Evening star., 1900-12-25
NOHOLIDAYFOR THEM
Busy Christmas for Postmen and Ex-
pressmen.
ALL THE RECORDS HAVE BEEN BROKEN
More Packages and Letters De-
Iivered Than Ever Before.
EXECUTED PLAN S

w Il II IL Il ~ L " y L u L. L AAA> ~
Uncle Sam has been assisting Santa Claus
to distribute presents through the Post OF
flee Department., and the great army of
clerks all over the United States have been
called upon to help gladden. the hearts of
| the dear ones.
This is not regarded as the best season
for post office employees. They are called
upon to perform extra labOrS to get the
great mass of Christmas mail moving, and
right Loyalty do they perform their task
No doubt they realize the millions of hearts
that will be made happy by the prompt ar
rival of the little gifts that are passing
| through their hands. Everything is done
on the wholesale plan. Bigger sacks are
used and the canceling machines are run
ming night and day to cancel the tribute
Uncle Sam exacts for the use of his mail
department. While countless thousands will
be made happy by the mail man, there will
be many disappointed. Hundreds of valu-
able packages will be lost and no trace Will
ever be found of them or their senders.
They will gravitate through maybe a nun
dred hands until finally they stop in the
property division of the Post Office De-
partment marked dead letter." and two
years later, when perhaps the sender has
forgotten all about them. they are sold TO
the highest bidder. 1t is one Of the sad
features of the ChristmaStide. 1t is not
the value of the present lost so much as
the thought that the dear ones have eor-
gotten. And each year the dead letter
office reapS a rich harvest at the expense
of loving hearts
This year the Christmas packages sent
through the mail have more than doubled
any previous year, and the politicians point
| to the record with pride as another evidence
of prosperity. And statistics bear out the
| fact that, as the mail increases, the iinan-
ces of the people improve. The registry Of
| fees all through the country report unusn-
| ally large receipts. and these, too, give evil
| dence of prosperity.
Postmaster Merritt's Plans.
Each city Is proud of It's local office.
| Washington is very well satisfied with the
| excellence of Postmaster Merritts handling
| of the Christmas mail Being an old post
| office man himself, familiar with every
| branch of the service, he laid his plans
| weeks ago to dispose of the extra mail that
| was certain to come with the holiday sea-
son. Every substitute was drafted and put
| to work, and collectors were given differ
| ent hours in order that they could be util-
| lied as distributors Postmaster Merritt
saw evidences of largely increased busi-
! ness two weeks ago, and there was not
detail missing today when his plan was put
| into operation. There We're only two regu-
! lar deliveries, this being the holiday sched
| ule. 1t would have been Impossible for the
carriers to make more.
! When they reported this morning for the
| first delivery at $50, the office almost
| blocked. Thousands of packages were piled
/ about the big distributing room There
| was no waiting for the bell. All pitched in,
! and by 1880, when the carriers took their
| leave for the first delivery, everything on
| hand was properly distributed as to sec
! tions.
! Routes numbered two and eighty We're the
! heaviest. They were in the northwestern
! part Of the city, and it seemed as if there
| was Christmas letter or box for every
| resident. The carriers staggered under the
| extra weight, but they We're stimulated by
the thought Of the happiness they carried.
| 1t was nearly noon before the last returned,
| fOotsore and weary, only to pitch right in
| again and handle the big mail from New
| York and get out again the 1880 de-
| livery.
| Heaviest Mail in Their Recollection.
Old carriers declare the mail this year Is
| heavier than ever in their recollection, and
| the officials place the increase at Go per
| cent. Superintendent Bell was glad to re-
| port that the packages received were in
| better condition than ever before. The
| senders had used more care in wrapping
| and as a consequence, few were received in
| bad condition. The majority of the in
| creased mail came from the nearby states.
| many packages coming from Maryland,
| Virginia. Pennsylvania and New York.
| hundreds of packages came from the Phil
| ippines, but these mostly arrived during the
| latter part Of last week. and did not COM
| plicate conditions. The proximity of Sum
| day to Christmas proved embarrassing. AS
| there are no deliveries on that day, there
| was a great accumulation. and yesterday 1t
| was all the carriers could do to get them
| out of the way in time for the Christmas
| rush.
Over 13O Mail Carriers.
| A total Of 1873 carriers took care of the
| Washington mail today. Many of the sub
| stitutes worked fourteen hours. They are
| not restricted in their hours; Congress pays
| them for the extra work performed Many
| Of them would willingly have worked
twenty hours. but Superintendent Baker
| thought fourteen hours enough. The mail
| commenced to grow heavy last Thursday,
| and by Saturday 1t threatened to stagnate
| the office. 1t is expected that tomorrow
will see the end of the crush but that the
mail will continue heavy until after New
| Years.
| Express Companies' Facilities Taxed.
| The express companies also largely
| concerned in the spreading of Christmas
cheer in the District OF Columbia. Persons
sending from out Of town presents that are
too large to go through the mails must de-
pend to great extent on the express COM
panies, and during the present holiday sea-
son the latter have been taxed to their ut
most capacity. The joint office Of the Ad-
| ans Express Company and the Southern
Express Company, and the office of the
United States Express Company each re-
sembed an immense beehive today. The
employees Of these corporations have had no
holiday; beyond a few hours sleep at any
| one time they have had no rest. No one
except those connected with the establish
| ments possess an adequate idea Of the
prodigious mass of matter handled.
According to reports secured today, each
| Of the several express companies has
| broken all previous records regards the
| amount Of business transacted this season.
Some idea Of what the increase foots up to
is conveyed by the announcement that the
Adams and Southern companies have found
1t necessary to employ about 500 extra men,
beginning fortnight ago. to say nothing
| OF wagons and horses almost too many to
conveniently count. The United States
Company has likewise been compelled to