The times., 1901-03-11
FREIGHT SHIPPED AS MAIL
Members of Congress Not Slow to
Use Their Franks.
The Articles Sent by the PostOgice
Department Range From Laundry
to Safes and Carriages Behav-
ing More Modestiy This Year.

Department Range From Laundry
to Safes and Carriages - Behav-
ing More Modestiy This Year.
At the close of each session of Con-
gress. when the exodus of members,
clerks, and attaches takes place, the
Washington City PostofIice has a diff
cult time to handle the outgoing mail.
Especially is this true at the end of a
Congress when many members of both
branches retire to private life The rea-
son for this exodus of mail is not hard
to find Senators and Representatives
have the privilege of franking their per-
sonal effects through the mails In
theory, this franking privilege extends
only to Congressional documents, books.
papers, and letters relating to ofi1clal
business but in practice it covers almost
everything that the ordinary member
of the Senate or House has in his pos
session. 1t is one of the perquistes con-
nected with Congressional life, which
make the life bearable.
Toward the end Of the session each law
maker receives from the Capitol carpenter
shop three chests. Two of them are OF
pine but strongly built and braced. They
are about three feet in length, two IN
width, and a foot and half deep. The
third is of cedar, slightly larger than the
others. Having been utilized for shipping
purposes. it is stored away in some closet,
where it becomes the receptacle for the
family furs, fine dresses, and other ma
terials on which the moth feeds. Some
times it is used as a chest for the family
silver When the Senator or Representa-
tive receives his quota Of boxes he has
nothing to pay They come from the
House carpenter shop and are built by
the House carpenter and paid for out OF
the contingent fund of the Senate and
House.
Into these boxes the member or his
clerk loads all his letter flies, papers,
documents books, maps, and other pub
lications which he has in stock. Type
writer's letter presses, inkstands, and
other office paraphernalia are stored away
in their recesses. Frequently clothing.
bedding, and other personal or household
effects are packed in these boxes. When
filled to the brim they are locked and the
tops screwed down and then carted off
TO the postoffice, where they are shipped
through the mails to all points within the
borders of the United States.
Abuses of the franking system said
an employe Of the postofice yesterday,
are not nearly so prevalent as they were
y
when it was considered the proper thing
for Senators and Representatives to ship
home anything they wished by simply
placing their address and their frank
upon it. That time has, fortunately for
the service, gone by. 1t is now considered
a breach of good manners to ship any
thing under frank that cannot be pack
ed in these special boxes or in the mail
sacks which are provided for documents.
Formerly furniture, desks, trunks. and
even buggies and carriages were franked
home in mail cars Nowadays we seldom
come across anything Of that kind except
an occasional trunk or two.
1T is also no longer considered a fair
thing to send laundry or family wash
home and have ii returned under a frank.
There used to be a Representative from
Indiana who was addicted TO this habit.
He had q family of about five children,
and yet after two terms he retired with
about $4,000. which he had saved out OF
his salary. One OF his daughters acted as
his private secretary, another was clerk
in one of the departments, and a small
son was page at the Capitol. The entire
family practiced rigid economy, and
among other things the Representative
each week franked home his family wash
ing. OF course, he did not save much by
the operation, but in the course of his
four years service il must have amounted
10 $20O. l have heard he was one of those
members who use their committee sta
tionery and draw their allowance in
cash
What was the most difficult shipment
you have known enquired the reporter.
"Well, we have had many difficult and
peculiar jobs in that line responded the
postOffice employe Probably the worst
job / ever had to tackle was when a re-
tiring Senator franked home safe. In
his committee room at the Capitol he had
very fine and large safe which had
been purchased for the use of his COM
mittee, but which had been condemned
a n sol IN i'm at ina Tlrina u
weighed about 6008 pounds. All the Sena-
tor did was 10 place an address and
frank upon IL and notify the officers of
the Senate pOStoffice to some and get Ii.
accompanied by much sweating and pro-
family What the clerks in the postofice
said where it was shipped when it landed
| have never heard. ! don't think II was
delivered by a letter carrier
We used to have considerable diff
Guilty with household furniture. A fold
ing bed or a lounge is not a desirable
object in a postal car. II is bad enough
to have the car filled with bags Of docu-
ments or boxes of goods, but when it
comes to marble topped tables, boxes Of
bric-a-brac and other things of that
character, including china closets and
kitchen utensils ones patience is strain
ed to the limit. ] have heard OF a Re
preventative once who franked home an
upright piano. The clerks We're so en-
ragged at his presumption that heavy
box was allowed to drop, accidentally, of
course. upon the llQ, NIllCn was SpIll open.
Then a leaky lamp was hung right ever
the piano, and by the time II reached its
destination il was very badly damaged.
OF course the Representative had no re-
course and could not make a complaint
about the treatment his piano received
when he was clearly violating the law.
I'VE have had some queer requests IN
regard to the shipping of franked matter.
Just a few days ago a Representative
from q Western State brought a hand
some fox terrier to the office, which he
wished to frank TO his home. We per-
suaded him the dog might suffer from
inattention en- route and he sent it by eX-
press. There is a member of the Senate
who was once accused, according to the
public press, of franking home his horses
and carriage. l am not saying whether
this is true or not. but the hullaballOO
which was raised by the publication of
the charge prevented a repetition Of the
abuses of the franking privilege since
the passage of the new law. Still, the
outgoing Congress has a respectable rec
ord in that line. over !, 900 boxes have
been or viii be, shipped to different parts
of the country, together with more than
that number of bags of public documents
which will be distributed by the members
and ex-members. during the summer sea-
100 900 pounds and the shipments average
10000 pounds or ten tons day. AS it costs
{ cents pound on the average you can
see that the POStOfftce Department eX-
pendS q considerable sum every year in
moving the effects of the members of
Congress.
How IS ii that no complaint is made?"
you see, ii S this way Congress makes
the laws, and Congress Appropriated the