New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1855-07-14

and that too all over the country from one extfem-
ity TO the other, has impressed me with the deep
eat feeling Of admiration. One must travel with
the cost have had occasion TO send baggage, pack
ages, money, and in short have had occasion not
only 10 employ it in all that We in America are ac-
customed to consider it's legitimate business, but
in matters which with US are only in the hands OF
express companies, in order TO the full perfec-
ton and beauty of the German Post-Ofice have
been acquainted first and last with several " post
"sekretsirs," and few topics Of conversation have
been so unpalatable to me as our American sys-
TEN il is no very agreeable task to be obliged to
answer questions as to the tenure Of office, whence
il arises that often in the papers stories
of embezzlement, theft and defalcation and the
like. first came to Europe just after Folks T. rm
Of nisrule and If ever poor fellow had reason TO
be ashamed of bis country ii was then, when the
Press teemed with stories Of " Democratic" land
officers. postmasters and other digntaries whose
hands had proved demOcratically sticky and other
stories of the RepreseHtdtires OF American Freedom
and Democracy abroad Hannegan here, old Bag
by at ST Petersburg, and that smuggling Charge
at Stockholm In their personal characters our
present Representatives abroad are better than at
that time, vet day does not pass but some
one Of US has to blush, at SOule diplomacy, at Os
tend Conferences or ct Pierce aud Douglas out
RACES on al that is honest and honorable. This by
tie way. To return to our city post. As stated
above, the city proper is divided into eight districts
each having a separate office or " bureau" As one
of these is just round the corner we will step in
and make some inquiries.
The Office consists Of two rooms In the frstis
a small counter, with the necessary apparatus for
weighing, stamping and bundlng up letters in the
second ale two or three long tables, with few
chairs, which, Just at this moment are occupied
by some men in the POST Office uniform, who are
sorting letters. These are the carriers for this
office, and they looking the letters which
during this hour they are to deliver But let US
ask the Post Sekretair," who just now has a few
minutes free, save from the Interruptions of per
sons coming in to post letters TO purchase
velopes and stamps, and so on. It seems that
theIe are two secretaries or clerks at this
Bureau" who oflicate by turns, and that they
keep the office open from o'clock q in Winter)
in the morning to { in The evening, on all days
except Sundays and festivals. This is for the
reception of letters nly-a distributing being done
by the carriers, who receive half a groschen
ID cents everything delivered, except in case
Of letters marked "POste restante," which the
owner must call for at the proper Office in the
General Post Office building From A. NJ. to
T. NJ. the secretary has TO make an hourly return
to the General Office of all that is received at his
counter or bought from the public boxes, of which,
in this district, the number is four This return is
made with very little trOuble-a printed bill being
in very few moments filled out with the number
of letters received during the hour for other parts
of the city, for Germany and foreign countries paid
or unpaid, stamped or in stamped envelopes. At
this Office no packages are TAKEN nor any money
letters Of higher value than 80 thaers. 1t is al
most strictly letter Office receiving nothing of
greater bulk, believe, than single newspaper or
the like. But, Mr.. Clerk, please give us an ac
count Of the days proceedings as they go on
We'll, then, you have no doubt often met in the
street man with glazed hat, ornamentea with
cockade and in of postillion uniform, driving
a small wagon, rather cart painted yellow, with
the words " Stadt Post on the side
Yes, and behind is box with slit in it to
ceive letters, if any one wishes to save the last
moment
There are several of these men employed-so
many, indeed, as are necessary to keep regular
hourly communication between all the subordinate
city bureaus and the General Post. They all are
tbeIe-at the main Office in Spandaner-sI.-at
o'clock in the morning. Take our man alone. He
is there at g. and receives, done up in large pack
age and put into q sealed paper bag, all letters
which are directed to any street and number in
district. As these letters not merely city post
letters, but come in the night mails from all parts
of the world-thOse which you receive in the fine
young-lady hand from America being often among
them Our secretary likes to joke the Ameri-
cans OccasiOnally)-the number in the morning
package is often large and extra amount of time
is necessary for their proper sorting and delivery
Hence our man must be there so early that we
may nave time TO do our part in the duty of distr
button His route is from the General Post to the
Bureau Inter den Linden, thence to ours, and
finally TO the Post-Ofiice at Hamburg Railroad Sta
ton His hour is divided to minute, and we count
upon seeing him, invariably, just go many minutes
after the clock strikes, on his way hther from the
General Office, and with equal punctuality on his re-
turn thither The contents Ofthe box whichhe brings
are instantly put into the hands of the carriers,
in the other room, to be sorted and divided among
them for their several routes, and by o'clock the
letters which came last night from England or
Italy, or were dropped into the box in the next
City District, are passing rapidly into the hands
of their respective owners. In the time pune
tually at o'clock the men whose duty it is to
change the boxes in the street going their
rounds A certain number Of minutes ia given
them; there are but four of these in the street,
with one at the Hospital, SO that but little time is
required and by the time our little pOstwagon
passes ON its return from the Hamburg Station, |
we have all our letters in paper-bag with way
bill made out ready for the man in the glazed hat
From A. NJ. to 7. NJ. he swings like pendulum
to and fro between the General Post and the Sta
ton, and regulates all our movements we were
but portions of a clOckwork.
Everything is so systematized that after the
morning clearance" at the General Office the
hourly returns from the eight city offices and the
less-frequent returns from the boxes in the SUBJ
urbs, together with the matter received by the |
distant mails, all, in the few minutes granted
for that duty, compared with the way bills sorted
and distributed into the paperbags which lie there
numbered and marked in large figures for each |
District Bureau There are always men enough |