The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1889-09-23
AN EXPRESS OFFICE.
Difficulties That Have to Be
Overcome Daily.
BUSINESS UPSET BY THE FIRE.
Decline OF the sauduss Suia<iie-Cneer-
sxlRty Of the Hoid-over sale
-kickeFS.

re2orter the ether day. shout different
features OF the express service, said:
at taxes vezrs of stady before one Is
ahse In sf-s M the character OF man who
COMES i-so an Office to do business. and
wf,en ron understand that Won can gener-
ally set along smoothly with all bat few
ersrks II Is strange what ideas some
reople have as TO waa. an express agent
EAR ARD sha.ld do. One man will come in
and ask ii there Is anything for him. We
ask what his name Is.
Tom Jones si course
Where wss the parcel SHIPPED FROM
7" san Francisco.
The package is found ana handed over
ard the usual Zee demanded if sent c. o. D.
This has been here five or SIX days,
haSntitf' ASKS Nr. Jones.
:" think il has
~.wsn. xhy didn't YOU let me know
ABOUT ~ wanted that parcel very much
We notified you the day il came
NO. vor didn't. Yoa never sent me .
notice
-soh. YES we did. Here yoa see the proof
of il in our copy book.
lyon might have mailed il. but never
got no card, and I've mind 10 sue Tor
damages caused by delay
That's q sample Of, some OF the kiekers'
who hare a mistaken notion that becuse ex-
press companie- are common carriers they
can be put to trouble even when every legal
requirement. i complied with.
After the FIRE here we had much 10 an
nov Us. We saved nearly everything. and as
we were crampea for rooEl we wanted TO
GET rid Of As much as possible of what was
f..sxt q
persons having anything in the oihce 10
come and take il away. 4 few did 50. but
as the time went By there was stslIa LOT OF IT
on hand and We sent out more notices
We keen ourselves provided with directo-
ries and ever convenience known Tor md
ing out where people live, bat the FIRE upset
it 20 a great extent. The residence part IS
fairly correct, hIt 80 many changes were
caused By fhe fire, and there are so many
removals through diSposais of business and
preferences for new localities that il is
almost impossible TO keep track OF good
part of the business portion OF the city
Some OF these men think ii strange
that the express companies can't keep
track OF them and notify them through the
postofiice that goods are there for them, or
hunt them out at their new quarters and
deliver the packages. Considering all this
think We have done remarkably well and
give pretty good satisfaction. When the
tents are done away with and the business
people move into the buildings that are
numbered we viii be able to avoid much OF
what is at present a constant annoyance to
u.s.
Picking mp small box. neatly tied. Mr..
Johnson continued:
DO Won know we can tell the moment
We touch these packages where they come
from aid what they contain? Well. we
can, through constant handling. This is
parcel OF quack medicine and comes from
San Francisco. 1t. is put up by one of the
most notorious frauds in the world, and
it's wonder he hasn't been put in the pen
itentiary. All the quacks tie their pack
ages in one way, and everyone has
peculiar way of doing it which we soon get
onto. Here's another one. and you see
the style it is done up in This stuff keeps
coming in. and il is astonishing how many
hundred dollars are sent to these quacks.
That reminds me that there used 10 be
q lively business done by the sawdust
swindlers. who dealt in green goods. but
il has been pretty thoroughly broken up BY
Inspector Byrnes, of New York. and we
rarely handle any OF the packages now
They used To come in boxes about the size
of an old-fashioned cigar box, copiously
sealed and generally sent c. o. D.. with
about SO and expenses for the consiznee
II paw. The receivers know the inyariahle
rule is that no c. O. u. package is to be
opened for examination until the charges
are paid, so they pay the amount and
hastily depart with the prize. AT the first
safe spot. generally in an alley, they break
open the box, to find lot OF sawdust and
filings and learn that they have been
swindlei. With few exc tons they don't
sgueal because they know they are liable
10 prosecution as accomplices in attempt
ing fraud, but when they do we help
them all we can 10 hunt up and dispose OF
the swindlers.
A few years ago every messenger used
TO have package OF alleged counterfeit
money 70 deliver, but now they are very
rare. Last year | remember a Spokane
man came to Wsila Walla 10 get one. and
he was looked upon as 3 model young man.
The sawdust men are now very wary and
prefer To get their men on the hook. and
then lure them on TO New York. where The
business Is done up and the victims are
done out of 500 or 500 each The mode of
business has been pretty thoroughly ventil-
sied by the newspapers, and need not tel
you anything about that feature Of the
green goods business.
We have some funny experiences a,
times. AMI il is really laughable when the
on band sales are made. Come ont here
and I'll show you a lot that we will have
70 dispose OF some time. Despite all we can
DO the nile will grow We keen notifying
the parties, bnt seldom hear from them
and as we don / charge for storage we have
10 clear the lot at stated times. The pack
sses are sll sizes, and contain everything
from 4 sewing Dschine ~ lot OF circf,-
lsTs. The bids have t. l.e q matter OF guess
work a. the package are unopereE until
sold. Why they accumulate is a Question,
Probably one man j. killed. another NAV
D. sen. 20 the pealienti4ry. another NAV
- drowned. SEINE NAV not ~ abe Ia %,
enough IA pay The charges; Others arsir
may come here intending 90 remain ard
have the parcels expressed to them. bat
suddenly ind work in some other fovn
and fa.l 10 notify rs. having forgotten The
p.orer address. There are many reaso~s
10: all these things ard We do our best -
Ind oct the owners AM deliver the goods
eGi ~asn ne car : ross. ind then. We Ia
away the package Tor ds-possl bv ale
Next - policeman. 81 expressga&r's iffa
: not happy cne