The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-07-06


by the month or year at Low Rates.
IDENTIFY, a college sophomore who wanted to |
show that he had learned his Greek alpha I
bet and he addressed his ladylove in
Greek
Some letters are sent with the evident
intention of
PULLING THE DEAD LETTER CLERKS,
and one was received last week so written
that it looked like perfect scrawl. The
bright lady who handled it whipped look
ing glass out of her pocket and in this it
read as plain as copperplate. The letters
OF the Chinese in this country are continu
ally coming the dead letter Office. Here is
one to Sam Lee, Lampterville n t. 1t was
sent to Lambertville. New York, and it
reached the right Mongolian.
Among other letters | looked at was one
that the mice had eaten out the heart of
the direction Still, from the few letters
that were lett the ladies here sent it to the
right party at Jersey City and its delivery
has been duly acknowledged.
These dead letters increase every year,
and at present about six millions of letters
and packages are received every year.
More than hundred thousand letters are
sent off every year without postage stamps
on them, and nearly half million people
bueIr ltGlSES duu leave OIL Tue ClUy,
the state or the person to whom they are TO
go. About twenty thousand letters, or
nearly two thousand letters every month";
are put into the postoffices of the United
States without any address whatever on
them, and more than four million letters
are unclaimed. You would think that d
person sending money in letter would be
very careful about addressing it. But this
does not seem to be the case, for last year
| i'm 6aod
and returned to the owners, and nearly one
million and a half of dollars in notes.
checks and money orders were INSTRUCTED
and were returned by these ladies'. In ad-
| dition to this there were over twelve thou
sand dollars worth of money and merchan-
disc that could not be returned, and hun
dreds of thousands of dollars are lost every
year in the mails through the carelessness
of those who send through them.
1t was in the postoffice department that
the rule of
ALLOWING CLERKS TO MARRY
was first permitted. Under the old spoils
system it was not thought right that a
family should have more than one represen-
| tative in the government departments at
| Washington, and in case young lady fell
in love with the s., 200 man working at her
side she was expected to give up her 81, COO
or more and leave the Office for love in a
cottage. In most cases she does this, but
some couples in the past preferred to retain
their salaries as long as they could, and |
have heard of several instances where the
marriages were kept secret and the lady
kept her place under her maiden name in
the department. While Mr.. Villas was
postmaster general a young lady clerk
came to him and said she wanted to get
married to fellow clerk. but she did not
want to lose her place. He very CALAMITY
40 tsh Uh.l
should not do as good work for Uncle Sam
when married as single. 81 am married
myself, said he, land 1 don't believe that
it impairs my work. Ii you want to enter
into the bonds of matrimony, by all means
do SO, and [ will see that you are retained
Postmaster General Villas not only said this
but he kept the maiden, and it came to be
known that other clerks might marry if
they would, and the rule is now one of the
unwritten laws of the postof1ice depart
menF
THE WORKING HOURS
of the postoffice clerks are from am to 4
pm, and there is an half hour or so given
for luncheon at noon. Most of the ladies
bring their lunches with them and piece
these out with cup of hot coffee or tea
from the restaurant. In the pension Office
and l suppose the same holds good in the
postoffice department.. some of the ladies
|
on their desks just before lunch time and
heat some hot water with which they make
; tea. They can do this without taking W
: any of the governments time, and it is
more economical and far more drinkable
than the stuff that comes from the colored
cook shops in the basement. A few OF the
ladies go out of the department for theil
: luncheons, and the regular luncheon fol
} the half of Washington is bought for II
J cents. We have set of Dairy luncheon
f rooms here which are different from those
of any other city. They furnish only
coffee, milk, sandwiches and pie. You
? must stand up to eat your lunch, and every
one waits upon himself, getting his edible
at the counter and paying his bill accord
ing to the fixed prices. The drinkables arr
served out to order, and you get about
pint of the best coffee for cents and an
e other nickel will supply you with piece o
e pumpkin pie which will make your mouth
q water, or sandwich Of cheese or ham vii
I stick 10 your ribs and satisfy your stomach
t The streets of Washington are Away
t crowded at o'clock in the aftern Don. A
s this time the great government depart
, ments dismiss something like
TWENTY THOUSAND CLERKS,
and a stream of all sorts of humanity pour
forth from the cave-like entrances of th
treasury; and these eighty postof1ice ladie
trGt down the steps of the big stone build
. ing and mix with the crowds which rus
: forth from the great parthenon-like paten
5 Office across the way. Here is good plac
5 to note the character of the women. Gray
4 haired ladies walk out with pretty madens
2 and you note that the crowd is as well
e dressed as any you have ever seen. If 70
I are judge of faces you will find as intel
!. lectual countenances here as anywhere
Y and you can not but note that the ladies ar
d as refined as any in the world
: If you will now re enter the great build
t ing you will find different class of wor
+ going on. The scrubbers and cleaners hav
e taken it in hand, and scores of brooms an
e mops are moving over the marble floors
Y thousand waste baskets filled with paper
j are carried out of a thousand rooms, an
) everything looks hazy through the cloud o
e dust that has sprung magic like from tn
o floor. These women are paid by the day
a They have regular organization and the
s go at their work like an army going t
S battle. In higher rank above them, bu
t below the regular clerks, there is
ANOTHER CLASS OF WOMEN
r who make their living out of the postoffic
|, department These are the sewers an
: patchers. They take up the old mail bag
| 10 of md Oh ol~> !.