The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1890-04-06
FORGET-ME-NOTS.

Cash on delivery is not good enough tor the
Post Office Department now. Mr.. Wanamaker,
as Postmaster General, wants cash in advance.
Suppose a letter addressed to gentleman in
New York is mailed in Washington, and suppose
the stamps attached are a cent short of the cor
rect postage, the trouble that the Post Office
Department takes to collect that cent is some
thing immense and very ridiculous. Formerly
the letter would have been forwarded just as if
it had been fully prepaid and the shortage
would have been collected from the addressee
on delivery. In that way delay occurred, no
time was lost, and no unnecessary labor or eN-
pense incurred Now, however, the method is
different. Mr.. Wanamaker won't allow the let
ter to be carried one foot until the shortage is
paid up, no matter what serious consequences
to the sender or the addressee may be involved
in the delay Instead of forwarding the letter
Mr.. Wanamaker sits down and addresses an
other letter to the man in New York, telling him
that the letter is in pawn, but will be released as
soon as the shortage is paid up. In the course
of time Mr.. Wanamaker receives one Gently
bank check or in some other shape-from New
York, and the detained letter is sent on its way
When it reaches its destination there is attached
to the back of the envelope little pink adhesive
label, on which is printed this pauper legend:
This letter was held at the office Of mailing as
short paid" aud forwarded afterward, upon re-
cept from the addressee of stamp TO cover def
cheney.
This is a sort of certificate to all concerned
that the letter is founding or pauper, which
should be distinguished, like the woman who
wore the Scarlet Letter, from all respectable
brethren. What lot of unnecessary trouble to
collect a cent. have an envelope before me
now which bears its face in Representative
McKinley's handwriting the name of Z. f.
Thorne, Esq, Union League Club, New York
City, and on the back the pauper label which
shows that the letter served term in limbo
X K
Seeing that newspaper writer's and editors are
generally supposed to be such an impecunious
lot, 1t is interesting to note that there are at
least half a dozen working newspaper CORE
spondents in Washington who make in the
neighborhood of ten thousand dollars a year
each from their newspaper work and correlative
literary labor, and dozens of them, SO to speak,
who make in the neighborhood of five thousand
dollars a year each, which is the salary of u
United States Senator. 1t would be safe to bet
that w. Z. Curtis, Charles Nordhoff, E. b.
Wight Frank Carpenter, and several others
make more than Cabinet officers salaries by
their news and literary works from year to year.
Curtis must be millionaire, or near it, He is
perfect little giant Of labor. His writings for
the newspapers, the magazines, and the book
one of the smallest branches of his industry and
enterprise. 1t is very well known that Curtis
runs the State Department. No international
gathering is complete without him. No con-
ference like the Pan-American could proceed
except under his auspices and supervision.
When great millionaire like Andrew Carnegie
comes to Washington he is introduced by Cur
tbs, and if the millionaire wants to give fine
banquet Curtis names the dishes, selects the
wines, and makes up the list Of guests. There
are no flies on Curtis.
There's Lightner, of the Pittsburg Despatch
he's liable to be both wealthy and famous some
of these days. How he handles the pen is
matter of public knowledge; but it is not al
well known that he handles the painters brusl
with equal facility His news Office in the Cor
coran Building is an art studio. The walls arr
covered with paintings finished and unfinished
He paints portraits, landscapes, and marn
pieces with equal success. In his early paint
ings he used only one color-that was red-an(
he was in the habit Of painting city scenes ex
clusively, but now he paints anything from
Georgetown darkey to water lily in appropri
ate tints. | used to think that If Lightne
would adopt the highly profitable profession o
pugilism he had a great future before him; bu
he wouldn't take my advice, and now he i
wasting his talent on picture-making as an ad
1unct at present to his newspaper work.
"Ihat reminds me OF rather striking an
original definition of the divine art which wa
given one night by Major E. " Brooks, who
a great deal more witty than the casual observe
would imagine. Lightner and Brooks and som
others were sitting-say under a spreadin
chestnut tree-exchanging happy thoughts, whe
DIR. Kimball, the musician, was introduced
"Dr. Kimball, ~ said Lightner, repeating th
name. doctor Of Medicine, may ask ?''
"Better known" said one of the gentlcme
lkaE n noYt1icl lna1 f,f
divine art
"And what, pray, is the divine art - Ligh
nerinquircd.
The question was hardly asked when Brook
who had been putting and blowing and snutlir
and snortng snutiled out, ''Obstetrics."
Il X Il
'I'm going to Albaugh's to see "Erminie,"
to see "Nadiy," or "to see' some other com
opera. That's the usual expression. Did VI
ever notice that nearly everybody goes to see
comic opera? Very few goes to hear it, &c
orally speaking, it seems to be true that mode
comic opera delights the eye more than the ea
Il
Howard Kennedy, the Capitol guide, who
known by nearly everybody in town, and W
used to form one integral part of that apparent
indiVisible trinity composed of Amos j. Gu
mings, Bob Vance, and himself has a n,
scheme and he believes ''thcres millions in II
He is going to take to the lecture platform, a
travel all over the Uuited States, telling |
triotc people all he knows about the Unit
States Capitol, the lecture to be illustrated