Show r r I ir f A 1 Ij or s sa a t j a l t l M 1 Yes s f C r 2 I p da w S c m tf S 44 A 1 p t u 4 1 J I I y F jc e er e ld af az Le c dd fr ANTA A CLAUS GLAUS Is Is becoming b a n regular regular regular regu regu- SANTA SANT S lar hoodoo loo to Uncle Sam Sant Impossible sible unthinkable unbelievable ou declare hotly end high treason you In defense of ot the kindly old fellow tello but lut It Is ia a fact nevertheless And the worst of ot It ip ig that the patron saint of ot our holiday bids fair fall to prove pro more snore of ot a a. bugbear to our federal guardian guardian guar guar- dian at this Christmas season of ot 1911 than he has ever done In the past past past- with one possible etc exception Ev Even n as this meets the tho eyes of or readers renders there are arc tired sorely-tired officials ls In Washington Washing Washing- ton who are cudgeling their brains and nd figuratively If It not literally tearing their hair because of ot the wa way In la which Santa Claus Glaus up upsets seta routine In certain government ent offices Of Ot course all our readers appreciate that the great eat governmental Institution Institution institution tion which we wo are all wont to familiarly familiarly famili famili- arly dub Uncle Sam Is a vcr very complex organism and b by this same samo token It follows that In most spheres only on a n minor and Indirect Influence Is ex exerted exerted exerted ex- ex b by Santa Claus Glaus In one domain however he does play hob and that one Is the department which la le far and away ay the biggest business enterprise under the government having hav hav- ing nr on its payrolls up upward ard of ot third one-third of a a. million people or several times u as mon many as ae are enlisted In our arm army or navy Now for tor everybody In the tho postal army from rom the thc postmaster ter general general general gen gen- eral to the mall man carrier on the tho most Isolated rural route the Christmas holidays hol hol- bring extra work work added added responsibilities that may even somewhat mar marthe the he personal enjoyment of ot the yuletide Yet ret It may surprise you to learn that it at Is not this rush work that Is putting putting putting put put- ting dear old Santy into the role of ot troublemaker troublemaker particularly particularly BO so this year It Is Santa Claus Claus' personal mall mail Is Just now causing some Borne of ot the captains of at th the postal cohorts to lay awake nights Now the be t driver of the reindeer er team gets a 0 tremendous tre- tre tre volume of mall mail during the tho fortnight before Christmas Indeed i there here are posted to to- him every evory day dur- dur that interim A dozen times as man many letters as I are addressed to the tho Pres- Pres ident dEnt of the United States who under ordinary circumstances Is supposed to receive tha lest tha heaviest personal mall o of J any any Individual In In the tho world And Santa s a a- lamentable Inability to handle han- han Idle dle his correspondence Perhaps It Is not to be wondered at considering what hat deluge of or missives arc are dispatched Ito to him and how busy he hc must be with his other duties at this time of year but be that as it may the old follow fellow has never been known to formal formally acKnowledge ac- ac J Knowledge the tho receipt of oC a letter Jetter much less leIS to answer It In the ordinary wa way Worse yet he will not even oven call for the tho accumulation o of mall that Is walt wait lag nc for tor him at every postoffice up And down the land and thus he forces Uncle Uncle Uncle Un Un- cle Sam earn to dispose of ot the Santa Claus Glaus man mall as best he can Uncle Sam earn 11 l long as ago gave ave UP the effort ef- ef tort fort to i locate Santa Claus Claus' permanent I address and T forward th thither tn r his unclaimed unclaimed uH- uH un- un claimed mall mail i Indeed nd sale leale ed some of ot the pro- pro 1 officials at the postoffice danart depart depart- ment being baing unable t to get et any W clue to flama anta Claus Glaus whereabouts decreed these many years back that he ho must i be regarded ft S as l a fictitious person person- laga age ge This puts pU his mall In the un un- un dd class The regulations o of tho department which i are based upon pon laws passed eased by y Congress S that bat au all 11 V. V mall mail which cannot be delivered provide lecause of iso undecipherable or inet addressee addresses or for tor any other rca rca- real son must be sent to the dead letter office ot- ot of office fice at Washington where an effort Is made by tho the go governments greatest experts exports to either set these derelicts of the malls mails on the rl right ht road to their destination or else elso return them to the writers It Is 18 further provided that when hen It Is Impossible to ascertain the tho name or address of ot the senders of matt mall addressed to fictitious persons per ons the postal postal pos pos- tal waifs must be destroyed and this has been the unhappy fate of bushels upon bushels of Santa Claus Glaus' letters