ORDER NO. 129. IES OF AME COPYRIGHTED, 1892. POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, D. C., September 15, 1892. During the remainder of the fiscal year ending June 30th 1893, all postinasters and railway postal clerks will be supplied monthly by this Department with the United States Official Postal Guide. the only Oficial Bulletin of the Post Office Department. The President's Proclamation-The Reward for Mail Robbers. Endorsement of Private Enterprise ENTERED AT THE POST OFFICE AT PHILADELPHIA PA, AS SECOND-CLASS MATTER.. FAC SIMILE, FIRST PAGE, MONTHLY POSTAL GUIDE. other matter for the assistance of postmasters and the public, orders for all the postal people to follow, regulations about foreign mails, money orders, lotteries, mail bag repairs, exchanges of mails with Canada, and so on. Each postmaster is provided with a copy and the publisher sells them in paper covers at $2, and in cloth covers at $2.50. These prices include the monthly supplement. The annual and monthly Guide are also found to be of considerable use to business men and organizations accustomed to use the mails profusely. The monthly Postal Guide contains information supplementary to that printed in the Annual Guide. The Postmaster General and his assistants communicate to postmasters and the public rulings, orders, parcels post or money order conventions, etc., in addition to the lists of new post offices; and now and then, some really original observations dare to creep in. The Department not long ago arranged with the publisher of the Guide to supply the monthly supplements at one cent a copy. The former price had been five cents a copy. But this effort to popularize the publication met with small success. Matter of some real interest and value was injected, but it was out of the run of the cobwebs, and the appropriation (which has to be specific for the Postal Guide, as for every object in the Post Office Department, and in all the departments) was promptly cut down. And now the old time liver-pill advertisement has to be admitted in order to secure a publication at all. So the efforts to make the Guide a real medium between the Department and the people failed. It remains merely a medium between the Department and the postmasters, and it is a poor one at that, for postmasters, finding that it lacks interest, do not read it, or reading it, they do not understand it all. For those who try to improve the Guide, however, there is one small source of satisfaction. The educational methods which Postmaster General Wanamaker has so much desired to infuse into the service, the information. upon postal topics which the press has of late so generously and so generally imparted, the invitation to all persons freely to criticise the service, these things, supplemented a little perhaps by the partial popularization of the Guide under the distressing circumstances above mentioned, have perceptibly improved the service. For the letters that go wrong or slowly (which are the test of "DON'TS." Don't mail any letter until you are sure that it is completely and properly addressed. Don't place the address so that there will be no room for the post-mark. Don't fail, in the hurry of business, to write the name of the State you intend and not your own-a very common error. Don't fail to make certain that your manner of writing the name of an office or State may not cause it to be mistaken for one similar in appearance. It is often better to write the name of the State in full. Don't fail, if you are in doubt as to the right name of the office for which your letter is intended, to consult the Postal Guide, which any postmaster will be pleased to show you. Don't fail to give the street and house number of the person for whom mail matter is intended in addressing it to a city or large town. Don't mail any letter until you are sure that it is properly stamped. Don't fail to place the stamp in the upper right hand corner. Don't write on the envelope "In haste," Don't mail any letter unless your ad- Don't fail to give your correspondents Don't trust to the fact that you are an "old resident," "well-known citizen," etc., but have your letter addressed in full. Don't fail, if you intend to be away from home for any length of time, to inform your postmaster what disposition shall be made of your mail. Don't delay the delivery of any mail matter that you may take out for another. Don't fail to sign your letters in full, so that if they reach the Dead Letter Office they may be promptly returned. Don't, when you fail to receive an expected letter, charge the postal service with its loss, until you have learned from your correspondent all the facts in regard to its mailing, contents, etc. AS TO PARCELS. Don't mail, a parcel without previously weighing it to ascertain proper amount of postage. Don't wrap a parcel in such manner that the wrapper may become separated from the contents. Don't seal or wrap parcels in such manner that their contents may not be easily examined. Don't mail parcels to foreign countries without special inquiry concerning the regulations governing foreign ad dressed mail matter. Don't attempt to send merchandise to foreign countries, other than Canada and Mexico, in execution of an order or as a gift, unless the postage is prepaid at five cents per half-ounce. Don't attempt to send merchandise to foreign countries by "Parcels Post," unless your postmaster be consulted concerning the country addressed and the manner of mailing matter thereto. Don't fail to put the address of the sender on each parcel before mailing. This to facilitate a return to the sender in the event of non-delivery. A PAGE OF MATTER FROM THE POSTAL GUIDE. irregular or inadequate service) have decreased in numbers so much that the Dead Letter Office, the index of this business, has actually cleared its desks of work; and this fact proves that it would be actual economy, in columns of indisputable figures, if there might be some official or semi-official countenance of these educational methods. For the expense involved in rectifying the errors of the public would surely be decreased; and in addition, the public would not be inconvenienced in the meantime. AMONG THE MAIL LOCKS AND THE BAGS. HE Mail Equipment Division of the Second Assistant's office provides the service with mail bags of all kinds, mail locks and keys, and mail bag catchers, and the various devices, like cord fasteners, label cases, etc., which pertain to these equipments. It prepares advertisements inviting proposals for furnishing these articles, receives the proposals, and prepares contracts. It issues orders for the purchase of new materials, receives, inspects, and accepts them, and issues them again whenever and wherever they are needed. This division controls and cares for all these things after they have been put in service, sees that they are economically and properly used and are not allowed to accumulate and lie idle at places where they are not needed, and provides that the damaged stock shall be repaired and restored to service. There are three funds at the disposal of the division: one of $260,000 for the purchase and repair of mail bags and mail catchers; another of $35,000 for the purchase and repair of mail locks, keys, and chains; and yet another of $6,500 for the rent, fuel, and lighting of the mail bag and mail lock repair shops in Washington. The Mail Equipment Division is presided over by Maj. R. D. S. Tyler, who served in the Rebellion with the 81st New York Infantry. He won promotion to a captaincy and was wounded at Cold Harbor and breveted a major for bravery. He was engaged in the publishing business in Detroit for fifteen years before his appointment. Major Tyler is an enthusiast in his work. The mantels, shelves, and walls of his office are tastefully decorated with mail bags, locks, etc. There are nine different styles or classes of mail bags in use by the Post Office and from one to five sizes of each class. The first s the ordinary mail pouch, made of leather, and in five sizes. They |