St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1886-01-21
POSTOFFICES IN GENERAL AND
NEW YORK POSTOFFICE IN PAR
TICULAR.


hind me and betook myself to a town
far-famed for its morality and pure air.
If frequent laudations of it in religious
papers be correct every family goes to
church, grass grows in the devious
paths of the skating rink, all the peO-
pie are chest" and all the drunkards
go thirsty. Madam RumOr says that
the wicked commercial traveller smiles
at the last statement, but we are blind
to his Smiles
At little hamlet of this stronghold
of virtue the postoffice had just chang
ed hands. | am sure there never was
another such tempest and the teapot
was exceeding small. The author of
the excellent book of ugly title, ''Let-
tiers from He'll" tells us there is post
office in that locality. 1 doubt if even
there much more unhOly feeling can
be excited than followed the shifting
of fourth class pOstoffices in this good
commonwealth. Though the custodi-
an of the particular office where my
summer letters came did not belong to
my political party, (Which is the right
one) could but feel that perhaps our
government owed him quite as much
as any country pOstOffice could confer,
for l knew that in that siege of York
town, which sLittle Mack's" recent
death has caused to be recalled, this
same official then in captains uniform
made most gallant charge through
the Warwick, of which Gen. Smith
said, ''that among the four companies
of the 3D. Vt. regiment there were more
individual acts of heroism performed
than he had ever before read Of"
| cannot now recall which was talk
ed of more, the postoffice or the wealth
er, as either topic was equally hot.
But as | came back to catch the cool
breezes of the Atlantic l thought it
might be worth my while to know
something of our postoffice here, which
has not yet struck either the upper or
the neither milestone of the administra-
ton. New York, as behOoves the
greatest and most populOus city of the
new world and one of the richest capt.
tails of the globe, abounds at every
hand with noble buildings, public and
private, the later comparing favOrably
with those of any of the centres of the
the old world civilization. 1t goes
without saying that we cannot boast of
time-worn and picturesque old edifices
which are the delight of the artist.
We have no mOss-grown towers or
grand cathedrals with the ivy growth
of centuries upon them. Aside from
these heritages of former ages which
add so much to the fascination of Eu
ropean capitals, the metropolis of
America is in many ways notable for
the striking character of its architec-
ture.
The most imposing of all the public
edifices of New York is the postOffice,
which exceeds in size any other post
Office buildings in the world. 1t is
built entirely of granite, iron, brick
and glass. Its style of architecture is
Doric modified by the Renaissance.
The basement is devoted to sorting of
letters and making up mails the first
floor is used as the receiving depart
ment; on the second and third floors
are the United States court rooms and
the attic supplies rooms for the janitOr
and Waterman. Those of us who ap-
prOach our writing desks as though
they were thumb-screws or pillOries,
will grOan at the thought that thirty
six million letters are delivered here
annually and the same number sent
away. Two thousand men are EN-
plOyed. Some of them work with
amazing rapidity and others go so leis-
urely that one feels sure that all the
other, men of the family are in con-
gress. Four deaf mutes are on the list
of clerks. ''When we get two noisy
men," said the assistant uperintendent,
1--WE put dummy between them and
SO secure quiet"
Douglass JerrOld said that every
business had its cheerful side and that
if he were an undertaken there were
some men he should greatly enjoy
burying. Dull and prOsaic as the post
Office clerks life must be, even he has
now and then a glimpse of humor. Our
friends over the sea furnish some adj
dresses which are excellent as puzzles,
but useless for the purpose intended.
One read:
"TO -: May God make you all
pure in heart and prepare you for the
better world. North America"
A sentimentalist would be touched
by seeing on an envelope:
"Mary Christmas deer Switharte," or,
"My Love is gone to Sea-"
The letter addressed:
"To The American Consul of the
North American Southern States,n
Will be delivered at the furnace
door.
One writer copies on his envelope in
a careful student hand:
"With malice toward none, with
charity for all" and forgets any other
direction.
The professor" who speaks twenty
languages and uses twelve kinds of
spectacles is seldom baffled by an ad-
dress if there be in it a single correct
feature. We saw him catch up a let
ter addressed to 'Istquenan Con-" and
quickly change it to East Canaan,
l,o fol hok 81 -