during the past de decade ae or t two o oThis This year however Is to see BOO a change In the disposition of the Santa Claus Glaus mall mail All the people who have over er had an opportunity to peep into any of the Santa Claus Glaus letters at the dead letter office have been brought to realize real real- ize that many of ot these letters are from children whose only chance of ot a mern merry merry mer mer- ry n Christmas lies in an appeal to Santy San Stul- ty Most ost children write a Christmas letter to the lad fur-lad gUt gift giver gi l an Many of ot the appeals show b by bythe bythe the paper and envelopes used that the they have been prepared In comfortable or orcen oreen en even luxurious homos homes and we e may suspect suspect suspect sus sus- that a fond father tather or mother was looking over the thel shoulder of ot the young applicant for tor Christmas boons But there are others which as has been said obviously come from poor children chil dren dron and have been written without the J knowledge of ot their parents These are ire the letters which many kindhearted kind-heart- kind ed od folk tolk feel teel should be taken In hand handby handby b by persons who would see to It that the contents contente were ere brought to the at att attention attention at- at t nUon of ot Santa Glaus Claus presuming presuming that ho tio Is too busy to read the letters himself him him- self The present postmaster general of the United States for tor all 11 that ho he Is Isa Isi isa a i bachelor and presumably not very ery susceptible to childish influence has taken this same view V of ot It Most of ot othie his hie predecessors saw In the law Jaw only an obstacle that they couldn't got around but Mr Hitchcock has seemingly seemingly seem seem- In ly spied a 3 loophole for tor along about the first week In No November ember of this year j ear he Issued one of ot the few tew official orders which has over eer been promulgated promulgated gated with reference to Santa Claus Glaus This order reads Postmasters are authorized to deliver er all nil letters arriving arriving In ing at their respective between be- be between between be be- tween December 16 1911 and January 1 1 1112 1012 inclusive which are addressed plainly and unmistakably to Santa Claus Glaus without any other terms terme or expressions ox- ox Identifying the person for toC whom such uch letters arc aro intended to responsible re responsible responsible re- re institutions or Individuals In Inthe inthe the tho town or city of or address who may desire to use them exclusively for tor philanthropic philanthropic phil phil- purposes In the event that these letters are requested b by more than one such institution or individual the postmaster shall distribute them in such proportion as RS he may deep proper Signed FRANK II H HITCHCOCK Postmaster General Seemingly the new scheme was a grand good thing and there was as much rejoicing ing over the order on tho the part art artof of ot tender hearted ten people everywhere who nho had been pained by tho the thought that any childish appeal to tOI Santa Claus Glaus should go JO unanswered ered But the subordinate officials of the department soon began to have misgivings mis- mis givings rc regarding the outcome for tor no sooner had the new order reached the ears ears of th postmasters out through the country country- than the department b began an anto to b be delu deluged cd with questions 5 regarding it It would require a column or of this paper to enumerate all the queries that were propounded as to this seemingly simple order but Just as a sample lit litma lt ma may be bo cited that Innumerable postmasters postmasters postmasters post post- masters told of ot their perplexities somewhat somewhat some somo- what in ht this wise HI 1 have 0 an application for tor the tho Santa Claus Glaus letters from John Jones Jonas who says sas that he Is a philanthropist t but I dont don't know whether ho he Is or not What shall I do Moreover Moreo no sooner was the ink dry on Mr 11 Hitchcock's new order than It became apparent that some of at the unusual unusual unusual un un- un- un usual conditions governing the Santa Santo Claus Glaus mall mail had not been taken Into account ac ac- ac- ac count One factor that has added to the tho perplexities of or the tho new scheme for tor handling this Christmas flood of ot leters le- le leters tel's Is the postage due on the S Santy n ty letters It seems that a n. comparatively small portion of ot Santy's Sl correspondents place cent 2 stamps on their letters Many deem a 0 cent cont stamp sufficient and a yet et larger proportion affix no stamp whatever Now under tho Postal postal postal pos pos- tal regulations no person can have possession possession possession pos pos- session of ot a n letter on which full lull postage pos poe tago tage has haR not been paid without making up the shortage to the government In Inthe Inthe the tho case of ot a person making makinI application application application tion for only a foe few Santa Claus Glaus letters