The Wichita daily eagle., 1894-12-16
81 RATIFIED OVER TO THE OLD TOWN"

'em pay me? And that amt the worst
of it Uncle Sam lets the very feller go
who'll pay the most money. Nine
times out o ten it's the person that re-
ceives n letter who really wants TO do
business with the post Office. Take all
the money that's sent by mail. Who
has the most interest in that? Why,
the feller that gets it, of course. He's
the mar who can be made to yield up.
Gou can most gen'ally tell when there's
money in letter. | got so. when |
was a postmaster up in Amity Dam,
that / could tell every time. Wal. I'd
save out those letters. Then ia send
a good. sharp Yankee around with EN-,
and I'd have him say something like
this: Here's a letter from SO-and-So.
What's 1t worth to you?'
"Wal, they'd naturally dicl<er awhile,
and mabbe the feller wouldn't give
what it was wuth. Then I'd have my
man bring it back to the cfiice. ! tell
We in day or two you'd see that feller
sneakin' round with proposition for
trade Then Ia have him where /
wanted him. You bet he'd come 70
terms. Amt that the way 10 do busi-
ness? tell We it's the way business is
done when its done right. Take plain.
ordinary, everyday article like coal
Do the fellers that own tine coal figure
up how much it viii cost TO carry it To
the city and then get somebody up in
the mines who don't really want % buy
coal 70 pay the freight? Not much.
Those fellers get together and they
say: How bad do the folks up in the
town want coal? 1t IS goin' ter be a
hard winterY If coal is skerse and the
goose bone indicates cold snap, they
load on the price, and they get il, too.
And who pays the most OF II? The com
ftable feller with three or four tons in
his cellar who thinks perhaps he'd bet
ter have FIVE? guess not. Its the
woman who goes out in a calico dress
carryin' an empty coal scuttle. That's
the way TO DO business. But IS to this
post Office mater. why, ! see by the
papers that the government actually
loses money on e."
True" I admitted. "The govern
ment does not attempt % exact large
profits from the postal service. j; has
always been the theory that an inte.-i-
gent hberalitv-"
"Fiddlesticks,' he exclaimed AN
the liberal men know % are poor, ex-
cept one I know feIler up in ATn.ty
Dam who was 50 liberal that he
bought his vile pair q rubber boots
e. she could 90 out and tend the cattle
when IL showed hard Hes z vell-to-
do man. You might call that !utelii-
gent hbe-ality, perhaps, though re
added thoughifully. 1t seems - ne.
Iookin' back on il. that She might have
got along without the boots
Did ron succeed IN introducing your
theory OF the service when yOu we're
postmastsr?'
I managed - DO leetle ~ o busi-
ness" be replied, but the people IN
Washington don't give q man u.uch q.
e chance. They make lot q Laws
and ruies that keep the postrnas,ers
poo HoTcvcr. I managed - gei
aloug 7-asu', n ofice q great while.
TIT Fot people n ire hz0i;
u loolin' az ne when they were par
tic'lsrly hurried about letter. There
tiH't much rao1cT NJ u thoSc paris,
mt ] Coi cousider-ble many presents
e various kinds o truck ter hzrTvIs.'
the ietters along Kcpi ne - Vegetables
most - one Winter Sometimes had
- hold ihe letters as Euch ss three or
.our cays nebbe = week. bat that yr-s
before ] got the syste-1 svnrsia'
i had qrIie . business started when
veil thcT put IN so-zri,o-iy slse- Bat
diG : power . cod vzlir va