The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1889-01-24
SCENES IN A POsTOFFICE.

4
mo. A letter once mailed cannot b.
returned"
"But can't you do it this time !? Yol
see it IS addressed to Zlchariah Shod
grass & Son, and father and son will
both be as mad as fire it 1t reaches them
| am so sorry now | wrote it. Do let NJ,
have it back"
We cannot help it. Here is the law
(reading from the regulations): "A lette
once mailed becomes the property of tn,
person addressed, and on no application
however urgent, must il be delivered
back to the writer or to any other per
son. You have time enough to send
another letter by the same mail to rec
tify it,"
He turns away disappointed.
"Do you often have such requests I!
we ask.
"Yes, quite often and hereby hang,
tale. A young lady was engaged t
marry young man engaged in a pros
porous business in distant town, News
came that he had failed and was reduced
to penury, whereupon the young lady
wrote and mailed letter breaking of
the engagement. But before the depar.
ture of the mail a telegram was received
stating that the first news was a false
hood. The young lady now rushed t.
the pOstCffice, and with tears in her eye;
begged that the letter be returned to her
The postmaster was Inexorable the let
ter went forward, and she was left tC
bewall her folly"
"Selfishness, rather served her right.
Anything here for the Smiths? comes
in mellow tones from outside. The per
son speaking evidently takes it for grant
ed that the delivery clerk knows by in.
tuition all the Smiths and all theil
names, to the third and fourth genera
tions, and can tell at once by some occult
mental process, which particular one'
are wanted.
(Which Smiths do you want ~
"Why, any of the Smiths"
"Well, here is a letter for Philandel
Smith, and Aristotle Smith, and Juniu'
Brutus Smith, and Petrobrussia Smith
and Lubanoff Skobeloff Smith, and Dor
Quixote Smith, and -n
mo. no it's not any of them. wanI
our Smiths.
but who are your Smiths Tell mt
the names you want and then | can you.
After some further parleying and 6
caution to return the letter delivered, il
not for them as there were found to bt
several Smiths of the same name, the
interview closes.
"Where is my Morning Wasp p says
a prominent citizen.
did you not get it 2"
mo. | did not like to have it missed
like this. Has it not come 2"
n little inquiry elicits the fact that the
Wasp had come as usual, and the dis
tributing clerk declares that he has pu
the citizens copy in his box.
Looking out through the delivery
more sharply the clerk notices something
which causes him to ask
whats that under your arm ~
The citizen looks and 10 there is hit
Wasp Just where he had put it when ht
began to look at his letters. With hall
sheepish, half comlcal expression he van
ishes.
And now a man hands in letter to bt
registered. The clerk takes it and ask
for the sender's name.
Its none of your business" is tht
ans wer in no very pleasant tones.
"But we have to know so as to have j
entered in our book"
After some further explanation he il
induced to surrender his cognomen anC
the proper receipt is handed him.
When the mail arrives the bags are
first unlocked and emptied. The SAINT
kind of paddock and the same kind o.
key is used in all the different offices
and by the railway mail clerks. The pa
pers are put by themselves, and tht
packages of letters taken to the stamp
ing table to be opened and stamped OF
the back with the date stamp. Atten
tion is first given to the registered letter.
and parcels. The address of each ont
and the total number is, or should be, or
the accompanying letter bill, and OF
comparison if any letter is received no
on the bill, or if any on the bill is not re
ceived, or if there is any discrepancy
he fact must be at once reported. Tht
distribution goes on rapidly. We notice
that the distributing clerks have to carry
in their heads the names of parties
whose mail goes into some hundreds Of
boxes, often half dozen in the samt
box. They have to know in all cases
who have given orders to have theil
mail forwarded to other points, and who,
though using boxes. have temporarily
ordered their mail kept in the delivery
Red cards are used to indicate registered
letters, and letters and parties not using
boxes are kept in the general delivery.
And now the clerk has just finished
writing a number of money orders, and
is resting for few seconds, when q
young lady enters, looks furtively about
her as If about to commit some desperate
deed, and asks tmidly
do you take money here p
"Oh, yes, and thankful to get it"
"What interest do you pay ?"
-Four per cent. The interest will be-
gin on the first day of the month next
after you make your deposit"
"And how much can you take 2"
ANY amount from to $500, but not
a fractional part of dollar"
And can't you take more than $3OO?
"We can only take 1900 within one
year. The year ends on the Both OF
June, after which another $500 may be
taken, and so on from year to year, but
the total amount must not exceed $1,000.
And l can draw il out when l want
tor
"Oh, yes either the whole or part
by making application to the depart
ment at Ottawa on blank which we
furnish and getting check. This
usually takes four or five days"
"And is this bank y
"Well, 1 should think so. 1t has this
great Dominion to back it up, and can
never break while the country stands.
Then we give you passbook, and you
get receipt direct from the department. !"
"Well. I'm sorry you can't take more
than $500, but I'll give you that much
now and watch my chance for the rest. !"
Detroit Free Press