Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1922-03-30
ACTIVITIES.

Inc ADDRESS Oh postottlce activities delivered
by Postmaster J. H. McNicol at the Kiwanis club
luncheon on Wednesday contained SO much infor-
nation and so many useful suggestions packed into
a little space that The Herald takes pleasure in pass
'ng it along to the general public, so that some ben
chit may be derived from it, not BY local people
}'alone. but by readers in other communities, who,
like the local people, are interested in getting the
best possible results from their postal service.
We are apt to treat the activities of any of the
great agencies which men have created for their
own convenience as we treat the operations Of ma
ture, that is, to take them for granted, lose sight Of
them, and forget them. We plant seed in the ground,
and IN course of time we reap a crop. Unless we
are soil chemists, or botanists. or something of the
sort, we do not pay much attention to the various
processes through which nature developes from
that little seed a growing plant and a dozen or a
thousand seeds like the original.
So when we wish to communicate with some
one IN the next town or on the other side Of the
continent we write our 1nlssive. address and stamp
it, drop 1t into a receptacle, and take it for granted
that within a few hours it will reach the particular
person tor whom it is intended, though he is only
one IN one hundred millions. With exceptions so
few as to be negligible, this is done. If the adj
.dressee is where we expected him to be the letter
is delivered promptly. If he has moved and left a
new address it will follow him up hill and down
dale until he is found.
Just how this is done is something with which
we do not concern ourselves. The work is done by
a department which to most of us is as vague and
impersonal as is the government itself. We come
IN contact with but a few of it's members, and'of the
manner in which they operate we have little knowl-
edge.
Most of the work of the postofice department
IS carried on, quite necessarily, out of contact with
the public. The relations of the individual are
chiefly with the people who collect and deliver his
mail. and. less directly, with the office force of the
local postoffice. But, on the manner in which the
individual handles his own outgoing mail depends
very largely the character of the service which the
office can render him. 1t is toward the steps which
the individual can take to facilitate the work, in the
: local office that Mr.. McNicol's address is chiefly
directed. The legible and correct ADDRESSING Of
mail has its influence all along the line. Proper
return cards insure its return if it is not delivered,
Familiarity with the proper mailing time for mail
going in various directions is an aid to pro,nnt
service. Early mailing prevents COMPOSITIONS at the
local Office just when mails must be made I'D. These
are some of the points to which Mr.. McNicol calls
], attention.
Immediate attention to mail orders is in MANY
cases the only thing that gives the Grand Forks
business man an advantage over a competitor in a
distant city. In certain cases a DELAY of an hour or
two will place the Grand Forks man on an exact
par IN point of time with another in the Twin Cities.
The effectiveness of the rural delivery service de.
spends largely on the condition of the country roads.
hence every business man in the city has a direct
interest in having the roads in the surrounding ter
tritory kept in the best possible condition.
The postmaster's address is commended to
;readers for their careful study. If further informa-
ton on particular points is desired, such informa.
ton can be obtained at the Grand Forks office or at
1.-THE readers local office, wherever that may be.