Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1885-08-05
TRACING LOST BAGGAGE.
The Clever System Used by All the Big
Express Companies.
from the New York Sun.

the point where it disappeared, and
when baggage is damaged Just who is
responsible, and when and where the
damage occurred.
'"There is very little baggage lost
now" Agent r. A. Mckinney, of the
American Express Company, said yes
terday. 81 mean entirely lost. There
are lots of things reported lost every
day, but we generally manage to find
them"
"Will you explain the process by
which missing baggage is traced ?"
"When man comes in and inquiries
for lost package he is asked to show
his receipt, which is compared with the
stub in the receipt book from which it
was torn, and which bears a CORE
spending number. A tracer is then
sent to the freight office to a clerk
whose business it is to look over the
tissue impressions OF all the way-bills
t. New York. He takes down the num-
Der and date Of the way-bill on which
the package is entered. If there is
no record of the missing package in
the way-bills, blanks are filled out de-
scribing the package, and sent to every
office in the country where we make
up q package trunk. A package
trunk is q receptacle in which many
small packages are placed for safe
transportation. The description
which is filled in in the blank takes in
not only the name, address and date
on which the package was received by
the company, but also gives detailed
account OF its contents. At the same
time duplicates of the tracing, which
has the name and address, are mailed
to every address in the United States
of the same name as that on the
package. Then the clerk in charge of
the tracing department refers to the
reports of our $500 offices, to see if
any package corresponding to the
missing one has been wrongfully sent
to any one of these Offices.
"You must understand" Mr.. Nc
Kinney continued, "that it is by no
means unusual for senders of pack
ages to misdirect them. 1t is a
frequent occurrence for a person who
wants to send a package to John
Smith, Cleveland to write John
Smith, CINCINNATI So at many offices
misdirected baggage accumulates. At
agents send in reports of this leftover
baggage, as it is called. If there is
nothing in thesereports to correspond
with the lost package, then we forward
tracer over the route that the pack
age ought to have gone. If there is
nothing about it on any of the way
bills, he finds the messengers"
"Who are the messengers ?"
GA messenger is an employee who
takes care of money and valuables
after they leave the express Office, and
until they are delivered to the agent of
the Office to which they are sent. He
travels on the cars, and has charge
also Of all the baggage. Each messen-
ger has run. A messenger who tray
els between here and Buffalo has g. run
Of $50 miles; that is, he looks out for
things for that distance. They are
tried, picked men, and must be
physically as well as morally sound,
for it is a trying life. But to go back
to the tracing. The messenger has to
put his initial on the ay-bill opposite
to every package he carries. II he
finds any packages left over, he enters
them in way-bill of his own. Hehas
a log-book, which is called the mes
senger's overs and shorts If the
package is entered on any way bill
then the messenger can be found
whose initial is opposite to it, and the
messenger should be able to tell some
thing about it.
eff nothing can be learned of the
package after the investigation, or if
it is traced to a certain point where it
disappears for good, then we notify
our agent at the place to which the
package was intended to be sent to
call on the consignee and get from him
a statement of the contents and value
Of the package, and a certificate that
he has not got it. We always look
upon the consignee as the owner. We
get from him an order to pay the ship
per before we pay for the package"
''HOw about trunks ?"
seldom, indeed, that anything is
missed from them. When we receive
a trunk we weigh it and put lead
seal on the lock, so that we can read
lily tell if the lock has been tempered
with. If, on reaching it's destination,
it is not called for at once, it is placed
in the 'On Hand or 'Old Horse de-
partment, as we call it. 1t is then
weighed again and it's weight compared
with the first weighing. This is
check on its being opened. If it is
called for at any time and the owner
ship is proven, we gladly give it up"
"What is done with it if it is not
called for?"
cit remains in the 'On Hand depart
ment for year along with lot of
unclaimed other things. Then it is
sold. All unclaimed baggage is adver-
tised for a month every year"
care there many trunks unclaimed ?"
''Last year there were only s. AL
together there were not over 800 pieces
OF baggage and packages at the last
SALE"
"Is there ever anything valuable in
them?"
mo. Most of them are unclaimed
because the owners do not want to
pay the expressage. Years ago an oc-
casional valuable package was bought
Oh 4 l. IL =