The Portland daily press., 1883-05-14
-E-1EIE q PRESS.
MONDAY MORNING. MAY IA.
Grown GRAY IN the serv;oe

dui, Ae pelnS bne ZUth incumbent WHolA nc
has sworn into that high office, writes Emma
james to the Philadelphia Press, is James
Laurenson by name, clerk In charge of the
contract division. H is familiarly addressed
as Judge, from his long notaral service, and
is kindly, shrewd and companionable old
gentleman. BE is so years Of age, came to
this country from Bristol, England, in 1907,
and entered the postal service in 1919, hay
ing served continuously in it ever since. and
Second Assistant Postmaster General Elmer.
who has charge of his bureau, and whose
photograph hangs over his cosy corner desk.
says: Sand hope, judge, your place viii
be right here in that corner till YOU 60 over
the river" He is the Oldest Methodist in
Washington, and has been a member of
Wesley Chapel since its organization. His
parents were Wesleyan in England. He was
fifteen years a clerk in the Baltimore post OF.
flee, rising through tie various grades to the
chief clerkship. His naive narration of his
coming to Washington in the spring of 1884
is very interesting. He said to the postmas-
ter. who was John S. Skinner, 81 think I'll
tahC q QAg OiA auN ONVA w w dc1llSlpu 10
see those men, Clay, and Webster and CSl-
houn, and that Virginian, Randolph, that
we read so much about in the National In
telligencer." 'sYou may have three or four
days." said the chief, heartily; "and you'd
better go by the fast stage line-Stockton
and Stoke's-thatIc Icarries the mail, aud will
get you there in seven hours and half"
He did so, and after visiting the capitol and
looking around the city otherwise, when
night came, he felt strange to all the places
of amusement and a little lonely, so he
thought he would go to Browns hotel Con
the site that is now the Metropolitan and
call on the postmaster general-William t.
Barry it was--the first of his kind who was
made cabinet officer.
Mr. Laurenson asked the hotel clerk IL he
supposed man could see Major Barry to
pay respects. why, yes, think so,' said
the clerk, 'shes up in his room nown So,
having sent up his name and position, he
was shown up TO his door, and being admit
ted, found a fine, cordial man advancing
toward him in dressing gown and slippers.
Extending his hand, the dignitary said:
"Now this /, the way like to have post Of
flee men do when they come to Washington.
Pm post Office man myself and / like to
see them" Then he seated himself in front
of his open hickory fire and began asking all
manner of questions about the Baltimore
post Office and its management. Finally he
said, after some hours talk: 'Fve got sew
enty good men in my office, but there isn't
one of them that is familiar with city post
Office, and when the city postmasters send
acquisitions to me for pouches and other
things they want, | don't always know what
they mean. I've kept man here from Bos-
ton on purpose to tell me some of these
things, and now his wife wants to 90 back,
and he wants to go with her. He thinks he
can make living there. How would you
like to come here and help me?' This was
wholly unexpected to his visitor, who had
always been told that it was as hard to get
government clerkship without congressional
influence as to get into heaven. But his
young wife was thoroughly a Baltimorean,
and he feared she would abject. Besides he
liked his place there's and his employer, who
had recently got him his salary raised; and
had made several objections TO the idea of
changing. The postmaster general gave
him month TO consider. He went back,
quite hero, to the home office, and the
postmaster general kept sending him MESA
ges to make up his mind.
A month later he presented himself before
that functionary at his desk in the building
which was originally known as Blodgett's
tavern, and which occupied a part Of the
space now occupied by the post office depart
ment. The chief invited him to dine with
him that day, which he declined through
bashfulness, but consented to come to his
room at fixed hour toward night. He
found Major Barry dressed for going out
The latter led the way to where his ba-
rouche AMI ponies were standiug, and said to
the astonished new clerk 81 am going to
take you up to see President Jackson"
When they reached the White House they
found Gen. Jackson in his sitting room, just
STOPPING over the hickory fire to light his clay
pipe from coal 'sMr. President, this is
Mr.. LaurensOn, the man have told you a.
bout, who has come from Baltimore to help
me-" 81 am glad of it." said the President,
"because whoever helps the major helps
me" and he gave his hand a pump-handle
shake. Then he asked him about the Balti-
more post office, and received the reply
that he knew this much, that its accounts
were all straight with the government; that
be could say for Mr.. Skinner, in his absence,
that he was an honest man; "and every
Thursday we estimate what we owe the gov
ernment, and desposit it in the Franklin
Bank. and take James L. Hawkins tthe
cashier's) receipt for it." ssFm glad to know
all about it." said the general, because
when the money matters are straight all is
straight" 'tAnd how is Robert Oliyer?'' he
asked, s'and how are the Tysons and Philip
E. ThOmas, the first president of the Balti-
more and Ohio Railroad, and Chancellor
Bland, and the Elliotts, and Jonathan Mere
dith, and Reverdy Johnson?' naming over
these Baltimore men of prominence, his ac-
quaintances, deliberately, as they would oc-
cur to him. The two staid for a chat, and
the next morning the new clerk assumed
his duties.
1t took me an hour to hear the old gentle
mans story, and it loses much of It's pith in
this condensation. It was a lively picture of
days and men long past. I would have con-
cluded that the narrator's mind ran mostly
on the past, had he not begun one conversa-
ton with graphic account of his courtship
and marriagea year and half ago to widow
of suitable years and many perfections
Sand as a lover and husband owe her two
of the happiest years of my Iife," he added.
Henceforth Moore stands revised and i'm
proved:
Oh, there's nothing half so sweet in life
AS loves young dream.
except it is old loves dream and reality.
His plain little Bible, on which Cave
johnson and the nineteen who have sue
ceeded him, took the oath of their high Of
fee, is brown leather-covered volume about
five inches long, and contains a cheap cut of
Adam and Eve IN the act of being driven out
of paradise by an angel with a flaming
sword, which looks like a cat-o-nine tails,
and one further on of the murder of Abel: :
whereupon the artists imagination seems to
have given out, for no more illustrations ap-
pear. The book bears the imprint of 1881.
Thirty-one is the total number of post
masters general, of whom this octogenarian
clerk has served under twenty-five, and un-
der seventeen presidents. OF many of the
twenty-five he narrates interesting reminis-
cences. His post is now somewhat In ihe
nature of pension, and yields but $1200 a
year. In his prime his services were rated
proportionately higher He is much be-
loved.
The Kitchen Garden.
Every garden should have its asparagus
bed, even though it be of limited size A
very small bed will be sufficient for one fam