Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Santa's Helpers Will Be Taking Precautions When Opening Mail

Aired November 28, 2001 - 09:46   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN FINANCIAL ANCHOR: Welcome back. A disturbing sign of the times perhaps. This Christmas season even Santa's helpers are having to take precautions. For years, Jack James has volunteered his time to answer letters to Santa Claus from kids across the country, but this he's going to do it again, but this time he'll be wearing rubber gloves and a surgical mask, courtesy of the U.S. Postal Service and a result of the recent scare from anthrax-contaminated letters, particularly the ones arriving in Washington, D.C.

Santa's helper Jack James joins us now from Orlando, Florida, and from Washington, D.C., the deputy postmaster general, John Nolan, who is going to talk to us about the upcoming holiday season and what kind of shape the post office is in, as we head toward the new year.

Let's begin, now, with you, Mr. James. Given the fact that lot of the letters to Santa fit the handwriting profile of the anthrax letters that came to Washington, i.e., rather crudely printed letters, no return address, et cetera, are you -- are you nervous about doing this? Why wouldn't you just take a pass this year?

JACK JAMES, SANTA'S HELPER: Well, not really nervous any more. It seems that the post office department, it has got things under control. So -- however, I am using rubber gloves and mask to open the letters.

CAFFERTY: What do the kids want this year? Have you seen any of the early letters?

JAMES: Well, the same old stuff. The girls still want Barbies. The boys want Pokemon cards and Pokemon items, and other than that it's the same as --

CAFFERTY: You been -- you been doing this for a long time. 33 years, answering these kid's letters and some of them, I mean -- doing the news here in New York City, we would every year do stories about these -- some of these kids, they just break your heart. They've got nothing and these letters are very emotional and tug at your heart strings. Can you give us a sense of the kind of -- perhaps for want of a better word, desperate lives some of these young children are facing?

JAMES: Well, some of them are. I received two, what I call hard luck letters so far this year. But I have volunteers that usually take care of them. CAFFERTY: Yeah, here in New York they used to allow people to adopt these letters from the kids. Let me ask John Nolan, who is the deputy postmaster general. I remember they would have programs here at the New York post office where New Yorkers could write in, or call in and get one of these letters and kind of fulfill the Christmas wish. Is that something that people in the country can do this year?

JOHN NOLAN, DEPUTY POSTMASTER GENERAL: Yes, I was post master in New York a number of years ago and we always looked forward to Operation Santa Claus every year. And that is continuing. We've got plenty of volunteers who are very eager to carry on the magic of this holiday season.

CAFFERTY: What kind of holiday season are you looking at, in light of everything that's happened, in terms of -- not only trying to guarantee the safety of the mail that you deliver, but the volume of cards and letters compared to years past. Give me a sense how it's shaping up.

NOLAN: Well, we're very hopeful that the volume is going to be extremely heavy. That people recognize now more than ever, you need to stay in touch with family and friends, and greeting cards and other correspondence is a great way to do that. And around the holiday, whatever holiday it is you're celebrating, it is a magical time, and it's time to be in touch. So if people are sending their cards and letters and packages, we're ready to help them, and to carry out that magic.

CAFFERTY: What's being done to guarantee the safety of the mail that's being delivered?

NOLAN: Well, there are number of things. First of all, to keep in mind that there are -- there are only four letters that have contained the anthrax out of the 30 billion that we've handled, and that has been weeks and weeks ago now. So we're being very vigilant in our locations to spot things that look unusual.

People like Santa Claus, who handle an awful lot of mail, that they don't know the sender, obviously have a different set of circumstances than individuals like you or I receiving mail, and can look at the return address, and can act appropriately. So, it's a lot easier for us that it is for Santa, he's got a tough job. But, so I think different precautions would hold true for Santa Claus than would for you and I.

I think the things that we've recommended to people about washing your hands several times a day, anyhow, whether you're handling mail or not, and certainly when you're handling mail, it's a good idea, and to just take a look at who sent you the mail and whether it looks unusual.

CAFFERTY: What do you see in terms of rates next year? The Postal Service has endured tremendous expense related to the anthrax scare and the closing of facilities and decontamination, et cetera. There are deficits being talked about for the Postal Service Going into 2002. Where do you see postal rates going? Are they -- you going to get rates higher? How are you going to solve the money problem?

NOLAN: Well, we had already filed a rate -- for a new rate increase on September 10th, actually, and so the plan is that rates would go in effect sometime next year.

And we have had a tough time financially. There's no doubt about it. Declining volumes in certain areas because of the economy, and then hit by the terrorists attacks has not been easy, but we're very hopeful that the volume will turn around. Some of the -- we're working, obviously, with the administration and the Congress about the costs involved in -- in providing that homeland security for mail.

We are part of the universal structure in this country to foster communication. And so we're working with the administration in Congress about what is right for us to be funded by the country as a whole, instead of just the right payers, and that'll all get settled out in the near future.

CAFFERTY: All right, Mr. Nolan, I appreciate you joining us. Thank you very much for your time. John Nolan, the deputy postmaster general. And joining us this morning from Orlando, Florida, Jack James, for 33 years answering letters to Santa Claus. Appreciate you both being on the program.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com