Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1896-10-08
OUR NEW YORK LETTER.
Wagon Mail Collectors Beaten by Car
riers on Foot How Scandals Az
feet an Actress Value.

Especial correspondence
The government recently bought two
novel mail collecting wagons, and one
of them was recently given trial trip
in this city The vehicle is a very swell
appearing affair, decorated in white
and gold and drawn by beautiful
pair of bays with shining TANKS and
docked tails, and it had driver who was
on full dress parade. The wagon is built
after the ambulance pattern, the body
hanging low OH the springs and the
wheels fitted with rubber tires. The We
hicle is II feet long, feet wide and 9
feet A inches in height. 1t is lighted by
gas, two coach lamps being placed on
either side of the drivers seat and two
burners similar to those in the cable
cars being set in the interior. The wag-
on is fitted with six big windows ex-
tending along the entire length of the
wagon, three OH side, and the door at
the rear end, reached by single step,
is also fitted with window. Racks ca
pable of holding six mail pouches are
fitted on the right side of the wagon,
and distributing table is built against
the left side. In the front is a series of
boxes for the sorted letters. On the
sides in gold letters is the inscription,
UNITED States Mail. " The wagon cost
5000.
On its trial trip the vehicle carried
eight men and traversed Broadway and
Fifth and Sixth avenues from Twenty
first to Forty third street, collecting let
ters from rs boxes, including the hotels
and clubhouses of the district In all
about 5000 letters Were collected, in
Guiding three bundles of foreign mail.
Beaten by the Carriers.
These were sorted into four different
classes as fast as they were collected.
The wagon returned to station + and
delivered the mail at 8 80 o'clock, hav-
ing made the journey in hour and so
minutes. 1t had covered four collection
routes in that time. Spectacularly the
trip was decidedly popular hit. 1t
wasn't success, though, as time
saver This wasn't the fault of the
wagon, but was rather attributable to
the lengthy route laid out for it. The
carriers afoot easily beat it, The four
| carriers who went over the same route
got back to the station in As minutes,
and their mail was all distributed by
the time the wagon got back. IL took
only about five minutes to sort the mail
the carriers brought in.
The Dead Rooms" Of the Police.
The dead rooms" at police head
quarters are the most interesting rooms
in the big building. They are filled
with confiscated property, the result of
raids and arrests. There are fantan
buttons and opium layouts, bowls, pipes
and lamps; there are policy sheets, car
bon paper pads and blanks from the lot
terry and policy dens there are slot ma
chimes from saloons; there are roulette
and faro tables, wheels Of fortune and
gambling layouts of all description
there are bicycles, baby carriages, pic
lures trunks full of clothing, watches,
rolls of silk taken from shoplifters,
clothing and jewelry of all sorts. Much
of this stuff is evidence, and that which
is unclaimed and unidentified is either
finally destroyed or sold at auction, the
proceeds going TO the police pension
fund.
The first Christian Science church in
this city was opened recently. 1t is
known as the First Church of Christ
(Scientists) of New York city. The So
ciety has bought and remodeled at a
cost of 800, 900 the church formerly &C.
cupied by the Rev. Heber Newton.
The Value Of Theatrical Scandals.
The latest of Fay Templeton's elope-
ments led theatrical manager who
makes and sells amusements in who'll
ly commercial spirit to make the fol-
lowing remarks: You ask me whether
Fay's value will be increased by this
affair or lessened, and / answer that it
will be increased She is burlesque
actress. If she were in the legitimate, ;
scandal would hurt her in business
way. have observed the effect of such
things very carefully. An actress of Sc
rious roles is worth more to the play in
which she is engaged and to the man
ager who employs her if she is known
to be q woman Of unblemished private
character. OF course great genius, like
Bernhardt, commands an art pedestal
to stand on, and nobody thinks Of throw
ing her off it, But | am speaking of the
ordinary leading actress, or star, and
what / say is that no manager can af
ford to put a VIGOROUSLY misbehaving
actress forward as the circumspect hero
inc of sober play. The intended dra-
matte effect is defeated if the audience
knows that the impersonator of hero
inc is herself the opposite of the charac-
ter portrayed. But when you come down
to burlesque and vaudeville, a scandal
doesn't hurt performer bit. On the
contrary, she is valuably advertised by
a divorce an elopement or any escapade
of that general sort.
THE reason for this is that she fig
ures on the stage as an individual enter
tainer and not as the character which
she assumes. Therefore notoriety makes
her d more interesting object. What
mean is that her role in scantily cloth
ed burlesque can't be affected injurious
ly by the publication of her own erratio
conduct off the stage, and, on the other
band, she becomes more of an exhibit.
| Templeton's elopements render her all