Wichita eagle., 1888-10-17
OUR EXPRESS SYSTEM. J
MARVELLOUS PERFECTION OF OUR
PUBLIC CARRYING SERVICE.

Primitive Methods Of Early Days-Won-
derful Promptness and Celebrity OF the
System of Today-A Frequent Cause OF
Hstales-The "Old Hoss' Room.
Next to the mystery Of the postofice, with
its thousands, and even millions, OF letters,
crossing and recrossing each others pains
daily, coming from everywhere and going
everywhere else, with comparatively few
miscarriages, hegreat express systems In tho
modern public carrying service are equally a
matter of marvel to casual Observers In
primitive DAYS. when Keziah Root passed
the door On regular days Of the week IN his
farm wagon on the way to market, and was
the common carrier for everything ''goi,p to
town." it was not hard to understand how
the knibbed socks reached Uncle Ben lin
the first white house with red barn beyond
the orthodox meetin' house at the corners;
or how Aunt Tabby got her pail OF butter,
for Farmer Root was explicitly directed TO
'go down the mash road" on his way from
Market, land turn in the Lane next to so
phrony Thomas, she who was Sophrony
Pearce, old Dea. Pearce's daughter, whose
barn in the medder was burned last year and
lost all his pigs, and then 'twould be the
small white house with the cobblng shop In
trout"
Later, as the world grew and modern bus!>
ness methods arose with the increase OF
trade, the problem Of sending packages,
whether of merchandise or Of private goods,
was still comparatively simple, for the driver
of the express. who took the parcels at tho
door, was III the majority of cases the same
who delivered them at their several destina-
tions. Even after the railroads were In
vented and put into common use, during
the first few years the express service did not
form any great system. Now, however, with
the greatest business ccnters OF the world
within the country and with these centers
intimately connected with each other by In
Vulnerable ties, public and private, CONNER
cial and social, the interchange Of goods and
packages has reached an enormous extent,
which is not found anywhere else IN the
world In no other country is such a mar
velous amount of business done nor such
perfect running service found. And it is this
promptness and CELEBRITY of dispatch, consid-
cred with the number of pieces handled and
the confusing variety OF destinations, winch
makes the wonder of it.
A man is relieved of all care In sending
parcels. It is as easy to send package to
friend in Arizona or great box OF dry goods
to a merchant in New Orleans as to send a
letter to either party. All that is necessary
after the parcel is arranged is to know the
address of the party to whom one Is sendug
the parcel. Instead OF getting a postage
stamp one simply hangs out flag. There
the consignor's labor ends The express
company's carrier appears, takes the parcel
in hand, gives receipt for 1t, which repre-
sents it in value, and the company thereupon
takes full charge of it until it reaches Its des-
tination, or until 1t is handed over, at the
end of that particular company's limit into
the hands of some corresponding company,
which amounts to the same thing as far as
the sender is concerned. One does not need
to know anything about the location in the
city if the address is given, nor take the
trouble to fnd out how to get to the city,
whether it is in Maine or New Mexico. The
express people do al that for him.
One of the most frequent causes of mistake
in sending parcels is absent nlindedness. A
clerk will fill out a way bill from a box
marked for Portland, putting in the name
and street address all right, and then, with
the name Portland before his eyes, write New
York on the bill. The New York messenger,
in the haste of pressing business, simply
counts the way bills, sees that he has the-ssss-
enteeu CT twenty pieces marked New York,
and sends them on. The mistake is not found
out until the delivery marking takes place in
New York. Tire same absent way Of writing
what one does not think occurs with the con-
signors themselves. Very often they send a
box to a friend on Fifth avenue, New York,
whose name and number they know inti-
raatelv, with an address to some small town
in Massachusetts, Another cause for o great
deal of confusion is the old markings on dry
goods boxes which have been used before.
Jordan & Marsh, OF any similar large firm,
will sell some Of the packing cases in which
goods come to them. When the boxes are
again used the address to Jordan g. Marvh,
Boston, is left upon the side. The new ad-
dress is put upon the top, indicating, we viii
say, some one in Pawtucket, f. l. Some
where along the line, in looking over the
stock, the messenger picks out all that which
is going to Boston, among which he takes
the box with the name OF Jordan g. Marsh
upon it. Then confusion arises, indeed.
There is a curiors feature in connection
With these losses which Is known IN every
express Office as the ''old boss" room This
is the room which holds all Of the unclaimed
wanderers, the tagless waits and ragged out
casts who are awaiting al owner. Taey are
goods ''oD hand and the letters 20. h" on
the slips which are attached to ti1e:a SaEe
rise 10 the equine appreciation These stray
parcels get into the '.old hossn room from al
most Is many causes as there are startling
varieties 70 their character The conSgnee
couldn't be found, and the co.lsignor, al
though duly notified, has never cared 20 re-
claim. One frEl has sent goods to some per
son ct his own order He returns them with
some complaint Tie firm viii not admit
the complaint, and sead them back with &
very pressing bill, orr else 60 avoid being held
for receiving them back G. Gil, they VII not
touch them, bet leave them IN the store room
OF the ecrre.s o:ica
As Deitae- party VII have them. they
naturally so TO the dead roon- Sons ere
absolutely ios. No oas ct tae name iadi-
Gated can Be fourd as the s6dtss etrsn, and
for some reason au trace Of the coosig3or
disappears Ee hss moved, O. died, perhaps
So they all drift into the ''oad boss, aad are
Kept year-Uuless ot pe-sssat-e .atEe-
and tacn sold a. auc.io1- TIE variety of
theewaifs Is bo.h interesting sui az..aSs-sg.
Tnsrs il hardy anything II the domestic
dictionary omitted, from packages a hair
pins and ssvirg machines, Eces. EIks ard
sevesry 70 cooking stoves, guns, hs6ing