The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1874-04-24
A POstal.Card Blunder.

"A prominent merchant Of st. Joseph,
Mo-, j. Ii. johnson, Esq. has got himself
INTO trouble, the postmaster of st. Joseph
into trouble, the postmaster of Chicago
into trouble, and the Government of the
United States into trouble. all growing out
OF a bit of pasteboard with some writing on
is. Some weeks ago, Mr.. johnson. hav-
ing occasion TO order goods from Chicago,
pasted label about the size of postage
stamp bearing his business address on the
postal-card. The Chicago correspondent
received the card in due time, but had to
pay SIX cents extra postage, and so noti-
fled Mr.. johnson.
As the latter had been in the habit OF
posting these labels for some time and had
never before been called upon for extra
postage, he consulted the postmaster of
81. Joseph, MIR. Arnholt. about il. The
latter authority informed him that he had
right to label the cards, and could do so
with safety, unless the cards were going
10 Chicago, whose postmaster didn't I'M
derstand the law. Thereupon, in happy
frame of mind, Mr. johnson addressed
card 10 the Chicago house in his best hand
writing, and with feeling of exultation
triumphantly and in a bold hand wrote
these words: ''Our Postmaster says your
Postmaster Is an ass.''
obnoxious postal-card to Washington. Mr..
Creswell put on his spectacles and read
the -. Joseph postmaster's pithy opin-
ion OF the Chicago postmaster. The re-
suit OF the reading was postal-card from
Mr.. Creswell To the st. Joseph postmaster
which nearly lifted the latter fiInctionary
out OF his boots. and made him realize
how frail the tenure of post-office NAV
be. Thereupon the postmaster called upon
Mr.. johnson and informed him that he
HAD never said the postmaster of Chicago
was an ass.
MIR. johnson brushed M his memory.
ard. after while. concluded that he was
mistaken in the language used, and gave
his postmaster statement TO that effect.
This relieved the postmaster. He for
warded the statement TO Mr.. Creswell. and
once more felt secure in his Office. But il
did not end here. for on Thursday last an
order came for the arrest of Mr.. johnson
for using scurrilous language on a postal
card. and that night he was ARRESTED.
Thus for the sake of "A little business label
about the size of postage-stamp. the st.
Joseph merchant got into difficulty with
the 1t. Joseph postmaster and the Chicago
postmaster. got the IT. Joseph postmaster
and the Chicago postmaster by the ears.
got the -. Joseph postmaster into trouble
Win the Government. and got himself into
a tight place, in which he may have to pay
from 500 to 81 900, or go to jail and stay
from one 10 ten years. before he can extri-
cate himself. He has written a card TO the
ST. Joseph Gazette. in which he says:
When Shakespeare made the ilustrious
Dogberry say. Write me down an ass he
was in blissful ignorance that such lam
guage was obscene and scurrilous.' That
discovery was reserved for the genius who
presides over the poss-office at Chicago.
Webster defines the term ass. "A dull. heavy,
stupid fellow; doIt.' Worcester and 9TH
er photographers give almost identically
the same definition. In such sense IL Is
used by the best English writers. Such is
the sense in which used the expression,
as the connection clearly shows
In what sense. Websterian. Worcester
ian. Dogberryan, or Johnstonian. the st.
Joseph merchant called the Chicago post
master an ass, now behooves him to show
or pay the penalty. Meanwhile let us all
be thankful that the Government exercises
such watchful care over its children. and
that none of them can be called asses on
postal-cards with impunity. Least of all
will 1t allow one of its postmasters to re-
ceive longeared compliment of this sort
without making the sender pay handsome
ly for the ompliment.-C Chicago Tribune.