Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-12-22
POST OFFICE SCENES
The Busy Throngs That Surround
the Stamp Windows.
SANTA CLAUS USING THE MAILS
A Large Number of Toys Are Sent
Away.
RATHER FRAIL PACKAGES

Busy at all seasons Of the year, always
on the alert and moving In all it's animate
parts with the rapidity and precision Of .
marvellous machine. the city post ONCE
takes on extra energy at Christmas times
and for three or four days before the hoi-
day and on the great day itself there are
scenes at the big building on G street worth
going many miles to see. When Christ
mas falls early in the week. as 1t does
this year, the hustle among the mail men
begins the week before, and today visitor
to the office would be at his wits end to
understand how system could be MAIN
tanned In the midst of such apparently
inextricable confusion. There are 400 men
at work in the 0lain city post office build
ing on street today receiving and hur-
rying to its destinations the Christmas
mail Of the capital There are over a hum
dred more doing the same thing in the
various branch offices.
Expediting the Work.
The main building reminds one for all
the world of bee hive. A steady swarm
of people glides through the doors without
cessation, bearing for the most part pack
ages in their arms. Usually such persons
go to the stamp windows and hand in. their
the packages and tell the prospective send
ers how much postage will be required.
Today there is no time to follow the regu-
lar custom The rush would clog up the
arteries of business and the people would
jam the corridors and get angry at delay.
So there are a number of attendants on the
outside of the windows who quickly take
the packages and bundles from visitors,
weigh them on convenient scales and
quickly mark upon them the amount OF
postage necessary to carry them to the
far-off friends. In this way the stamp
clerks merely have to sell the stamps, and
the quick and accurate way in which they
supply their customers wants is something
remarkable.
But II the crowd coming with the mail
is busy, one should see the lively scenes
on the inside, where the precious pack
ages are being prepared for their long Jour-
neys in Uncle Sans cars. When a stamp
on letter is to be Cancelled the operation
is simple. There are four wonderful ma
chimes in the city post Office which fairly
eat up the value of postage stamps in .
commercial sense Two of them have q
capacity of blotting out the faces of 5000
stamps an hour and the two others will do
the same destructive business for 5000 IN
the same time. Both machines are Of
American invention and never make a mis-
take. The more rapid machines feed them
selves, that is, the letters are laid in q
line three or four hundred at time on
slight incline aud are pulled through
like lightning, coming out at the other side
with the stamps cance1ed and the hour
of the receipt of the letters stamped upon
them.
The Care of Packages.
With packages, however, hand labor
is employed to do all this sort of work,
and at Christmas times great care must
be taken in their handling, because the
government allows its citizens to send any,
thing through the mails except live rep
tiles, loaded revolvers, dirk knives and
other sharp-pointed instruments and Linn
burger cheese. unless the latter is wrapped
In carbolic paper. So at this season of the
year many frail articles are entrusted to
the post office people for care and delivery
and in 800 cases out of thousand they
reach their recipient right side up with
care and complete in every particular.
Some people are careless in preparing their
packages for the mail and frequently in
such instances the defects are remedied
with an extra string or deft slap of the
paste brush.
Then hundt eds of articles are mailed
without sufficient postage while scores are
handed in without complete addresses
If everybody would put their own name
and address on every package they send
out and do this before writing the other
address or putting on the stamps they
would save themselves much mortifca-
ton and their far-of friends much disap-
pointment, for the packages containing
such addresses of senders, but deficient In
the other respects, would be Immediately
returned to such senders to have the err
rorS corrected.
There has been slight decrease in the
number OF packages and bundles handled
for the 10Th, 10th and 21st of December
this year over those received on the same
days last year, but they are larger and
heavier, SO that the postage receipts are
about the same.
Toys I'm the Mails.
II is easy to see from the configuration Of
the packages what many of them contain,
and II Is wonderful to see tho number OF
toys that are sent. One man brought IN
four jumping jacks this morning, which he
sent to many different destinations
Another struggled to keep the head of q
blcnde-haired wax doll within the scant
wrapping he had placed around IL, and in
his hurry gave the helpless little creature
a permanent dimple right on the end Of
her nose Numerous people seemed TO have
no sense Of propriety and placed brittle
things In the mail merely covered with
paper, when a pasteboard box would have
insured their safety and made Them easier
to handle by the many busy people through
whose hands they must pass before reach
ing a final abiding place. But with well and
i'll prepared packages, big and little neavy
and light, the post Office force worked
steadily and faithfully, and il will be no
fault of theirs if the Christmas gifts sent
through the mail do not gladden. expectant
hearts in this joyful time of the year.