The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1921-09-08
BE SURE YOUR
 HOUSE NUMBER
 SHOWS PLA!NLY '

Have you a. good plain honest-to- tEoodnesS number on your house, tstore, or factory, that can be seen ffrom across the street? If you have lnot, it is more or less of a hindrance Ito the letter carrier who calls daily Ebut to the substitute carrier who calls twhen the regular is away on vacation for sick leave, the absence of mum berS ton houses is the bane- of his existence.
 Sometimes~there is a dispute as to (which of two houses is entitled to9-a &certain number, with the result that Ehey are both numbered the same. Although the regular carrier is fla Iniliar with the situation, the substi- ftute has to make two visits to find tout which is which, and then tuck it faway in his brain so that he will not fnake any mistakes.
 The Post Office Department requires sthat all houses on street be prop terly numbered before it will estab- iish service, and although the num- bers may all be in place one year, the next year they may not be, due to number of causes.
 If they are metal numbers they sometimes fall off. Painted numbers often fade away, or are covered over by the painter on his next visit, and Hhen are discernable for only a short distance where they show through Hhe new coat. of paint.
 Some house owners put splendid number on their front doors that even "he who runs may read' and then erect screen doors that cover up ahe number and in the fall take down the screen door and erect a storm door. Needless to say, the mum berS sn these cases are remarkably well preserved, but are of little help to the carrier, and the special delivery messenger or telegraph messenger at night has to gum shoe up the front steps, and run the risk of being mls- taken for burglar while he opens the weather door and lights matches or flashes an electric light, to deter mine, the number, so carefully con cealed from view by the outside door.
 A transom over a door seems 10 be an excellent place to place number, but after it is put there, the people in. the house go in for ventl- alton and open the transom and the number & ean n not De see seen Tar rom nf tbe fb year, but in most cases the people find that opening the transom admits the pesl>y flies, and then the num- ber is out of sight completely the year round. unless the screen is re- moved in the fall.
 There are many stores in the city having a perfectly good number on the door. but the door is left open most of the time. and the number is more for the edificaion of the peo- pie as they pass out then for those who seek to come in-
 In some residential sections where a large number of people reside in one house, all have the same num- Der, and the carrier is confronted with the task of searching out a newcomer who may speak a different tongue than anyone else in the house and he has to make the search and determine that he is ma king a proper delivery of the letter while he makes his English and the English of the newcomer in the com munity iibe. If there is no number his task is indeed a difficult one.
 In some sections of the city the only number provided is put on the house in chalk by some of the ten ants who are public spirited enough keep the number on the front of the houss whitened up so that it sufffces for the original numbering that pass ed away with the elements or un- der the brush of the house painter If the color of the building does no furnish a good background the sub, stitute carrier or messenger has tt find someone in the neighborhoot who remembers what the number: used to read.
 While the buildings with no mum berS on furnish a small percentage O Inc total. the number with obscuret numbers upon them is very large, s' f the letter carrier asks you to pro vide a legible number. or place i where it can be seen, you will be do mg a great service to these pubI iervants. Poor numbering makes you mail later on the days that the reg 11ar carrier is off duty, and naigh make it a little earlier on the day hat the regular carrier is on tn lob.
 The local post office suggests tha numbers of stores be placed on tn