Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1885-08-31

looked into the subject, our condition to-
day. as brought about by the transfer of the
mail service from the freight to the passen-
ger trains, is great deal worse, as will be
shown by the following incident:
A merchant at Marshall on Tuesday finds
it necessary to communicate with his house
in Alexandria or Baltimore, as the case may
be; he wishes to order some goods. he
writes his letter on Tuesday, but that letter
cannot leave Marshall until Wednesday
morning at 5:5S. 1t then cannot reach
Alexandria before 500 q. m. and gets into
the hands of his merchant about 10 o'clock:
In order TO have reply back at Marshall
by Thursday morning the Alexandria mer-
chant must give his undivided attention to
the matter TO get the letter into the post
Office by o'clock p. m. to leave Alexandria
on the 4:40 p. m. train.
1t is worse if the letter be addressed to
Baltimore, for it cannot reach the hands OF
the Baltimore merchant before y NJ, and
he has to hurry to get it in the office before
D. N. so as it can leave Baltimore at 3 pm.
Now while both the Alexandria and Bal
timore merchants are attentive and prompt
in all their business matters, they have
many other matters requiring their atten-
ton than the getting off Of these letters
hurriedly to points on the Manassas line.
They are accustomed to getting up all of
their correspondence by p. m, when
it goes to the postofice. They are
not going to make any exception in favor OF
the Manassas line, specially, when it ro.
quires such haste upon their part, and, as q
consequence, these letters from Baltimore
and Alexandria in reply to letters written
at Marshall on Tuesday do not get into the
mails leaving Baltimore and Alexandria at
p. IN. and 4:40 p. m. respectively, but 60
to the postof1ice about p m. with all other
letters, and hence they do not start on their
Journey to Marshall until Thursday even
ing, thus not reaching the merchant ut
Marshall until Friday morning (for no one
will 60 to the office at Marshall for letters
at 7:13 Thursday night, which makes the
receipt of the reply just four days after the
letter is written to Baltimore or Alexandria.
better illustration of the Inconvenience Of
| the present service is this On Tuesday tho NOR
chant at Marshall writes to Alexandria or Balt-
more for lot of goods; that letter reaches its des-
tnation on Wednesday when the goods arc imme-
diately packed and promptly taken to the depot
freight train leaving those points late that night
delivers the goods at Marshall ut 1920 Thursday
morning and if the mails had been left on tho
freight train, this same freight train, which de-
livers the goods at Marshall at 1:2O Thursday
morning would have brought along the letter
containing the bill, but rs the mail now comes by
the evening passenger trains and for the reasons
already explained, this letter containing the bill
could not leave Baltimore before Thursday even
ing and it is not in the hands Of the Marshall
merchant until Friday morning, just twenty four
hours behind tho goods which have come by
freight.
Now the above is & practical illustration of the
present service and shows how utterly unwisc
aud uninformed of the true condition OF mail
matters many of our people were, when they urged
this change to the passenger trains
The receipt of newspapers is equally rs bad.
The Baltimore papers of ono morning arc not got
ton out OF the postotce along the Manassas line
until next morning, while under the freight train
service We got them out on tho evening of day Of
issue. The ALEXANDRIA GAZETTE of one even
ing, wc were accustomed to get at 1920 the
morning after its issue, now, unless souo special
provision is made to bring it along by the
freight train, wc do not get it until the second
morning after its issuc-"anl such is our cona-
tion to-day AN