Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1901-08-24
MAIL FOR CHINATOWN
The Celestials Help The Carrier to
Distribute Their Letters.

chinatown. with It's underground
passageways. dark alleys. twisting
halls and concealed doors. would be
tho hardest district in this city for the
,,ctmen To cover ii it were not for the
MANY branch postollices which tn,
chinese have established. Every mcr
camille establishment in Mott, Pell
and Doyers SITS and some of the res
taurants and Clubrooms are virtually
sub postofliceS. Mail for individual
Chinese. the riffraff of the quarter, Is
addressed in care of one of these es- ,
tab,ishcd house :, and the work of the
postman is thus much simplificd.
II is rortuntn for the Chinese that
this state of affairs exists. for, efficient
as tn, posta! delivery is, il would be
almost impossible to deliver the Chin
csc mail if the postman had to hunt
M every man for whom letters from
CHINA are received. 1t would be
harder lob than finding John Doc of
poolroom fame. The Chinaman wh" II
not in business keeps out of the direc-
tory for one thing. Then, the name ny
which his relatives in China know him
is likely to be entirely different from
that by which he is known in China
town. for every Chinaman with the
least bit of pride has two or three
names. There are other complications
that would enter into a personal de
livery.
Letters from China usually come ad-
dressed in English to some well known
firm At one end of the envelope,
written in Chinese characters. is the
.,r ~ "a, ~ hon, the. letter
| is intended, and Il request that the firm
will please deliver it ut the earliest OPP
portunity The larger firms have their
addresses printed on envelopes which
are supplied to their regular custom
| trS. The Chinese consider handling
mail matter in the light Of an honor
! abb" trust. and there has never been
| any complaint that letters ar" deliv-
cred to the wrong person. A Chinese
| may have had a serious falling out
| with Il firm and may have transferred
| his business to rival. but mail ad-
| dressed in care % his former connect
| ion always reaches him.
| The Chinese are great letter writers.
| OF course. there is great deal OF bust
| ness correspondence between China
| town and Chinese ports. but much OF
| the mail matter is Of a social nature.
| MANY Chinese who have a good com
| mand of the intricate written Ian
guage of the Dragon Empire make a
| good living writing letters FOR others
of their race who don't know how to
write. When a Chinese in this city
writes to his relatives in China ne in
| closes an addressed envelope.
80 ai
Chinatown than the policeman. In
| fact that hardly expresses it, for the
| policeman only gets the reverence
which comes from fear Of the law.
| while the postman as the link which
connects tn" inhabitants with the land
| of their birth. is most popular lie Is
| a fortunate man every chinese New
| Years week. for he receives many
presents. If he tried to drink all the
| Chinese wine offered To him on hi:
| rounds in the holiday week he would
| never live through il.
! one does not have to consult a ship
| ping guide in Chinatown to learn
when the next mail * due from the
| Far East The chinese know to day
| when every mail arrives. ana figure 70
| the hour regarding the posting oi
| China bound letters. They know that
| il takes thirty-three days for "A letter
| to 20 from New York Ia Hong Kong II
| il is sent by the Vancouver steamers.
| They also know that IL takes little
| longer if sent by the san Francisco 81
Seattle routes. consequently tn@ Van
| Couver mail is always the heavier. Al
| this time of year there are SailinES
| from Vancouver every three weeks.
! In the summer mail reaches New
| York from china on an average 81
| once a week. The day of the week
| differs but the Chinese always know
| lust when it is coming. IN OUTSIDER
| can tell of the prospective maui arfiNai
| nv the crowds that gather about the
| stores. Then the pos'man arrives with
| his sack bullying with mail matter.
| The chinese wait in the StoreSf for their
| mail. which is delivered to them by
one Of the clerks. Some 20 away
| smiling over good news from home.
other faces are StoiCally expression
| less because there were no letters Tor
| them-New York Tribune.