33 



1NSTRUC3T10NS REGARDING THE USE OF PENALTY ENVELOPES OP THE UNITED STATES 



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE BY COOPERATIVE EXTENSION EMPLOYEES. 



[Approved by the Secretary of Agriculture May 3, 1916.1 



The following instructions, relative to the use of the penalty envelopes of the United 

 States Department of Agriculture, should be strictly observed by all persons engaged 

 in extension work under appointment from the United States Department of Agri- 

 culture whether they receive all or any part of their salary from the department. 



The use of penalty envelopes is restricted to "matters relating exclusively to the 

 business of the Government, " and they must, therefore, be used cautiously and in 

 strict compliance with the law and the postal regulations, their unlawful use being an 

 offense punishable by a maximum fine of $300. The cooperative agents or employees 

 of the United States Department of Agriculture, any part of whose salary is paid by 

 that department, have the right to use the penalty envelope only on "matters relating 

 exclusively to the business of the Government of the United States" for wliich appoint- 

 ment from the United States Department of Agriculture is made. 



The fact that the agent who receives a part of his salary from the department is also 

 engaged in extension work under the general cooperative agreement with the State 

 agricultural college does not give him the right to use the department penalty envelope 

 for all extension business. His use of such envelope must be confined to those exten- 

 sion enterprises wliich are covered by the terms of liis commission from the department 

 and the projects in wliich the department funds are used. 



In using the official penalty envelope, post card, or tag the following instructions 

 should be observed: 



1. jfw official correspondence with the United States Department of Agriculture. — All 

 correspondence addressed to the United States Department of Agriculture pertaining 

 to the work for wliich the employee receives his Federal appointment may be con- 

 ducted in penalty envelopes. All such letters should be inclosed in envelopes ad- 

 dressed to the office through which the Federal appointment was made. Such letters 

 must relate entirely to the official public business covered by the appointment which 

 may include the sending in of reports, requests for information, requests for bulletins 

 and supplies and other material needed in the work, and responses to inquiries made 

 by officials of the department. 



2. Correspondence with supervising agents, leaders or directors within the State, and 

 with other field employees holding appointments from the United States Department of 

 Agriculture and engaged in similar work. — All such correspondence must relate entirely 

 to the official business for which the employee was appointed by the United States 

 Department of Agriculture in order to entitle it to transmission in penalty envelopes. 



3. Correspondence with farmers and other persons. — Penalty envelopes may be used to 

 transmit through the mails letters of instruction to farmers engaged in carrying on 

 demonstrations, notices of meetings to be held in furtherance of the work for which 

 the agent received his Federal appointment, and of special demonstrations. All such 

 correspondence should relate either to tli'e giving of information to farmers or their 

 families relative to demonstrations conducted under the supervision of the agent, and 

 advice to farmers in answer to their inquiries, or of instruction to farmers and their 

 families regarding some feature of agriculture or home economics taken up by the 

 agent in furtherance of the work for which he was employed by the department. 



They may be used to call the attention of the farmers to such farmers' meetings as are 

 held in furtherance of the work for which the agent was employed , but shall not be used 

 -to send out notices of meetings of organizations of farmers and business men or indis- 

 criminate announcements of farmers' meetings. In no case should penalty envelopes 

 be used for the purpose of relieving organizations from paying postage on matter issued 

 by the organization and which is therefore properly chargeable with postage. 



4. Penalty envelopes must not be used in transacting such private business as send- 

 ing for catalogues, price lists, seeds, implements, fertilizers, etc., for farmers or groups 



