Postal Laws and Regulations Applicable to the Railway Mail Service, 1929

person so offending shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a fine of $300, to be prosecuted in any court of competent jurisdiction.

Sec. 495. Books, pamphlets, and other reading matter in raised characters for the use of the blind, whether prepared by hand or printed, in single volumes not exceeding ten pounds in weight, or in packages not exceeding four pounds in weight, and containing no advertising or other matter whatever, unsealed, and when sent by public institutions for the blind, or by any public libraries, as a loan to blind readers, or when returned by the latter to such institutions or public libraries, shall be transmitted in the United States mails free of postage, and under such regulations as the Postmaster General may prescribe. (See sec. 439.)

4. The matter should be wrapped so that it may be easily examined.

5. On the upper left corner of the envelope or wrapper containing the matter the name and address of the sender should appear, and on the upper right corner the word "Free" over the words "Reading matter for the blind."

Sec. 498. Mail matter is classified by the Universal Postal Convention as follows:

(a) Letters.

(b) Post cards or postal cards, and post or postal cards with paid reply.

(d) Printed papers.

(e) Samples of merchandise.

2. (a) Except where otherwise provided by special postal conventions (see Official Postal Guide) letters and post or postal cards may be dispatched whether or not any postage is paid thereon; other articles shall not be dispatched unless prepaid at least in part. * * *

Sec. 501. By virtue of special postal conventions or arrangements, United States domestic postage rates and conditions apply to certain mail matter destined for designated foreign countries. Detailed information will be found in the Official Postal Guide. Sec. 502. All mail matter originating in the United States for transmission to officers and members of the crews of United States war vessels stationed abroad and all mail matter originating with officers and members of the crews of such vessels and destined for transmission to persons in the United States shall be admitted to the sealed sacks forwarded to such vessels from post offices in the United States or from such vessels to such post offices.

Sec. 503. Under the Universal Postal Convention official correspondence relative to the postal service exchanged between postal administrations, between these administrations and the

International Bureau of the Universal Postal Union, between post offices of union countries, and between these post offices and the administrations is exempt from postage.

Sec. 506. 2. All articles which are not admissible to the domestic mails of the United States shall not be admitted to the mails exchanged with foreign countries.

NOTE.-See Official Postal Guide for detailed information regarding articles prohibited generally in the regular mails exchanged between the United States and foreign countries, for list of special prohibitions to individual countries, and as to articles prohibited in the international parcel post.

Sec. 507. No person in the Postal Service, except those employed for that purpose in the Division of Dead Letters, or a branch thereof, shall break, or permit to be broken, the seal of any letter or other matter while in the custody of the Postal Service. Neither postmasters, inspectors, employees of the Post Office Department, nor officers of the law, without legal warrant therefor, have authority to open under any pretext a sealed letter while in the mails, not even though it may contain improper or criminal matter, or furnish evidence for the conviction of offenders.

4. No person employed in the Postal Service shall place or carry in his pockets or other part of his clothing any mail which is in the custody of the Postal Service.

Sec. 508. Postmasters and others in the Postal Service shall not give to unauthorized persons information concerning mail matter. They shall furnish such information to post-office inspectors, and may furnish it also to the sender, the addressee, or the authorized representative of either, and they may give to officers of the law to aid in the apprehension of fugitives from justice information regarding the addresses, return cards, or postmarks on mail matter, but must not withhold such mail from delivery to the addressees.

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5. A * * * postal employee summoned as a witness shall obey the summons and go into court, but shall refuse to testify in regard to mail matter *, at the same time exhibiting this regulation. He shall then testify if so directed by the court. Sec. 511. Mail matter of the first class deposited in or received at any post office unsealed or in a mutilated or otherwise bad condition, shall be stamped or marked with the words Received unsealed," or "Received in bad condition," as the case may be, and shall be officially sealed and postmarked before being forwarded or delivered.

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2. When matter of the fourth class in bad order is received in a post office, or by a railway postal clerk, there shall be attached thereto a tag bearing the words "BAD ORDER" in conspicuous type, and appropriate instructions. The employee first discovered the damage shall postmark this tag and attach it to the parcel to be transmitted to the office of address, and shall also make a brief report of the essential facts, attaching thereto the pouch or sack label, to be sent to the Superintendent, Railway Mail Service.

Sec. 521. 3. Second, third, and fourth class matter is not mailable at a railway post office or in depot letter boxes from which collections are made by railway postal clerks.

Sec. 522. Whoever shall use or attempt to use in payment of postage any canceled postage stamp, whether the same has been used or not; or shall remove, attempt to remove, or assist in removing, the canceling or defacing marks from any postage stamp, or the superscription from any stamped envelope, or postal card, that has once been used in payment of postage, with the intent to use the same for a like purpose, or to sell or offer to sell the same, or shall knowingly have in possession any such postage stamp, stamped envelope, or postal card, with intent to use the same, or shall knowingly sell or offer to sell any such postage stamp, stamped envelope, or postal card, or use or attempt to use the same in payment of postage; or whoever unlawfully and wilfully shall remove from any mail matter any stamp attached thereto in payment of postage; or shall knowingly use or cause to be used in payment of postage, any postage stamp, postal card, or stamped envelope, issued in pursuance of law, which has already been used for a like purpose; shall, if he be a person employed in the Postal Service, be fined not more than five hundred dollars, or imprisoned not more than three years, or both; and if he be a person not employed in the Postal Service, shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars, or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.

