The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1898-12-25

Nilen packages ana DunuleS are going
astray, the public are clamoring to tell
their own personal troubles to the
postmaster at a time when he least
wishes to hear them. The trouble is
not that Postmaster Greene objects to
the complaints Of the public. These he
has every. reason to expect. 1t is of an
entirely different nature, and win pos
sibly seriously cripple the general
service in this city unless the post Of
| flee department awakes from its seem
ing slumbers and begins to realize that
Worcester is a city of no mean proper
tons, and that the needs of the local
post office are year by year increasing.
As it has been time after time in the
past, the trouble today is with the 10
cal mail transfer service, known as the
screen wagon service. Up to within a
month or so ago the service provided
was disgrace to the city. For moptns
complaints have been pouring IN to
PostmaSsec Greene, and at his instiga-
ton the contract with the Louisville,
KY, contractor, which contract in turn
was sub-let to Raymond f. Couch, was
abrogated and the transfer of the mails
was left to the discretion of the post
master. After investigation an agree
ment was effected between Postmaster
Greene and Calvin Farnsworth, the
baggage transfer agent, and for the
past six weeks Worcester has had a
service adequate to the needs of the
department here. The malls at the
central office have been received and
forwarded punctually, the teams pro-
Vlded have been first class in every re-
spect, and the postmasteTs fondest
hope has been that the temporary
service might be permanently main
tanned. Evidently it would have been.
Tor the contractor has done nothing to-
ward providing a new service. except
70 send a representative to investigate
the facts of the case. 1t is supposed
that, from reports of the service that
MI. Farnsworth was giving, he con
Guided that his cheapest course would
be to let this temporary service go on
indefinitely, even if it was a little more
| expensive.
Both Postmaster Greene and the con-
tractor, however, mad reekoned without
MI. F'arnsworth, and it is just this
lack of exact reckoning that has
caused all the present pcrplexity. Mr.
Farnsworth thought that he had a
| good thing. He figured that he was
! practically in the same business, and
that it would not tax his baggage ser
vice to any great extent, and that it
would keep his men busy Today he
knows he has a good thing, but it is
| one OF those good things that he be-
lleYes should be pushed alcng and that
swiftly. He realizes today that he has
a white elephant to support, and he
does not feel equal TO sustain the bur-
! den- But try as he will he cannot
seem to shake the thing off
! Last Monday he notified Postmaster
| Greene that he desired to give up his
| contract to transport the mails. and
the postmaster at once wired to Wash
ington the facts and waited for in
! structlons. When they arrived he was
no better off, for not only would they
not increase the appropriation, but yes
| terday they instructed him to cut down
| the number of trips, thereby curtailing
! the service to sqrious extent. Mr..
farnSWorth agreed to continue the SER
vice for a day or two, but late yes
terday said that he vas DESTROYS of
! terminating the contract at once. IT
seems probable that unless something
! IS done tomorrow, he will carry out his
threat and call off his teams and men.
This will leave the postmaster in an
awful predicament. BY the rules of
the department, he Is obliged to have
the mails properly transferred, and yet
ne is hampered by an insufficiency of
FUNDS to properly comply.
For the past few days he has been
| IN quandary. Beside all the other
| perpleXing questions that arise in the
usual course of his Office at this time
OF the year, this one question of mail
transfer surmounts them all and he
mas been searching for some one who
would be willing 70 undertake the con
tract Almost every available stable
/ keeper has been seen, and they have
one and all given him the cold shout
DER. Men whom he has seen consider
| the contract at the price set lpon il
a veritable gold brick. Some Of them
claim that to accept the contract would
mean that they must be out OF pocket
from $500 to $1,000.
Postmaster Greene, however. is 60
ing TO exhaust every means in his en-
deaYor TO find some one to do the
/ work. Late last evening it was learned
That y. A. Kelley had been figuring on
| the contract. and that he thought thai
he could do the job cheaper than amy
one else here, from the fact that he had
always on hand a large number OF
horses that need exercise. and this work
would put them in the pink of condi-
ton. Those who know more about the
service, however, think that there is moi
4 a horse living that would be able tc
time If exercise is what they require
then they will get their fill, if Mr. KEEL
ley takes the contract Alderman Hill
dreth also thinks that he might be able
TO conveniently help the postmaster out
Of the dilemma, but then again he has
+ another think. After he has thought
+ over Sunday, he also win probably
4 conclude not to touch the good thing.
! AS an indication of the work that is
almost daily required to be done under
4 the contract, it may be stated that on
1 Friday over 40 pouches were dispatch
ed from the local post office, and about
! 20 received which means that over a
thousand pouches were handled by the
I transfer clerks. This, of course, was
+ Christmas business, and was much
heavier than usual; STILL the average
number of pouches handled each day
is upwards of five hundred. Regarding
the order to cut down the number OF
! trips, the postmaster says that this
cannot be done without serious injury
4 TO the service Business men win at
once complain if this order is nut into
force, and there win be no end of kick
ing The whole affair is very disagree
able, and is likely to cause many COM
4 plants. Postmaster Greene is going to
/ do the very bes. he can under the cir
cumstances without hampefing the
4 service or causing any serious delays
| but how he IS gong to accomplish il
Z is a very vexing question. He thinks
that the head Of the department cannot
realize the existing state of affairs, al
though an inspector from the Office OF
the second assistant secretary was III
Worcester only a short time ago on a
tour Of investigation. 1t is likely that
he will have to make another triE
Worcesterward ere the difficulty is fin
ally adjusted. In the meantime Mr.
4 Farnsworth carries the mail, and the
| joke is on him.