The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1902-03-07

separated. 1t carries across the sea
some tender lovers mes age or perhaps
little flower picked from the daised
grave of an English churchyard. Every
hour of every day the mail bag is packed
with words which waken love and laugh
ter, and words which deepen the furrow
in the cheek and dim the failing sight
with bitter tears.
But with all this there is going on
through the mail service disscmina-
ton OF human knowledge, reaching
out of human help which is one Of the
crowning blessings of our century, The
correspondence schools led by Chautau-
qua, are sending to every village and
hamlet the broader knowledge which is
so eagerly craved by many who are shut
in to the honely duties of humble
life. Without the mail system this plan
of education would be impracticable.
Every mail, too, carries from the great
centers, the advice of great physicians,
which it would be impossible for the
distant public to obtain were it not for
the mails. Few people realize how
many thousand people depend on the
mail service for medical treatment. Not
long ago when some postal affairs were
being discussed i'll connection with the
erection of the new poStottice building
III Buffalo, n. Y, sonle light was thrown
on this subject by the statement that
the mail by DR.. r Y. Pierce amounted
daily TO something over 1850 pieces.
OF course this is not common case, be-
cause DIR. Pierce's relation as chief con-
sulting physician to Butfalo's famous
institution, The Invalids' Hotel and Sur
gical Institute, makes his advice and
that of his staff OF nearly score of
skilled and experienced specialists much
sought after, especially by women, to
the treatment and cure of whose special
diseases DR.. Pierce has devoted over
thirty years of almost constant labor.
But though this example is out of the
ordinary, it may serve as an evidence of
the amazing benefits reaped by the pub
lie from the mail service. 1t puts every
outlying hamlet in touch with the most
advanced medical specialism of the day.
It gives at a cost of a two-cent stamp,
the skill and experience that il has taken
years to acquire. Literally at the cost
of a two-cent stamp, since DR.. Pierce
invites sick women TO consult him by
letter without charge. And this would
seem to be one of the most remarkable
services rendered by the postal system,
perhaps the supreme service OF all. For
while it is a splendid thing to be able to
shop in New York while living in Kan
sas, and grand thing to be able to
command the learning of great pro-
fessors while working in the Michigan
woods, it is a still grander thing that by
means OF this cheaply supplied service,
men like DIR. Pierce, who have the dis
position to he helpful, are enabled to
place their skill and knowledge at the
disposal of those who are being dragged
down by disease, without the possibility
of help from those about them. When
one contemplates the vast and far reach
ing benefits Of the mail service, so briefly
touched upon in this article, it makes
the familiar gray uniform of the postman
the most glorious OF all uniforms, for it is
worn by the soldiers of the army of peace.
II makes one feel like taking his hat off
10 the on-rushing mail train, and cheer
Ing the work and wisdom OF Uncle sam.