The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-12-17
THE WEEK BEFORE CHRISTMAS.
The Shopkeepers', Expressmen's and
Postoff1ce Clerks Rushing Season.

1
The shopkeepers', Expressmen's and
Postoff1ce Clerks Rushing Season.
The week before Christmas is always a
busy one with the merchants and shop
keepers. The holiday shopping began last
week but the'big rush will be this week. The
holiday trade so far this year has been
| greater than was ever known.
| The shop clerks are not the only busy poe
| pie, though, in the Christmas season. The
expressmen and postoffice employees have
as hard time to keep up with the rush as
anybody.
| Express Company, says that the holiday
rush is already upon him. The company
will open branch Office tomorrow at No.
| 143 Bay street, and will make it a delivery
| office until the rush is over.
| 1--WE do this" he SAID, ''in order to facili-
tate the delivery Of packages. We will
| have by this arrangement two offices
will be the receiving Office, aud
the office on Bay street will be the delivery
| office. We expect to be considerably taxed
| TO handle the business, and the more care
| full the people are about labelling and mark
| ing packages the fewer mistakes will be
| made, and the earlier the express matter
will reach its destination. Labelling pack
ages with tags and bits of paper pinned or
tackled to the box often times, and especially
| during the holidays, subjects the
| packing to delay. You see, during such a
busy time, we are forced to pile express to-
| gether, and in moving it about the tag or
piece of paper is torn off, and possibly lost,
and the package is held for several days.
| The best way to insure the safe delivery of
| packages is to write the name plainly on the
box or bundle, giving the street and number.
e NIN 10 la,. tha
brush. If marked in this way, express
| matter is rarely, if ever, delayed. When a
| package reaches its destination without the
street or number marked on it, the delivery
clerk throws it aside until he can hunt up
| the street and number and write it on the
| package. 1t is then delivered, after having
been delayed some hours"
Packages are re eived with any SORT of
| address, are they notF'
''Oh, yes But there is another very impor-
| tant matter to which | am glad you called
| my attention. AT 9 o'clock in the afternoon
| our way bills are all made out, and a pack
age which is brought in after that hour will
| lie in the office until the next day. All
matter should be sent into us i'll the morn
| ing or in the early afternoon if it is to be
sent through without delay"
"Will you increase your force during the
holidayss"
"Oh, no. You see in the express bust
ness man has to be accustomed to the
work. We cannot pick up a man when
work gets heavy and lesson the strain on
U.S. It would be the cause of more errors
and delays than if we had dropped off a
man. The new man has got to be expo
rienced, and unless he is, he is of little SER
| vice to US. The same force that you see
here in the dullest seasons is the force that
handles the matter in the busiest seasons"
The company is making every prepare
ton for the rush, and Agent Cooper says if
the people will be careful in addressing
packages he will insure them good service.
The busy season will continue until after
| Jan. l.
The postoffice clerks, the railway mail
service agents and the letter carriers come
In for their share of the holiday
rush. The flow of Christmas presents
through the mails will begin about the mid
| die of this week and will keep up until New
| Years. The special delivery service of the
postoffice gets as much business during the
| holidays as it does during all the rest of the
| year. Special Delivery Messenger George
| w. Backman is in charge of the delivery
department and expects to have his hands
full from now on until after New Years.