The morning call., 1894-07-31
BISSELL DID 1T.
Outbids All the Local
ClOthiers.
CARRIERS DARE NOT OBJECT
The Postmaster-General in
New Role.
CARRIERS DARE NOT OBJECT
DRUMS FOR PHILADELPHIANs.
CIeveIand's Bosom Friend Concerned
in an Effort to MonOpoIize Or
derS for Uniforms.

Uncle Sam has at last taken a step
which may ultimately lead to Government
ownership of railroads. 1t, of course.
takes a long head TO see it in that light
and probably no one but Cleveland Post
master-G General could have worked out the
conundrum. 1t has been run to its hole in
San Francisco, and special treasury agents
are now watching the hole.
The Cleveland administration has gone
into the clothing business, and the letter
carriers and clothing merchants of this
city are the ones who are getting the worst
of the new deal From what is learned
here the letter-carrieTs and clothing mer-
chants Of every other city in the country
also, with the exception of Philadelphia,
are being treated in the same way.
Maybe it is not a step in the direction of
Government control Of railroads after all.
Maybe Postmas teT-General Bissell merely
wants to show he knows as much about
the clothing business as his predecessor,
Mr.. Wanamaker. and. unlike the latter.
refuses to keep the clothing business out of
the department. Or, it maybe, as some
cruel Populists suggest. the rOtun6 Post
masier-General has friends in the hand
me-down line. Why not? Hasn't CleYe-
land friends in the coal and iron trade he
is said to care for? Bissell may have
friends. too.
But no matter what may have in
fueuced the administration in entering
the trade it is there. 1t doesn't seem to
have opened an emporium yet, but is very
active in brokerage way.
1t was modest at the start-off-maybe it
was insidiousness instead Of publicity. 1t
worked easily and gently. 1t kept
under cover, as it were, for several
months, and then when it got It's second
wind and oveTcame the stage fright of its
first appearance in the retail line 1t be-
came bold as lion and now is open and
above board in its methods.
These same methods il used BY one COM
binatiou of men against another would be
termed blackmail. But then when the ad-
minlstrstiOn goes in for such things it
could hardly be called that, could it
The men who suffer most would certainly
not have the temerity to do so.
About three months ago Postmaster
Backus received a communication from
the department at Washington to the effect
that Fecheimer Brothers of Philadelphia,
Pa. probably made the finest uniforms for
letter-carriers on earth. Would the Post
master at San Francisco kindly inform
his carriers that Fecheimer Brothers,
probably, made the finest uniforms On
earth?
Would he? Why, of course he would.
But, being Republican, Mr.. Backus was
not particularly enam0red of acting as
barker for the new clothing syndicate,
l.
the carriers might see it.
The carriers saw it all right and talked
about it, and wondered what the Postmas-
ter-General was driving at, but they didn't
send their orders in to Fecheimer Bros. OF
Philadelphia, who. probably, made the
finest uniforms. ETC. They had two rea-
sons for this, the most of them. In the
first place they had uniforms in good con-
dition already. They didn't need new ones
The other reason was that when they did
need any they proposed to patronize home
industry. In San Francisco they could get
just as good uniforms as from
Fecheimer Brothers, and for Just
as little money. And they proposed to do
so. They, therefore. took no notice of Mr.
BisselPs communication. They wore
their same old uniforms. one or two
bought new ones here in San Fran
cisco and no more would have
been heard of the matter, probably,
had not the administration gone heart and
soul into the business The Postmaster
General had evidently based great hopes
on the effect of his notice in San Fran
cisco. There were 105 gray-coated carriers
here. and, from the distance he sat in
Washington, it looked like 105 orders for
uniforms from Fecheimer Bros. in a bunch
From his eyre in the nations Capitol he
cast his eagle eye athwart the backbone
of the continent, and looked for that speck
no bigger than money order which was
bound to accompany the first request from
the Golden Gate for uniforms.
Had he been looking till the present time
he might have had strablsmus. The orders
that he lOnged for never came. He waited
and looked and looked and waited. Then
ne got tired. He started out drumming UP
trade again. A second and more urgent
request came that the carriers send their
orders to Fecheimer Bros. of Philadel-
phia. It was very polite. but those who
have read it say ii was directly to the point
and conveyed to the minds of the carriers
the impression that they had better get a
move Cd. They knew. of course, that they
were working under the civil service. and
that il they refused they could probably
make a fight with the Postmaster General.
But they didn't-none of them. They
bad probably read somewhere that
there were more ways of killing
a cat than drowning him. and they
also had dim suspicion that Mr.. Bissell
was acquainted with the other method.
They took no chances. The orders went
In to Fecheimer Bros. whether the men
needed new uniforms or not. and now you
see the result.
The carriers have new uniforms. which