Evening star., 1938-07-10
SHAMELESS MAIL GAINS IN USE
Meter Is Leased bv
Large Business.
Concerns.

HeSlVe stamp sometimes ShedS"-
comes of in transit-but printed in
dicia can't do this.
The human element must be taken
into account, and mistakes occur un-
der the present system. as In the op-
Grafton Of facing for instance. Thou
sands and thousands Of letters of va
rying sizes must be handled sep
arately, perhaps during q peak hour,
and arranged with the stamps in the
same corner, ready for the postmark
and cancellation machine.
The tables at which employees work
are often 3 feet deep in mail, with
more continually pouring in. It's
enough to bewilder the most ex-
perienced worker. And mistakes are
sometimes made. On an improperly
faced letter, for example, the stamp
is not Cancelled by the die of the
postmarking machine, and the letter
reaches the sorting section before
the mistake is discovered. The let
ter must be returned for proper can
collation. and may miss an outgoing
train and arrive at its destination
late.
r EGARDED as a money-saver for
business concerns. the meter sys-
tenn requires less accounting and
eliminates loss through waste of post
age. misuse and spoilage. the tearing
Of stamps and the like. A national
bank in Boston Is said to have re-
ported saving of $2,500 In annual
postage cost.
Meter enthusiasts add that metered
mail automatically provides the user
with complete and accurate record
of the date of mailing, as the mail
Is postmarked at the users own Of
fice with the metered mail imprint.
This Is substantiated when the post
ofice accepts it.
This acceptance Is subject to many
rules. For instance. regulations state
that when the last mailing Of the
day is made in q street collection box
the statement for the days mailings
should be inclosed in red envelope
securely tied to the face side Of the
package of letters and bear in
prominent manner the inscription,
"Metered Mail" together with the
name OF the mailer.
"MAIL1NGs. other than the last
" for the day, deposited at places
or points designated by the post
master other than the post office or
station where the meter iseset. must
have tied to, them an identification
label provided by the mailer, promi-
nently bearing the words, 'Metered
Mail and showing the permit hold
er's name, date and the meter num-
Der. Such label shall be considered
In connection with the final statement
with the last mailing Of the day"
Examinations Of metered mail by
Uncle Sam are rather rigid. Each
mailing Is looked over at the post
ofice to see that it Is from an au-
thorized permit holder. that the indicia
are sufncient to pay the requisite post
age, that the date and hour of mall
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otherwie complies with postal re-
quirements.
There are also other checking and
verification proceedings.
Tampering with or misuse Of the
machine Is punishable, of course, un-
der postal laws, and II the machine
gets out Of order nobody attempts to
fix it with pair Of pliers and q bent
hairpin. Postal regulations state that
If the printing and recording mech
anism of the meter fails to record its
operations correctly and properly its
use must be discontinued imme-
diatos and 1t must be delivered to the
postmaster to be checked out of serv-
ice before correction or replacement
is made"
It isn't exactly economical for Just
one individual to operate . machine,
20 authorities say there is no cause to
get excited about midget meters for
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