Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1922-10-09

country handle millio,ns OF letters that
cannot be delivered but the govern
ment does not sell any Of them.
Every effort is made to- deliver. each
letter entrusted tosthe postal service:
addressed, and the sender's. name and
! address are not in the upperH Ieft
hand corner, he letter is finally OPP
.ened. 4
T. If money or enclosures of value arc
Ifound and any address u given In the
letter the postoffice department for
wards the letter and It's contents.
Money that cannot be delivered goes
to swell h governments revenues.
Letters containing no valuables or
money are burned without further at
tempt at locating the persons con-
cerned. SO there ia never a dead let
ter kale literally speaking. The gov
eminent officially puts on the market
articles accumulated In the division
OF dead letters" and MOST of these
are parcel post matter.
Why Mall Goes Wrong.
Mail finds its way into the dead
letter office largely by the careless
plete addresses are given. The ad-
dressee has moved without leaving
information as to his new location.
Or again. the address on a package
Is rubbed OFF, or torn. Off. or other
Wise obliterated In transit. Addresses
written in pencil ara particularly apt
to smudge beyond recognition in 6r.
binary handling. While an address
written in ink at q postoffice desk
and dropped into the box unhlotted
may not only be smeared into moth
/ in Dnn ifno1F hut vAniy -
be 80 defacsd as~to be unbelievable.
Hundreds OF people send off mall d.
rected o-impossiblc addresses, Some
times they write the correct name and
street number and then absently add
Local" or the name of their own
town instead OF giving the city Ii
which tho addresses lives.
All of these accidents inc any
number of others may happen to q
package or letter . That they do hap
pen is proved by the 1~9,6s3,269 let
tiers and 1859 packages OF parcel
post matter that were opened in the
dead letter service in tho last fiscal
year.
Time and time again the p%ostoffice
department has urged the public ia
addsess its mali. carefully. plainly,
and In ink, and so write the name and
VI. ! SAluN kIIQ buIyDCI
left hand corner 80 that mail not de-
] hverable can be returned. Yet pack
ages and letters continue to. 60 wrong
because Of q bad start.
People who attend the dead 1ette.
sales are sometimes surprised 70 find
q relatively small ptoportion of val
liable and attractive articles. The fact
is, any n IN mails an important
package is apt to be fairly sur that
the person to whom II is sent will be
at the address to receive It: And, too,
care 10 expended In fixing 4 valuaSIe
package for the malls. Packages ot
value are apt to be further protected
sgainst loss by Insurance. or registry.
Sales are held In ~ cities, usually
twice a year. Generally speaking ths
sale which foIlows the Chftstmas sea.
! son has In 1t more goods OF interest
to casual buyer than fall auo-
Around Christmas time packages
are sent out hurriedly. tied up for a
christmas gift n sent on 81 slin,
chance that friend or relative may bs
lat the last address; and many morS
Gifts arc sent so carele4Sly wrapped
that the paper falls OFF, Or sc reck-
lessly addressed that even bostpffiae
experts never succeod IN dec0dinE ~
sender's directions Tor, delivery. Thars
were 276,82Ds valuable articles found
loose in the mails due TO- insecure
wrapping Inst year.
This 10 q general statenaept. ~ fact
T~sgardtng Christmas mall that wihdi
up at al government auction. II
might also 30 taken - warning:
EChristmasSis eoEnins and the daad lots
tier office will ket SbUr hastily smniInd