our mailing gal
legs. This work is done, usually, once
or twice a week these galleys are
then used to print the subscribers
names and expiration date on a copy
Of the paper, each week, for mailing,
or, In case his paper goes In separate
wrapper, to print the same on the
wrapper itself This same type is al
so used to print the subscription list
| above referred to which makes II alb
solutely certain that the name, eX
piration date land in case Of separate
wrappers, the address) Is the same as
1t goes to the customer, each week.
| as ii appears in our subscription list
Now there is plenty of opportunity
for an error, all the way through, but
we guard against it in every possible
! way OF course, we may enter the
subscribers name wrong, or, If en-
| tered right on the subscription list
when the name is put in type an error
may occur; or, if entered on the list
correctly and put in type correctly,
| the type may get into the wrong
classification in the mailing galleys.
If the name of John Jones of Scion IS
! dropped in the wrong galley, it may
get in with papers going to San FraN
cisco, California and John Jones MAJ
miss his paper until the error is dis
covered "l4d corrected.
We have just referred to errors
which we sometimes make in this
I office, bit perhaps the larger number
of mac uracies arise from incomplete
or imp rfect information furnished us
| by our ;,,hsa 'ibers Probably the
most &C nm0n error occurs because a
subscril r does not state whether his
paper is I new subscription or a re-
newal wv, for the purpose here re-
ferred to, new subscriber" does not
mean one Tho has never taken the
paper. 1t simply means subscriber
whose name not at the time in
our mailing list 1t may have been
removed, one day, one week, or one
month. previous to the receipt of the
letter aud remittance. If it has, and
II the subscriber Is knowing to the
fact, he shonld speak of his subscrip-
ton as NEW If, on the contrary,
he has been receiving the paper reg
ularly he may assume that his name
is In our subscription list, and should
speak OF his subscription as RE-
! NEW AL. Where a renewal is sent us
and the subscriber fails to advise. US
regarding it, the possibility always ex-
lists that We may get 1t on all the
books as a new subscriber, in which
case he viii at once commence to re-
/ ceive two papers, one representing
his name as formerly on the books
and the one arriving from the new
entry upon his more recent remit
lance Where two papers are re-
ceived he should Immediately notify
us, Otherwise, of course, he will either
sacrifice some portion of the period
for which he has paid or be called up
on to pay for both copies. The liabil-
ity to the error just referred to is
greatly increased where the sub
scriber fails to sign his name EN-
| ACTLY according to the address un-
! der which he has formerly received
the paper For example, we may be
mailing paper to Maryette Smith
of Fairfield, In our mail. some morn
! ing, We find letter with dollar
| from Mrs. James r. Smith of Fair