Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1901-03-31
IMPOSE UPDN UNCLE SAh
Members of Both Houses Use the
Mails for Private Advantage.
Piano FFanked from Washington
to q Far Distant State-End OF
Each Session Causes Embnrrass-
ment to Postofnce OfAcials.
Baltimore Sun.

At the close of each session of Congress,
attaches takes place. the Washington city
postoffice has difficult time to handle
the outgoing mail. Especially is this true
at the end of a Congress when many
members of both branches retire to pri-
vate life.
The reason for this rush of mail is not
hard to find. Senators and representatives
have the privilege of franking home their
personal effects through the mails. In
theory this Thanking privilege extends
only to the congressional documents,
books, papers and letters relating to Off
cial business, but in practice it covers al
most everything which the ordinary men,
Der of the senate or house has in his pos
session. 1t is one of the perquisites con-
nected with congressional life which make
the life bearable
Toward the end of the session the con-
| man finds himself presented with three
chests. Two of them are of pine, but
strongly built and braced. They are
about three feet in legnth, two in width
and foot and half deep. The third is
of cedar slightly larger than the others.
Having been utilized for shipping pur-
poses, it is stored away in some closet,
where it becomes the receptacle for the
family furs fine dresses and other ma
terias on which the moth feeds. Some
times it is used as chest for the family
silver. These cedar chests would sell for
from $40 to $25 in any furniture store, and
while the pine chests are not so handsome
they are quite presentabie. When the
rpoeiyac his af
he has nothing to pay. They come from
the official carpenter shop and are built
by the official carpenter and paid for out
of the contingent fund. In fact the prin-
cipal duty of the carpenter is to construct
the hundred of boxes used by members
Go as Mail Matter.
Into these boxes the member or his
clerk loads all his letter files, papers, doc
uments, books, maps and other publica-
tons which he has in stock. Typewriters
letter presses, inkstands and other office
paraphernalia are stored away in their
recesses. Frequently clothing, bedding
and other personal or household effects
are packed away. When filled to the brim
they are locked and the tops screwed
down and then carted off to the post
office, where they are shipped through
the mails to all points within the borders
of the United States.
Abuses of the Thanking SYSTEM said
griz3led employee of the postoffice to-
day. "are not nearly so prevalent as they
wsss some years ago L remember the
time when it was considered the proper
thing for senators and members to ship
home anything they wished by simply
placing their address and itheir frank
upon it. That time has, fortunately for
the service, gone by. 1t is snow consid-
cred a breach of good manners to ship
anything under a frank that cannot be
packed in the special boxes, or in the
mail sacks which are provided for docu-
ments. Formerly furniture desks, trunks,
and even buggies and carriages were
franked home in mail cars. Nowadays
we very seldom come across anything of
that kind, except an occasional trunk or
two. 1t is also no longer considered au
fait for a congressman to send his laun-
dry or family wash to his home and have
it returned under his frank
Safe Was Frankcd.
There used to be member of Congress
from a western State who was addicted
to this habit. He had a 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 a clerk in one of the depart
ments and small son was a page at the
capitol. The entire family practiced rigid
economy and among other things the
congressman each week franked home his
family wash. OF course, he did not save
much by the operation, but in the course