LETTER WRITING AND MAIL RECEIVING

Letter writers concerning themselves with causes J seldom see these causes meet with any degree of success. Perhaps by writing they concentrate on the anger left behind and neglect the work that lies ahead. In a previous issue of The Journal,¹ one letter writer, complaining about receiving unrequested medical magazines, wanted to remove his name from the mailing lists. A small matter? A follow-up letter in this issue (p 1015) shows that this approach failed and that attempting to have the post office return material to the publisher is similarly unsuccessful.

The US Postal Manual² states that magazines mailed at second-class rates or lower, and refused by the addressee, will not be returned unless the sender so specifies. The low postal rates in these categories allow streamlined operations with low overhead. Any extra penny spent for return of mail, revision of mailing lists, or correspondence with addressees is