Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1898-05-05
MAILING LETTERS.
Adr. Billtops Has AN Experience Tia,
Is Trying to His
Patience.

Il wonder sometimes" said Mr.. Bill
tops, IF the delays in the mails that we
read about are not due to delays in
getting the letters started. 1 don't
know that all households are like
mine, but / know that sometimes we
nave the greatest time you ever heard
o1 getting the letters that we have writ
ten out of the house; getting them
started at all. For instance:
wrote a letter the other night to
my brother, stamped it and put it on
the shelf in the dining-room alongside
The clock, where 1 could scarcely fail
20 see Il in the morning. l was going
10 take IL out with me then, when 1
went for the paper, which 1 go for my
self instead of having it left, so as to
make sure of getting a breath of fresh
air before breakfast, for can't do with
out the paper and l am certain to go
FOR IL, rain or shine.
Il thought of the letter when / got
up, and later / saw it leaning against
the clock on the dining-room shelf and
thought TO myself that 1 mustn't for
get II. Later still, when had come in
with the paper and had been called out
dining-room, my letter leaning against
the clock on the shelf. HumphI The
minute 1 had turned my back on it !
had forgotten it entirely.
Then 1 tried to get my oldest son
to take it out with him when he went
downtown, at nine o'clock 1 took it
into his room and propped it up against
statuette on the top of his bureau
and said:
Son, there's letter of mine 1 wish
you'd post when you go out
"'An right, pop he says, and /
thought it was as good as posted now,
because i didn't see how he could fail
to see it where had put it; but after
he had gone, walking past his open
door, L saw the letter, standing there
on the bureau, leaning against the
statuette. My son had never thought
of it again, apparently, from the time
he had replied 10 my request.
well, l took the letter back into the
diningroom ard stood it up against
the clock again. I imagined the clock
licked faster as 1 did so, it seemed as
though it made it nervous to have the
letter around so long. l was going
I'd get my youngest daughter to take
it out with her when she went to play,
and put it in the nearest lamppost box.
And she said: Yes. papa but when
went out to luncheon at noon the letter
still stood there leaning against the
clock.
Then 1 made up my mind that some
thing had TO be done; that 1 must sure
lly take that letter out with me when !
went in the afternoon and 1 took it
away from the clock once more and
into my own room, where / was at
work. and stood it onfthe sill of the
window Immediately in front of me; /
couldn't possibly overlook it.
Still later, when 1 had come up from
downtown, ard had gone out for din
ner, 1 saw something leaning against
the clock on the dining-room shelf. ]
picked it up and looked at it, and il was
the letter to my brother. I had left it
on the window sill in my room when
/ went downtown, and Mrs. Billtops,
who is the grand general supervisor of
the household and looks after every
thing and everybody in it, had discov-
cred it there and brought it out and
-0ining-room, as being the place from
which it would be most likely finally
to get started. She was not at all wor-
ried at seeing the letter around so
much. L was two days getting a letter
TO my sister mailed last week she said.
But l didn't let this letter to my
brother wait so long as that. After
dinner l marched up to the clock and
seized the letter-having previously
taken the precaution to put on my hat
and overcoat, so that l wouldn't have
TO lay the letter down anywhere-and
carried it triumphantly TO the branch
post office myself and dropped it gay
~ through the Night and Sunday
Drop only "a hours late.
Now, if the person receiving this let
ter had measured the time that Uncle
Sam took 10 transmit it from the date
thereof. he would have thought that
Uncle Sammy was dead slow; whereas,
the fact was, in this case, at least, that
"a hours of the delay was due TO using
up that amount of time in getting the
letter into the post Office. N. Y. Sun