The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-07-07
BILL NYe ON POSTMASTeRS.
He Used to BE One Himself. and He
Knows the Ropes.


Knows the Ropes.
The New York postoiIice is large, digni
tied building, situated right where the roads
fork. being the place where you turn Oh TO
the right from the main Travelled road in or
der TO get to the bridge. II is used partly Tor
a postofiice and partly for court house, SO
that one end of the building practically pays
the expenses Of tho other end. A self sup
porting postofilce and court house here,
where competition IL hot and rents high,
would naturally show that times are good
and money plenty.
Mail CONES here from all foreign countries
and Europe also 1t is distributed at once,
and one is permitted TO mail n letter at any
time. day or night. It's wonderful. In tall
buildings now there is al arrangement by
which one may shoot his letters into run
way or Aume. and they will he carried into
United States mail box on the ground foor,
where a Trustworthy young man III siDecRleu
straw helmet comes and fills his Vallse with
them. after which he carries them away to
the poStOilice and personally Uses his nflu
ence with the postmaster ~ have them sent
away by the early train
stood near the small box at the bottom OF
the chute IN the Standard Oil building the
other dav, and though remained there only
ten or fifteen minutes | counted forty-nine
letters as they were laid one by one, hot
from the cackling typewriters above, and all
40 doubt reeking with tue bloody and start
linz statement, coming like "a peel OF thunder
from an unpeeled sky, Dear Sir our
esteemed favor Of the TIL inst Tor ult. or
prox.j is before me. In reply would say"
etc. There's lust about As much use in this
opening as there would be in stating that
I'VE take our pen III hand or In opening
PRAYER by reading the minutes OF the previ-
Gus meeting.
The New York postofiice is directly con-
nectad with the dead letter Office at Wash
ington, and those who have never CORE
sponded with tnat prosperous morgue have
missed good deal.
The dead letter office is, after all, II great
boon, though it does not return some things
which reach it, A man in Saginaw, Mich,
mailed a pair of dress shields 10y mistake
whicl he had bought for his wife, and
though that was two years ago come July
they have never been returned. Another
man in Nashville, Tenn, enormously mailed
"a pDlOhc IiuSltl WINCH was e'iii''S 10 : Dp' -
new. and though he has threatened TO go
down there to Washington and identify it
and expose the whole system OF the dead let
ter office tall he got his property back, moth
ing as Vet has been done about it.
Ten years ago, even, there were 3,OOO,OW
letters sent to the dead letter office in one
year, Of which -, 900 had no county OF state,
4O0, 900 lacked stamps, and 1900 we're posted
without any address at ali. Ninety-two
Thousand dollars in cash and over s3,OJO,Ou
in draft, were contained in these letters. 1t
appears that right straight through every
letter sent to the dead letter Office contains
on an average 81, SO mine really fell below
the average.
Queer things happen TO letters even when
they DO not get to Washington. Wyo-
ming postmaster used TO claim that circular
letters unsealed, ii not called for within
day or two, were good things to Use III start
ing the fire He therefore kept coal hod
near the general delivery, which constituted
"A little private dead letter Office for his own
special use one day his children were play
ing tag with each other inside the postoiiice
and canceling each others nose with the VI.
o. Il. stamp, when suddenly they decided to
investigate the coal bod in search of adver-
Using cards In each Of two large circular
envelopes they found a smaller sealed letter
which had worked in by showing large
mas Of letters together for cancellation
The children had torn these two letters open
and were playing Fourth OF July and Rally
Round the Flag, Boys, with a so check and
"A 500 draft when the old gentleman looked
up Justice cOmpels Inc 10 say, however,
that he spanked the children souudly for his
carelessaess and refused to let them have fun
with his dead latter Office after that
BILL NYE
+. S. Since the above was written white
Woman's scalp has been received at the dead
letter Office The lady. in an absent minded
way, forgot to mail herself, and according To-
the rules Of the Office she cannot now recover
IL. D. y.
New FORK World