Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1875-07-21
Origin Of the Express Business.

Travellers on the Long Island Soun'
of about thirty seven years ago nigh
have observed on board the steame
then running between Providence ant
New York an under sized, delicatel,
built sanguine-looking young maj
who accompanied the vessel on alter
nate trips, and constantly carried II
his hand small carpet-bag of half (
bushel capacity. He was William f
Harnden, and his bag contained thu
beginnings Of the express forwarding
business of the United States, which
with the exception Of the railways ant
telegraphs, now surpasses all othel
private enterprises ia the world.
Born at Reading, Massachusetts, il
1912, he was employed as conductor
of the first passenger train that ran il
New England, and was aftcrward pro
NOTED to the position of ticket agen,
on the Boston and Worcester railway
The sedentary desk-work did not suit
him, however, and in 1887 he came tc
New York in search of lmore congo
NAL employment. Att the corner Oh
Wall and Pearl streets stood the old
Tontine Coffee. house, a famous resort
for the merchants and ship-owners Of
those days, and in connectio with il
there was an admirable news .room-a
sort Of Lloyd's or Garraway's-con-
Quoted by James w. Hale. a local &C.
lebrity, who afterward extended his
fame by promoting a cheap postal sys-
TEN in opposition to the government.
Mr.. Hale was a man of varied expert
ence and genial disposition. He
was one of the most active men of the
day, and Harnden went to him for ad-
vice in seeking employment. Hale
became interested in him, and in the
course of few days advised him to
establish himself as an expressman be
tween New York and Boston a bust
ness never before transacted and Il
name never before assumed.
As there have been other claimants
to the honor of having originated the
enterprise, and as Mr. Hale is still llv-
ing, | will repeat a statement which
be made me in July last. There was
never day, he said, that inquiries
were not made at the news-room for
some person going to Boston or Prov
ideuce. Some wanted to send small
parcels to their friends, others lette rs
or circulars but the most frequent
applicants were money. brokers, who
wanted to forward packages of East.
ern bank -notes to Boston for redemp-
ton. If an acquaintance was found
on the boat, he was pounced upon
without ceremony, and burdened with
the packages, which were sometimes
worth many thousand dollars. But if
a friend did not appear the things
were often intrusted to entire strangers,
with the modest request that they
would deliver them Immediately after
their arrival. Merchants and brokers
seeking gratuitous transportation for
their letters contributed largely to the
excitement attending the departure of
the steamer, and many persons will
remember the nights of anxiety they
have passed on the Sound, when such
unexpected wealth has been Temporal
lily thrust upon them. "When Harm.
den called upon me for advice" Mr..
Hale stated, 81 thought of the daily
inquiries made at my office, DO you
know anybody going to Boston this
evening 2 and Immediately advised
him to travel between the two cities
and do errands for the business men.
[ also suggested that the new enter
prise shall be called THE Express,
which gave the idea of speed, prompt
itude, and fidelity"
Harnden hesitated for seyera. days.
doubling whether the scheme would
be profitable. but eventually he deci-
ded to try it, and bought the historic
travelling bag, which is still preserved
in Boston. A small slate for orders
was hung in the news-room, and the
patrons of that institution were Harm
dens chief patrons. The old mer-
chants had become so accustomed to
transportation of smaller articles with
out cost that they did not readily OBJ
serve the advantages "the express" Of
tered and at the end of two months
Harnden found all his capital absorbed |
His receipts were less than his ex.
penses, and he would have discontin-
ued the service had not some friends
procured free passages for him on an
steamboat. With the pass
age-money as subsidy, 'the express"
and the business so in
creased that Harnden soon engaged
an ASSISTANT w. H. Rideing, in