St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-01-26

are seeding an appointment in some de-
partment, or, happy thought, maybe
carrying on Irritation with some chap
pie. which neceSsitates a trip TO the gen.
eral delivery window two or three
times day. Outside of the charitable
idea of giving ones acquaintance
something to gossip about, the post
Office corridors present many Interesting
and amusing incidents to ones self.
The st. Paul postOtfice building would
not lead an observer to think that Uncle
Sam possessed much artistic taste, or
that he believed in spending the peo-
pies money i'll making public buildings
either comfortable or commOdiOuS-tha
is, if our sober, three-story, old-fash-
Toned stone building is good criterion
from which to judge. The furniture in
side is at present receiving its annual
coat of yarniSh. The numerous cracks
in the ceiling are also being cal
cimined. Trifles like these involve
some discomfort to the loiterers,
but the majority Of the people
seen in the corridors of the quaint
building are too busy to notice their
surroundings. All day long the crowd
surges back and forth through the large
doors. Business men make hurried
trips there as they go to or from meals.
The carriers plod YEARLY back and
forth with their uniforms and sacks as
badges of Servitude to the government.
The sight of q mail carrier always
moves me to wonder why they look so
weary. | wonder If it's because they
work 50 hard, or that they get so many
glimpses of other peoples troubles and
anXietieS as they 90 their daily rounds.
It's surprising the number of people
who distruSt the street corner letter
box. and find it necessary to mail their
letters at the postOffice. Scores of
ladies may be seen bringing their let
ters thus, and about an equal number
of gentleman acquaintance, although
no one but cynic would say that any
of these chance encounters were pre-
arranged.
The postmaster tells me that the num-
Der of letters mailed in st. Paul average
from 10000 to $4,000 each day, and other
printed matter is counted by the ton.
a number of slots are arranged to re-
ceiVe letters, the first being marked
f'north,'' the next south" the next
s'eaSt," and the last west" This is to
facilitate rapidity in sorting. But the
sorterS will assure you that either the
majority of people can't read, or, like
true American citizens, they hate TO
have their freedom of action trammeled
by printed signs. So they mail their let
IclS Will d ulSItSdIu Ol uGSIlHdGlOn GllaU
tends to make the clerks proficient in
the art of profanity. The stamp de-
partment seldom fails to havea bustling
and excited crowd about the window.
1t seems to make man excited to buy
stamps, and there is class who never
can understand why the clerk won't
give them reduction in price if they
buy Job lot of So or "a worth. They
never grow weary Of trying to persuade
the clerk that it would be to his adj
vantage TO manage that rebate. The
stamp clerk must be a descendant of
Zerah Colburn, the mathematician, if
one judges by the accuracy with which
he solves the puzzles shouted at him.
Here is a sample:
"Give me twenty-one two-cent, three
five-cent, twenty-three postal cards. two
stamped envelopes and the rest in one
cent stamps" says breathless indiyid-
ual, throwing down two half-dollars.
Almost before he is finished the stamps
are in his hand and the money gathered