The Council Bluffs nonpareil. [volume] (Council Bluffs [Iowa]) 1857-1867, 1858-01-16

couNCi RlrTFs. JANUARY Is. 1858
LOCAL AND MISCELLANEOUS.
.r1.Ceeies Of ~ KosPAnEtL ca - - IS
xvKyxxrr's City Bsek Store
-l7-a.7Vl4 or cry Psss Offies,
/ For years, the precise poias where N.
,,..;I.-:..er dssiensd for this vicinity shouid
h.r.pI and banded out, has BEEN anattsr
- ae.p concern to the good people Of thu
s;ty. Thi. subject hes besn discussed IN
p,;yats and in public, and has formed the
text for many an animated debate. But
~, The narties to the controversy, are far
the, from ! good understanding in regard to
n. matter, at this date, than they were 81
.hs commencement, four years ago. For
,,.rly four years the ONCE was kept On
Madison street, just across the "gentle muir
muring Louzy," and loud and deep we're 'no
nurmuring. Of our citizens thereat' inel'
NAV hsvs been just reason for Complains
- the Office was far removed from the ou'i-
nes. centre Of the city. About oneyear ago,
. change Of Pos. Masters took place, ana
II. Office vas removed from the extreme
unner portion Of the city, to the corner Of
R,pc,oft street and Lower Broadway. This
-. done for the double purpose Of secur-
~, . better room, and one more central to
I'd business portion Of the city. This acs'
whatever the prompting motives, was a.
noupeed in unmeasured terms, BY parties IN
tsrested in, what is technically called "up-
town ;" while the stdown-town" people ~
yehemently upheld the action of the Post
Master. In course Of time, from causes
over which Government had no control, II
became necessary to appoint , new Posi-
Master, and our worthy fellow citizen
HENRY ALLEN, was called into service In
.cou,eouence Of the openness Of the room'
and for other reasons, it was thought re-
moyal of the Office would be inevitable
This occasion was seized upon by the con-
tending parties, and the proportions and &C.
.eommodations Of every room in town, from
tho attic Of the Steam Mill, down to the cell
lar in Andrews' new hotel, were discussed and
enlarged upon, without arriving at any sat
isfectory conclusion. In the meantime, the
Office was removed from near the corner Of
Bancroft street and Lower Broadway, to the
corner of Main and Lower Broadway, dis
tunce of perhaps 100 yards further "down
town" This was the hair that broke the
back Of the Camel. cup town. partizans
seethed and boiled, "down town" rartizans
were exultant. Such is the state of affairs
in relation to our City Post Office. Now,
we do not wish to be misunderstood in this
connection. We have no sympathy in COM
men with either contending party. In the
first place, it does not seem to US tit sub
5ect for contention. The Office should be
located, as near as circumstances will per-
init. in tho business centre Of the town, and
We believe it is the heartfelt wish of the
present occupant, to consult tho conve-
uience Of. the masses, in regard to this mat
ter. But here is the rub. Who shall de-
termine the business centre, and when de-
termined, what are tho conyeniences in the
way of suitable apartments? All seem to
agree, that the proper place for the Office, is
about midway between Madison and Centre
streets, on Broadway. That may be so, at
least we ore not disposed to question it, but
there 10 no suitable room at, or near that
point. In fact, there is no unoccupied room
suitable for Post Office, except, an or near
Madison street, and the one where the ofice
now il. As between the two points, there
10 but little choice-one is as convenient As
the other. This is our candid opinion, and
wo hope no one will accuse Us of sinister
motives for promulgating it.
We are we'll aware, that a discussion Of
this subject, is not calculated to engender
pleasant feelings, but, nevertheless, We can
not refrain from making suggestion in re-
l.tion to . final disposition of this ve1ed
question. Aud that is, early in the ensu-
ing spring, let site be selected, as near the
ssatre of business, as may be, and suita-
bio building erected thereon. to be used
as . Post Office, until such time as the
growth of the place, or the Capitalization Of
business, shall demand its removal to some
more convenient place. II all parties will
ignore selfish motives, and approach and
act upon this suggestion disinterestedly and
disp assionately, this "bone of contention"
would be removed from our midst. We
make this suggestion from disinterested mo-
tives, and with no wish to dictate terms to any
person, for it matters little to US where the
Post Office is kept, so that We can pay it q
daily visit, and return home the same day.
While upon this subject, We wish to re-
fer to one other matter Of some importance.
II is we'll known to all, that the Office in this
city is ne sinecure. The emoluments of the
Office do not compensate the officer for the
labor performed. To all intents and pur-
poses, save the matter of pay, it is dis
tributing Office. AL the mail matter for
Nebraska, Southern, Northern and Western
lows, il distributed here, entailing vast
amount Of labor upon this Office, for which
no compensation is vouchsafed. In conse-
quencs of such distribution, the delivery Of
the mail matter for this city, is often delay
ed many hours beyond the time ordinarily
required for such purpose. Every bust
ness man IL anxious to receive his mail-mat-
ter as soon Is possible after its arrival. Tn.
der present arrangements, he is often COM
PEELED to await the assortment of twenty or
thirty bushels of Matchmaker for other
points, before the local mail is ready for de-
livery. This should not be, but We take
pleasure in stating that it is no fault of our
Post Master. Tho emoluments of the Of
hce will not Justify the employment ola suf-