3. Mutilated or defaced postage stamps, fractional parts of stamps, postage-due stamps, stamps cut from embossed stamped envelopes, newspaper wrappers, or postal cards, or stamps other than postage stamps, may not be used or counted in prepayment of postage, and matter bearing such stamps shall be treated as "held for postage," except when bearing special-delivery stamps. Sec. 525. 2. The willful impression on any mail matter of a postmark bearing any other date than that on which such matter is mailed or of a backstamp bearing a date other than that on which the mail is received at the post office backstamping it, or the erasure of any date of a postmark or backstamp, whether for purpose of fraud or deception or to conceal a delay or detention of mail matter or any other official error or delinquency, may subject the offender to dismissal from the service.

Sec. 542. Mail for delivery and mail for distribution at a post office shall be made up in separate packages, unless special authority to combine it is given.

Sec. 546. Not more than 125 pounds of mail matter should be placed in a sack.

2. A mail sack may be used for a separation of second, third, and fourth class matter under the conditions prescribed in section 520, paragraph 9.

Sec. 548. When it is necessary to send circular matter inclosed in envelopes similar to those used to cover business letters, in canvas sacks, the label upon the sacks must read, in addition to the regular address, "Circulars."

Sec. 549. Every sack containing perishable parcel-post matter shall have attached thereto a distinctive tag bearing appropriate lettering, including the word “Perishable,” in conspicuous type.

Sec. 555. Employees in the Postal Service shall not place personal or unofficial indorsements or messages of any kind upon mail matter handled by them in their official capacity.

Sec. 556. Mail catchers and cranes will be used for the purpose of exchanging mails between post offices and railway post offices when trains do not stop at the stations.

4. When only a small amount of mail is to be dispatched, the pouch shall be strapped tightly around the center and the mail placed in the top of the pouch, but when a large mail is to be sent it shall be divided about equally between top and bottom. The strap should be buckled around the center of the pouch. In case the strap is missing, the middle of the pouch should be tied. The pouch should be hung lock end down.

5. When the exchange of mails occurs at night and a lamp is not affixed to the crane and kept in order as provided in section 1295, the chief clerk of Railway Mail Service should be notified. 8. When a mail crane is out of repair, report thereof shall be made to the chief clerk, Railway Mail Service.

Sec. 557. Not exceeding 35 pounds of mail matter shall be placed in a catcher pouch. Letter mail shall be given preference; and when the mail matter to be sent exceeds 35 pounds, the excess shall be dispatched by local train if there be one.

Sec. 559. When a pouch is received addressed to another office or railway post office, and, on account of being delayed, is opened and the contents distributed in order to advance the mail, the label of such pouch shall be marked "Distributed," postmarked, and sent direct to the office of destination, if addressed to a post office, or to the chief clerk (if known, otherwise to the superintendent) of the railway post-office line ad

dressed, so that the pouch may be properly accounted for. Unless there is reason to think the pouch has been lost or stolen, the postmaster may defer reporting nonreceipt of pouch for twelve hours after pouch is due, or until arrival of next following mail; then if label is received, no report need be made.

2. When a pouch due to be made up for a post office or railway post office is not made up for any reason, the label for such pouch shall be indorsed "Not made up," with reasons therefor, and be disposed of in the same way as labels referred to in paragraph 1.

3. Labels from emergency or irregular pouches shall be sent by the post office or railway post office addressed, with a statement showing how and when received, to the post office of origin; or if made up by a railway post office, to the chief clerk (if known, otherwise to the superintendent) of that railway post office. A railway postal clerk so disposing of a label shall make a notation thereof on his trip report.

Sec. 560. Matter dispatched from a post office on which the stamps are not properly canceled must not be stopped in transit nor the stamps thereon canceled at any office but that of destination.

Sec. 563. Matter inadvertently dispatched without prepayment of postage thereon, or which is insufficiently prepaid, shall not be stopped in transit or rated up at intermediate offices.

Sec. 575. Prepaid letters shall be forwarded from one post office to another at the request of the party addressed, without additional charge for postage.

3. Mail which can be forwarded without additional charge for postage includes letters prepaid at one full rate (2 cents), parcels fully prepaid at the first-class rate, postal cards, post cards, and official matter.

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Sec. 582. 6. Mail matter addressed to a post-office inspector may be delivered by any railway postal clerk when assured of the inspector's identity by inspecting his commission. Sec. 623. Mails shall be exchanged with foreign countries through post offices and railway post offices duly authorized to act as exchange offices."

2. Mails shall be prepared and dispatched in accordance with the convention and regulations of the last congress of the Universal Postal Union, such other conventions as are in force, and the instructions in the current Official Postal Guide, as modified by special instructions issued by the Second Assistant Postmaster General, Division of International Postal Service, or by

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