Page:United States Reports, Volume 209.djvu/347

 209 U.S. Stmnt of the C. of such pieces of mail-matter was about five per day. Prior to the nineteenth of January, 1905, substantially all such mail- matter thus addressed had been delivered to D. G. Drake, as vnager for the defendant National Life Insurance Company, and from day to day Drake opened or caused to be opened the pieces of mail-matter thus addressed, and those not found to be intended for the defendant company would be marked by him "Not for National Life Insurance Company," would then be redeposited in the United State mail and subsequsntly delivered to the National Life Insurance Company of the UUl.  ted States of America. �The complainant was dissatisfied with this condition of thing and contended that all the mail thus addressed should be delivered to the complainant. Various letters passe upon the subject between the complainant and the postmaster at Chicago, and the mn-ger of the defendant corporation, and' also the authorities of the Pcet Office Department, at Wash- ington. For the purpose of setng the question it was sug- gested from. Wahlngton that the postmaster at Chicago should direct a representative of the two companies to appear at his ottice daily for a period of ten days and open the mail n the presence of an employ of the office, designated by the pt- master, and that a record should be kept of the nml received, and the proportion thereof intended for each company. If it then appeared tlmt a great majority of the mail was really intended for the .complainant, delivery should be made to that company'. On the other hand, if the contention that the greater part of the mail so addressed belonged to the complain- ant was not supported by the facts, the existing conditions should be continued; and should either party decline to assent to these condtious, delivery should then be made to the other. The defendant corporation did not agree to this examination of the mail, and asked (January 17) for delay for further com- munications, but the postmaster at Chicago, on account of this refusal, and' also acting under advices from the Postmaster General's Department, at Whington, directed, under date

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