River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1921-12-01
CHRISTMAS MESSAGE

10 the Boys and GlflS OF the y. o
Christmas is almost here.
Your great Post Office Department
has big job ahead and needs your
help.
Think what it means to be Santa
Claus to our 100,000,000 people and to
deliver Christmas parcels to every
family in this great country within
the short space of few days and
without disappointment.
1t can be done, and we're going to
do it, if we may have your help.
want to enlist the active assistance OF
every boy and girl in the schools OF
our country in getting parcels mailed
this week to relieve the rush that
comes directly before Christmas.
Will you go home to-day and take
this message to your parents and
friends:
"Our postmaster has asked US to
mail our Christmas parcels this week,
for, unless, we do, Uncle Sans load
may be so heavy the last few days be-
fore Christmas that he yon'S be able
to deliver all the presents ~ Christ
mas eve."
The parcels must be we'll wrapped
and tied and addressed plainly in or
der that they may arrive in good con-
dition with their Christmas appear
ance unspoiled. You can rlt on your
packages, "Do not open until Christ
mas"
And, there must be number or
your house and mail receptacle, too
for, if there isn't, Santa Claus's mes
senger, your letter carrier, may not be
able to find the house where the pres
ent belongs.
There are some other things, too
in which you can all assist in improv
ing the mail service and in saving
our great Government millions of dol
lars year that is now wasted be-
cause of our neutrality-suspicious. and
mine.
Every day that you drop letter
in the mail box 40.000,000 other let
tiers are already pushing and jammine
through the postal machinery. One
letter a day for each family of five
PERSONS in the United States is given
to Uncle Sam to deliver.
When you send parcel to the l,3rt
office for mailing any day there as
about 100000 other parcels ahead OF
yours passing through the postal hop
per. This is in ordinary DAYS; at
Christmas time it is multiplied many
times
One family in about every ten puts
a badly addressed letter in the mail,
every day. This mixes ur over 2,000..
900 other half addressed letters with
the 100000 fully addressed let
tiers. This means that the fully adj
dressed letters must wait on the slow
moving poorly addressed letters just
like the larger boys and girls are de-
layed by bunch of ''bad kids" tagg-
9ng along.
You boys and girls can help the
Postal Service and save your fathers
some money, because he has to help
pay the cost of searching addresses or
letters and parcels sent out hv this
one careless and thoughtless family
in every ten.
First find out if your family is the
careless one, then bear in mind that
your letters must be handled by skill
led mail distributors standing in post
offices and on swaying postal cars OF
mile-a-minute mail trains, often un-
der poor light.
The address on every letter, card or
package must be correct, complete
and legible, including the house num-
Der and name of street, and the
from" address should be in the up7
per left hand corner so that the mail
will be returned to you in case it is not
delivered. Do not abbreviate names
Of States, because so many look alike
when abbreviated.
Put the proper amount of postage
on your letters and wrap the parcels
carefully. Avoid fancy writing. which
causes post office clerks and letter
carriers to stop and study, and thus
lose time. Make the address plain anc
easily read, and always use pen and
ink or typewriter and light-colored en-.
velopes. so as to save the eyes of thc
post office clerks. Do not use enve-
lopes of unusual size. The little ones
that are so frequently used for cards
and notes at Christmas and other holi
day times cause an untold amount o.
trouble and labor, as they will not fit
our canceling machines and n'''st
therefore be Cancelled by hand. BE.
cause of their size and tendency te
velopeS are more likely TO be over
looked or lost.
Mail YOUR letters and uackaoe
SdliN III IHe udN. ueCduSe IillS dNOluS
Overlooking and delaying mail at the
end of the day.
Your local postmaster and vorr
teachers will tell you more about the
Postal Service.
Do these things. and you will wiz
the grateful appreciation of the peonle
in your post office and especially OF
Your Postmaster General
Will HI. Hays
P. S.-Don't forget to mail your
Christmas packages this week.