let let- tors this postage due would mean a n trivial matter but It might mean a tidy sum to a charitable or benevolent organization planning to handle handlo hundreds hundreds hundreds hun hun- of ot the letters With tho the postal authorities wrestling wrestling wrest wrest- ling hag with the new scheme of finding acceptable proxies for tor Santa Claus Glaus there thero was naturally recalled to some nomo of ot the officials a former experience The public nubile has probably forgotten It but tho the postoffice department made ono previous attempt to utilize tho the S Santa Claus Glaus letters as a means of ot doing good T These childish appeals to be bo remembered remembered remembered at nt the tho season of ot universal good goodwill goodwill goodwill will have been crowding crowding- the mall bags bals for tor Decembers farther tarther back than tho oldest citizen can recall and from timeout time out of mind there have o been suggestions suggestions suggestions that something should be done to answer the prayers of ot the poor tots who manifested such sublime faith It was not however until 1903 that a n formal formal formal for for- mal application was made to the postoffice postoffice post- post office olce department to divert dhert unclaimed unclaimed un un- un- un claimed letters to such nuch an end Then the matter W was S referred to the legal c experts of ot tho the government who de declared declared de- de Glared that In their opinion no such action could be taken without Imperiling imperiling Imperil imperil- ing that 8 sanctity of or the malls mails of ot which Uncle Sam Is so proud that proud that respect for tho the seal of or the postoffice department department department depart depart- ment which prescribes that not even ovon evena a q postmaster general himself may open a si sealed envelope after It has been deposited in the malls mails except with the consent of ot tho the Intended recipient This veto of ot the project stood un unquestioned unquestioned un- un questioned until Mr oIl Ir Meyer now secretary secretary secretary sec sec- of or the naY navy was acting as postmaster postmaster postmaster post post- I master general under Pr President Roosevelt Roose Roose- velt Organizations and individuals In Mr foyers Meyer's home state Massachusetts and elsewhere appealed to him to al allow allow al- al low 10 them to use the Santa Claus Glaus letters letters letters let let- as a medium of doing doln good and after atter obtaining from tho the attorney general general general gen gen- eral of ot the United States an opinion that allowed him some Bome latitude In the matter he finally Issued in n December 1907 1307 an order very similar but perhaps perhaps perhaps per per- haps a trifle less explicit than the tho ono one which has Just been promulgated by Postmaster General Hitchcock Tho The confusion contusion and turmoil that resulted at atthe atthe atthe the pos postal tal headquarters headquarter arc are almost olmo t In In- In describable The Tho officials of the dead letter office to whom It fell tell to reply that to tho the telegrams and letters hItters that 0 Let Le Ade eav eo aCl C CJ cY zev A adLe ze 0 Of poured in from postmasters who wanted want want- ed cd Instructions and Ice advice wore were al almost almost almost al- al most distracted The climax came on Christmas eve evo when a telegram was received from the tho postmaster at al Chicago Chicago Chicago Chi Chi- cago advising that letters addressed addressed addressed ad ad- dressed to Santa Claus Glaus were ere stacked up In tho the office there thero and asking what should be done Looking back upon this Initial experiment Mr Meyer said feelingly ly Never again and he Issued tho the next year another order revoking his former order and directing that Santa Claus Glaus mall be disposed of oC through h tho the regular channels as formerly This order has been In force until Mr l Hitchcock Hitchcock Hitch Hitch- cock concluded ded to make a 3 tr try at al allowing allowing al- al lowing generous folk tolk to Impersonate San Santy ty And Just hero here attention may be bo called to the fact that under the or order er of ot tho the postmaster general only the letters addressed addressed ad ad- dressed to San Santa to Claus can be given to applicants Thousands upon thousands of ot what are In effect Santa Claus l letters are aro addressed to Kris Kringle le leor or St St. Nicholas but these will e have to be sent to tho dead letter office in inthe tho the regular course for tor these are the names namos of persons and the department IB le not going to run any risks of ot giving out a letter that might be Intended fo foa for fora a citizen whose name namo bore a In resemblance resemblance blance bianco to that of oC tho the popular Idol Idel o othe ot of the Yuletide In deciding this point tho the postoffice officials consulted consult d a number numbe of city directories and whereas they found never a single Santa Santo Claus they thoy found that there were cre Kris Kringlee In several American cities |