HIGH PRESSURE

Evening Star, Issue 25672, 21 December 1945, Page 4

HIGH PRESSURE

POST OFFICE ACTIVITY INCREASES ON LAST YEAR ■ Post office employees continue to work at high pressure to keep pace with the abnormal volume of mail which is being despatched and received, as they realise' that if they once allow an accumulation to grow they will become overwhelmed. An unusual .feature tliis year is the large quantity of mail posted at the Main Post Office to residents in various parts of the city. On the first three days of this week 323,100 letters were posted/ an increase' of 34,000 over the 288,900 letters on the corresponding days of last year. The difficulties of delivery will be realised when it is explained that yesterdav 381 “overflow” bags were sent out from the postmen’s branch to depots in various parts of the city to be collected and delivered by the postmen and postwomen. This figure is an increase of 101 over the number desnatched on December 20 last year. The number of registered letters delivered by postmen yesterday totalled 482. an increase on the 450 last year. On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of this week 1,670 parcel bags were despatched from Dunedin, a substantial increase over the total of 1,431 in 1944. The “ inward ” traffic, rose from 1,169 bags in 1944 to a total of 1,192 hags. “ Outward.” returns for yesterday showed an increase to 672 bags and 115 loose parcels, the figures for 1944 being 351 bags and 111 loose parcels. The “ inward ” figures were: 1945, 420 bags and 283 loose parcels; 1944, 347 bags and 151 loose parcels. . The figures relating to mail bags were: “Outward” —1945 (Monday. Tuesday, and Wednesday), 1.346; 1944. 1317. Inward ”—1945. 1,367; 1944. 1,311. Brisk business is reported from the telegraph branch, and this _is expected to reach its peak on Christmas Eve. Figures are as follows (with the corresponding dayfi of last year in parentheses) Tuesday,' 1,295 (1.310); Wednesday,' 1,480 (1,323); Thursday, 1,605 (1,539). Total, 4,380 (4,172). The telegrams received assumed even greater proportions. On Tuesday 2,163 (2,228) was the count; Wednesday, 2,435 (2,407) ; and Thursday, 2,966 (2,495). The total number of telegrams received over the three days was 7,564 ( 7,130).