The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-04-22


way
The telegram; was from r. NJ. S. chief
clerk and read as follows: "Deadhead to
Pittsburg tonight and take Kansas paper
run on eleven tomorrow"
This meant that L should start at once
with the messenger. Very sadly 1 looked
at the cold rain splashing the windows.
and at the warm supper. and Stella. For
moment / saw two stars shine through
a mist, but the storm was over in a mo-
ment, and she brought my hat and coat
ITS too bad" she said. land it breaks
any woman's heart to cook in vain. But
IL / understand your remarks to papa the
mail service is a big machine that never
stops. night or day. So il one clerk should
fail many people might be disappointed
The sick might see their friends no more.
Business would suffer, love affairs be
broken off. Go cheerfully IL you would
be -"
She stopped and then I thought about
bees for a long time. AS we drove away
L saw Bill Hayes take my place at the
table, and the cold air caused considerable
moisture in my eyes. Arriving just in
time at the station, / sat down, supperless
and detected, to doze all night as the train
rushed along cleaving it's way through the
wintry storm
was to begin service at Pittsburg on the
wsst-bound trip. There / stepped off be-
fore daylight amid binding drifts of snow
ITS a dale of throuble the thrains will
how" said man with a shovel In the
mail room found eleven other clerks with
whom I was assigned. Many clerks from
other lines were in the room. Before the
day ended we would be far apart in all
directions-at Chicago, Toledo Cleveland,
Erie. Buffalo. New York city, Baltimore,
Cincinnati, Indianapolis and many other
places. This little companys combined
knowledge of geography was beyond con-
ception. comprising. no doubt, the exact
location of one-half the postoffices in the
United States. Some were preparing regis
| tered packages for delivery. Others were
laughing at the remarks of Clerk Grumple,
of the Pittsburg e. Nixietown r. P. o. He
was a pessimist. and to describe the gloomy
outlook seemed his great and only joy
Ibid somebody inquire what is the mat
ter?" said he, advancing toward that
| imaginary individual. what isn't the
| matter? The department makes slaves OF
US; the superintendent puts heavy burdens
| on our devoted backs and the chief clerks
| will not touch a finger to them. Our NJ
| C.'s bravely take up our cause and Just
| as bravely lay it down again. Keep the
mail in motion from origin to destination
| is the department motto. / have been kept
| in motion day and night until have come
| pretty close to my destination. 1 tell you
| there will be a general collapse in this
country soon. It's tottering right now"
Mr.. Cheekley, who was clerk in charge
/ of my crew, gazed up at the hillside hun
dreds of feet above us to ascertain If 1t
were falling. and leaned as far from it as
| possible. Now, Grumple," he interrupted,
| you stop; we are aware there is trouble
| on your line, almost everybody sick. mails
| heavy and the procession of corncribs on
wheels which you call train is running
| from six to seventeen hours late. The de-
partment is not at fault. Big mails indi-
| cate prosperity. You are not compelled to
| keep up another clerks run, but are do
| ing so by your own offer. Voluntarily,
when showed in at Frosty Cut you worked
twenty-seven hours without sleep to avoid
delaying any mail. Then you protected
| the branch run instead of coming home to
| rest The general superintendent did not
| compel you to do these things, neither did
| the division superintendent or chief clerk
| The peculiar conditions demanded it and
| you made the sacrifice. 1t was your own
| loyalty and not department orders that
| deprived you of rest for so long Yet I
| hear noise about oppression. oh, what a
| reprobate! The rest of us are no better
| We deny ourselves nearly all social and
| literary enjoyment for the sake of the
| service. We can talk to our wives and
sweethearts of nothing scarcely but checks
| and slips and failures to catch, because
our minds are constantly on these things
We walk down the street repeating men,
| tally 'Buttsville.' Edinburg,' 'Grubbtown.
Shot,, Starlight Trenton 'Wyandotte
| and thousand other postoffice names be-
cause we cannot otherwise remember
them. Another hardship is our enforced
Sabbath dissertation, for which angels
| weep. Day and night we are bowled along
! with death close on the right hand and
not far from the left. We are shocked
| and Jared until our finer sensbilities are
| gone Gladly would the department pre-
vent these hardships. 1t cannot, because
| the nature of the service requires it,
| Clerk Grumple now went away. SAYING
he had been outraged and outgrumpled
i
waiting room to shake hands with a little
| girl who said very confidentially, ct wist
| you seen my kittie cat Her eat a yop
| toad" He smiled with a tear in his eve
for his own little girl had been taken
| away while he was out on the mail train
| Soon our train sailed in proudly with a
pile of snow on the pilot and a wreath of
steam encircling the engine. We scram-
| bled up the snow-laden steps and found
| every car filled to the roof. Clerk-in-
charge Checkley remarked: eve never
| surrender before the battle, but we are
surely In for fight to-day" Looking along
the interior of the six mail cars in the
train, could see all the clerks hastily be-
| ginning work Many pouches were emptied
| on the tables and a rapid clicking sound
| was heard as the letters went flying to
| their places. Trained fingers moving swift
| ly about the case always found the right
| box among the five hundred pigeon holes
| as If by instinct. Soon packages of papers
| appeared in the air. thrown by skillful
hands into canvas sacks hung in an iron
| rack with their open mouths up. Some
| papers were so bulky as scarcely TO enter a