The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1901-08-22
FIRST TRIP OF MAIL CARRIERS
TODAY.
The Shirtwaist Brigade in Full Uniform
Starts on Its Rounds for the First
Time.

The first house to house mail delivery
for the Territory of Hawaii started
operations this morning.
After considerable and unanticipated
sdelay in getting returns from migrate
Eful citizens who do not seem to fully ap-
preciate the reforms being practised by
Uncle Sam for their benefit, the shirt
waist brigade, consisting of nine de-
liVerers and one collector, donned their
uniforms at an early hour this morning
and started upon their rounds. The
collector and two other men were
mounted on wheels while the rest footed
1t over their various routes
The members of the brigade present.
ed a natty appearance in their new
uniforms, consisting of cadet gray with
a narrow black piping down the seam,
tan leather belts and shirtwaists as
prescribed by the regulation. These
are topped with a campaign hat of the
same shape and general appearance as
those worn by the regular and voIun-
teer army. The satchel containing the
mail is of tan colored soft leather, with
a strap to go over the shoulder, the
same as that used in the states.
The shirtwaists, made of light ma
terial and of a shade a little darker
than the trousers, have proven a lit
tie disappointing in point OF cut. TO
the eye there Is little to distinguish
neBllRee SfllrL
and not a particularly good fit at that.
To obviate the necessity of suspenders
the waists are made to button to the
belt of the trousers in the same way
as the shirtwaists adopted for young
men of very juvenile type, the belt
being merely an accessory that COM
pletes the costume without having any
practical value.
The boys are not carrying out a very
thousand pieces of addressed mail be-
tween them, but there is yet much to be
done in getting in the remainder of the
address slips and getting acquainted
with the idiOcynCrasies of their route.
In the laXity of tropical living, few
houses are provided with letter boxes
and where no one is at hand, the car
rier is confronted with the question of
leaving the mail on the front porch or,
if the door is open, deposlting the letters
on the piano or the card basket.
With a large number of the letter re-
ceiving population, coming to the post
office for mail, especially among the
natives, has become such a matter of
routine and the post office yard such a
rendezvous for gossip that the habit of
years is not to be lightly broken off and
the receipt of a letter at ones own
home would be deemed a tame matter
compared to the delight of eXchang-
ing bits of gossip red hot from the
mail.
With others there is a feeling of un-
certainty that prompts them to declare
in favor of going down to the general
delivery window but the authorities
feel satisfied that once the delivery is
in working order, the convenience of the
system will be appreciated and the di-
reCtory of names greatly enlarged. This
will lead to the REIMBURSEMENT of many
of the boxes, a great number of which
are carrying from two to four peoples
mail.
So far about 1000 persons have an
nounced their preference for mail being
delivered at their own homes and the
names of these have been arranged as a
directory for the use of the carriers.
Their mail was also sorted from the
general delivery this morning and will
he delivered to them during the day.
There are altogether within the free
delivery limits $4,000 persons who may
claim the privilege of the system.
The carriers this morning take with
them a quantity of papers that have
been cumbering the shelves in the gen.
eral delivery window. Friends and re-
latives very often send marked paper
in lieu of writing but the average man
unless he expects paper, seldom asks
for it, with the result that they ac-
cumulate in the postoffice and are even
tually destroyed.
Correspondents themselves add to the
difficulty of the free delivery system by
the use OF too scanty an address. The
fact that Honolulu was sufficiently
large to call for a free delivery system
would probably astonish even many OF
the large firms on the mainland. Johr
Doe, Honolulu, has for so long been q
recognized form of address that 1t will
be some time before the street and
number will be regularly added. The
impression of that fact upon their cor
respondents by Honolulu firms and pri-
vate persons will do much to help in
augurate the system.
The collector, until the new boxes are
in position. which will be sometime
next week, will take up the mail from
the boxes that are already in position ir
the business blocks and elsewhere, some
| twenty-four in number. The posts fol
the mailing boxes are being put up al
the present time and will help, with the
fire and police alarm calls. to give Ho'
nolulu distinctively metropolitan ap'
pearance.