HELPING POSTMEN

Grey River Argus, 11 February 1941, Page 7

HELPING POSTMEN

HOUSEHOLDERS’ GOOD RESPONSE. There has been a most gratifying response to the appeals made by the Post Office for the erection of gate letter-boxes. In recent months no fewer than 55,000 householders have erected boxes, with the result that 236,000 (or 86 per cent.) of the 275,000 householders in the Dominion served by postmen are now directly easing the burden on individual postmen and helping the Department to conserve its manpower at a time when this is essential in the national interest. Gisborne and Inglewood are two towns which have splendid records so far as the erection of boxes is concerned. In both these places every householder served by postman has complied with the Department’s request. Another town with a good record is Nelson, where there are 3,620 householders and only about seventy have not provided boxes.

The Post Office intends shortly to make a further appeal to those householders throughout the Dominion who have not yet complied with requests for the erection of letterboxes at their gates. Over a thousand trained officers of the Department have already been released for military service with the overseas forces, several hundred more are expected to be called up at an early date, and approximately 500 officers are at present undergoing territorial training. Coincident with this heavy drain on its trained staff, .the Post Office has undertaken many additiclial activities arising out of the war, and in consequence of these extraordinarydemands it is finding it increasingly difficult to maintain fully its services to the public. By the provision of

gate letter-boxes householders can give the Department real assistance in coping with the present abnormal conditions.