, 1897-11-27
LETTERS STOPPED IN iME
People Saved by Postnas:crs From the
Resn.t of Hasty Action.

S'o
Resn.t of Hssty Action.
1.-The tears We're streaming from her
eyes like spray from the Ycrkes foun
tain,' said Il clerk i'll the inquiry di-
visicl Of the posto!icc. laughing 1T the
memory Of TIE stout, l:orid woman who
rushed i'll IL hot Afternoon with the
plaintive wall: stop my letter. Give
me my letter to the old couutry!'
"That letter. the man went on.
twas dropped somewhere within the
city limits and was mixed in with some
1000, 900 other letters, yet she wanted
us to get it for her quick-sramcd to
think that | would bounce out of my
chair like Il rubber ball out of Il tennis
racket, snatch up that particular epis-
tie come running back brcathless
and hand it to her. Row, the facts are
that the government does not permit
the stopping uf IL letter that has left the
writer's hands unless it is important
that it shoUld he done. 1t makes an
enormous amount Of extra work. Here
is Il blank that must lie filled out, stat
ing the box in which the letter was
dropped. the time. the address and the
reason why the request Tor the recovery
is made. That reason sometimes dis
closes some very iutrrrs ing ana rulran-
tic facts; but, of ours. most Of the
letters are stopped for the business
houses about town. When We asked the
red faced NiDbe what her reason was,
she bo0huOud, Me an my man had
some troubles, an | wrote to my filer
for moneys to 90 home, but my man
an me have Eade up, an | would not
have that letter go for II t'ouSand dol
lar We got that letter for her.
"Thcrc WAS another. Il young wGman
who rushed in here during the opera
season, and when She had caught Il little
breath she said she wanted ii lrttc1 She
had addressed to Peoria, Ills. There
We're sOmc 81 opera tickets il ii that She
wanted to use that night. Sh" had had
a letter written to her family, and,
thinking there might be Il postscript to
add. had not scalcd it. She bought her
seats to 'Tannhauscr' and lift the win.
dow with hur purse, her letter and her
tickets i'll her hand. The open envelope
was 50 inviting " place for the tickets
that She thought she would carry them
there, but just rs soon as She saw II let
ter box it WIS like Il red rag to Il bull.
She scaled the envelope and posted it,
tickets and all. and it was hours lcfore
she remembered what she bad done and
then calnc down to us for help. We got
her tickets too
Young women who have 'reconsid-
cred II proposal or who regret Il husty
note, like the men, blushiMIly coniide
their troubl' to us, and we have pre-
vented more Than II broken heart.
"Sometimc~ the letters have left our
hands and We have to tel graph to catch
them, which is done mt the persona FIX
pense. We have more than oncc called
to Berlin and 1t. Petersburg to head off
IA billet douS or some reqi"a from an
impatient and p''ullnt son for u check.
a scion Of Il noble German house came
i'll here 10 lnlpl Nc us to prevent the de
livery Of IL duudnd iCr money, written.
| fancy, in Il tone that, il tho light Of
recent rcmittunccS, would endanger his
Inheritance Th,ro is some mighty i'll
%terCsting reading among the blanks re-
questing letters Htnppyd, all of which
are sent on to Washington. '-Cbicago
Inter Ocean.