The morning call., 1890-12-25
A MESSENGERS
CHRISTMAS.
The Day in San Francisco TWEEN.
ty.twO Years Ago.
A Western Union Boy Who Was Fed, Loaded
Down With Presents and 11nt on
His Way Rejoicing.
written for THE MORNING CALL.

Es5AY. Jim, want to buy that doll for
&A9 my sister, and if I've luck I'm goin'
@S to do it, too!'
The speaker was lad of perhaps 10 years,
who with his companion was gazing into a
shop-window at the display of those imlta-
ton babies which are the delight OF every
girls heart, and the remark that dropped
from his lips brought wildly to mind an in
cident Of my own boyhood days. and more
forcibly, too. because he wore the uniform
of a service which / entered twenty-five
years ago for the purpose of earning little
m oney to spend on those who were dear to
me. was the son of widow, and money
was not as plentiful as we many times
wished 1t to be. Like all devoted mothers
mine always managed to save from her
slender income enough to purchase remem-
brances for her two children, but there was
no one to remember her at Christmas-yes,
that is a mistake; both sister and l did, but
spending-money so seldom found its way in
our direction that the question arose, Where
was that necessary essential TO procuring
our gift to come from?
My health had been rather uncertain for
some weeks, and, at the earnest solicitation
of sister and |, mother consented to my be-
ginning my vacation about the last week in
November, instead of waiting until school
closed. This was my opportunity. l de-
te:mined 10 get work Of some kind and earn
enough money to carry out my purpose. So
l started out early one Monday morning to
get "a job" Our little family occupied q
house on Eddy street, near Mason, and l
only had a block 10 60 TO get to Market
sire eft, where l intended to begin making
application for work at every stOre-as
told my sister before / left home-''if | had
TO keep it up until reached the wharf" At
Stockton and Market streets George W.
Diekey kept a drugstore, which has occu-
pied that corner for so many years. i was
Just going III to apply 10 Mr.. Dickey, whom |
knew, When youngster about my own age
came along with book in his hand looking
for some plumber in the neighborhood. /
reco gniZed his mission, and, aecosting him,
inquired what the chances with the Western
Union were.
For ten minutes the importance of deliv-
ering the message he carried in his book
never occurred to us. l gave him the
straight business" under his promise not
to give it away" and to testify to his
appreciation of the confidence had reposed
in him, he agreed, if i would help him find
the number he was looking for, to give me
"a Rnock-d0wn" to the manager of 1.-THE
kids" We found the man to whom the
telegram was addressed, and in due
time my new friend stood with me in
the Office of the telegraph company
on California street, opposite the market,
and formally introduced me. There was
vacancy on the force. and dropped into it
as naturally as an old vet"
THOSE WERE COOP OLD DAYS.
Twelve or fifteen boys were kept
busy carrying messages. while about a
dozen operators were sufficient for the re-
quirementS of the service. Now it takes
about 10 operators and from GO to 70 boys to
serve the people of the Western metropolis.
Then the California-street office opened
mornings at o'clock and closed every night
at 10, and the force was divided into two
phalanges, which alternated daily, only half
the force remaining on duty after o'clock
yet the work was always cleaned up before
quitting time" including press dispatches.
Now the main office opens at in the morn
ing and is not closed until 80 in the morn
ing of the next day. while three branch
offices never close. Then the free-delivery
district was confined TO that portion inside
OF Folsom. Ninth and Larkin streets, in
which the company paid US cents mes
sage ON regulars and 1 cent for press re-
ports, while outside the district we
were entitled TO perquisiie OF %
cents. Then frequently the persons to whom
we delivered messages would employ the
boy to read the dispatch and pen the reply,
and % cents, or even so cents, would often
be given. | sometimes think the people
were more liberal then than now, and recog-
nized the fact that the messengers life was
not particularly happy one, and that it
was a pleasant duty to pave his troubled
path with little of the silver which our
min es were giving up.
" Johnny" Barry, who was promoted
from messenger TO delivery clerk about the
time enteredt1e service, still dispatches
the boys on their errands, while W. II.
Gamble, who used to receive messages for
transmission, is still at his post Of duty, but
death has claimed most of the other clerks,
while some have drifted into occupations
having no connection with telegraphy.
John Leatcb, one of the old operators, is
row with the Postal.
These "reminiscences. however, are only
incidental to my narrative. The messenger
boy of to-day. like his predecessor, is the
recipient OF much abuse. He is charged re-
peatedly with wilful negligence, even when
the cause of delay results from the person
addressed living in such an out-of-the-way
ana obscure location that even a man would
find difficulty In Locating him, and when an
especially gu elk delivery Is made how many
are there who ever think Of Shaping the
boy gOod-naturedly on the shoulder and
complmenting him for his pramptness?
There are many who expect to find mems
heads on boys shoulders and who growl
and fret when they awake to the fact that
they are mistaken. A number of boys
may sometimes be seen with undeliv-
cred messages in their pockets playing
games, for small stakes. in side streets; but
that does not indicate that they are beyond
redemption. We used to play the same
games in the good old days in the little
courtyard back Of the office OH California
street, and there was always a scamperiDg
to recover the scattered coins whenever the
door-knob turned from the inside. We
knew II was wrong, but the spirit to win
money was in us, and we had no one to curb
our desires and impress us with the intensity
Ali. Ttst e
not our sires "speculators"? If 1t was not
cards. which carried with them an implied
curse, it was stocks, grain and other prod
uce. lost track, in later years, of my old
comrades, but l do not believe any Of them
ever helped people our penitentiary.
MANY YEARS AGO.
Twenty-Five years ago Christmas dawned
with tempestuOus weather 1t was with
regrets that donned my waterproof cloak
1--WE did not have the comfortable water
shedding rubber them and started for the
office. had gained my purpose. Before
the stockings were hung on Christmas eve
big one had been fixed up by my sister
for mother, and we crammed it full and
hung it on nail on the inside of the door
of the closet in her room. 1t took lots of
scheming before we matured our plans to
surprise mother. We held secret confer
ences daily for week before the eventiul
day arrived, for the fun was in the surprise.
Alas, how happy is anticipation! Mother
always hung her wrapper in that closet, and
went there the first thing In the morning TO
get it out and we had to trust to luck not to
have her get in ahead Of the proper time.
How we looked forward to that surprise,
and how we reverenced that stockingl II
contained nv gift, which represented the
bulk of my first earnings. draw it mild
when l assert that the few days before that
Christmas were the happiest in my exist
ence. l seemed to tread on air, and went
through my duties with spirits buoyant in
the extreme. l was only wicked scamp, "
"heathenish messenger-boy," but had a
heart full of love for mother. and the money
my labors brought me, coupled with the end
in view, stimulated me to bear the oppro-
brium. Whether mother discovered the
stocking before or not we never knew, but
both sister and i were up and dressed before
her, and before we went to the little sitting
room to claim our presents we visited mother
chamber. She was not up yet, and while /
went downstairs sister remained on duty to
watch for mothers surprise. If it was not
genuine it was well assumed, and we felt
amply rewarded for our efforts.