The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1902-02-07


companion We were out some distance
from Washington when / told him to
throw of the pouch OF papers II /
hadn't watched him he would have thrown
the whole bagful out in the middle OF a
field Then I showed him what throwing
OF meant.
Tying out the case is another ex-
preston that is all our own. After the
mail has all been distributed thrown
O1-we Tie the letters up in little bun
dies. faced up and labeled so as TO show
10 was done in our car. Going in stuck
is another expression, not very euphoni-
Gus. il is true, but TO us very full Of
meaning. When We so into our terminal
point with mail yet to be tied out we
have gone IN stuck and we haven't a
thing 70 do but stay at our post until
every letter has been placed in its proper
pouch"
There IS a great deal Of truth in the
adage that the longest way around IS the
quickest way home. when that saying is
applied TO the despatching Of mails" said
Air. G.. F. DetawiCE. Of the Railway Mail
Service. to The Times reporter recently
, ~Oftentimes letters travel hundreds Of
miles to go Eve, and then reach their des-
/ tination earlier by several hours than
n
handle dozens Of letters every day that
! travel $50 miles 10 make a distance Of
five miles. To Illustrate. woman in
HarrisOnburg wants TO mail a letter 20
I her husband who is at Pleasant Valley,
which IS i've miles away. She puts it IN
I The pCstOtIce at HaTTisOnbuTg al 3 p. m.
/ That letter Is put aboard train No. q.
/ Washington and Harrisonburg Railway
Z Postothce- The clerk in that postal car
puts il in d pouch for the Washington
and Hinton Railway POstOfice. It reaches
I the Baltimore and Potomac station at
/ Washington at go 2. m it lies there
for lev minutes. resting. as it were,
( after a journey of 143 miles. Then il is
put aboard the Chesapeake and Ohio train
Tor the West. and leaves Washington at
Z lilo p. N. II reaches stanton. 155
/ miles away. next morning az 8-2g o'clock.
. There il lies ia q pouch. with hundreds
: OF other letters, for an hour. BY and By
/ the blowing Of a whistle announces the
/ coming Of q Baltimore and Ohio train.
! bound for HarrisonburE. Il is uncere-
l mOuiOusly piled i'm the mail car Of that
train. ride Of twenty miles brings IL
to Pleasant Valley al go a. m and If
the husband is an early riser. he can
nave his letter by ODD. That letter has
/ travelled 2ls miles. and over three rail-
Z roads in order 10 reach its destination.
! This IS one instance OF the long ride
1 some letters take. There are thousands
| Of routes over the country the same way.
/ and yet people get mail every day and
never dream Of the wonders of the sys-
TEN that carries them. The one aim OF
the postal service may be said 10 be %
have every letter reach its destination al
the earliest possible moment
! Postofce Inspector sharon, whose head
quarters are in this city. and who covers
part OF Maryland and part Of Virginia
once entertained a party Of friends by
telling the following story. which is said
TO have happened down in Georgia: "A
minister was driving along a country
road and overlook a man driving a four
OK team. He was on a steep hill and was
calling on his oxen TO do their best:
Baptist, get up Presbyterian. pull III
there Episcopalian, come aloDg,' When
the minister got up close by the driver
he said
Those are strange names you give
your beasts Of burden; will you be kind
enough TO tell me why you named them
500
" Oh, yes. sab the OK driver replied.
I That fellow there in the lead he's
mighty steady an a splendid puller. but
he inclined TO think he's better than the
rest Of EN-, an when I turn him loose
~ SUE VA ~ Ailll7Sl4- mat 5 the res
byterian up an down. and that's why
call him so. Then there's the steer
alongside Of him; he's mighty fine
: beast, an as long as things 20 Ions
right, he's first class. That's why I cal
: him Episcopalian. Baptist. over there al
the wheel, he's all right an the best o,
IN the team, so long as there's no water
Ia sight. But just as soon as he sees
water, Baptist's agOin 10 IT, Under the
I saddle yCu see Methodist He's good anf
steady as long as you keep him going
but he needs something 10 revive him
occasionally. This is my Revival and hs
held out long OK CAD that was. no doubt
strong Incentive 20 Methodist 10 kee1
( at work"
This Is one and only one Of Mr. Shar-
on's tales. for he has a fund Of then
which make him a popular entertai1e,
wherever he goes.