Democratic Sentinel, Volume 17, Number 35, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 September 1893 — TO RECALL A MAILED LETTER. [ARTICLE]

TO RECALL A MAILED LETTER.

An Intricate Process Required to Get It Out of the Post Office Again. To recall a letter onoe mailed is almost as difficult task as to take back an assertion once uttered. Thesendei must appear at the post office and is handed a blank to fill out. In this he must state when and where he mailed the letter, how it was addressed, must describe the envelope, state the amount oi postage prepaid, and testify “that the above mentioned letter was written by me or by my authority, and I desire tc recall it for the following reason’’ —and then state the reason, which is usually “mailed by mistake.” He must then sign his name, so thaf the handwriting may be compared wit| that on the letter, and sign a receipt. If the address cannot be shown to be in his handwriting, oris printed or typewritten, he must describe some peculiarities oi the envelope sufficient to identify it. It he is unable to do this the letter is refused, unless the postmaster knows th< applicant, and is satisfied concerning hit good intentions. If he is satisfied, ht asks for a statement concerning the contents, and the applicant is then obliged to open the letter and read portions of it in the postmaster's presence to prove that it is the one he described. But if the letter has been sent away the process of recalling it is still more difficult. A similar blank has to be filled out, and a minute description telegraphed at the sender's expense to the postmastei at the office of its destination. If discovered in time the letter is then intercepted and sent to the department at Washington with a statement of the case. Why should anyone want to recall a letter so much as to take this trouble! Well, there was one case at the local offios recently where a valuable deed was mailed and the sender received Information that satisfied him that the sale should not be made. In another case an important contract was sent, and information received immediately after made it imperative that it should be revoked.