Omaha daily bee., 1903-04-12

corresponding with the route assigned by
the reuter-.
These tables, which tilt in one direction
or another, have a framework of several
inches around the edges to keep the parcels
from falling OF, while the partitions are
of the same height. To the uninitiated,
the sight Of these hundreds Of packages
scampering, slipping, sliding toward the
various bin5 seems confusion, but each run
way carries its own passengers. go to speak
and II is seldom hat the wagon man, on
omptyiEg his bin and checking OF his pack
ages, finds anything misrouted.
The bins look like small stalls, divided
in half. on a line with the distribution tables,
with an iron netting on the outside. The
upper half holds the packages; the lower
half. n hamper on wheels to carry goods
to the wagons.
When the hour for their removal to
wagons arrive, the wagon men receive
schedules or records. one marked paid and
o. K, the other c. o. d. The bin is opened
by the clerks on the inside, the driver
checks up his packages with the schedules.
and from that moment the responsibility
of the package becomes his. The inside
clerks have done their part.
Right here many mistakes in address are
uAoCON0iNu- III re NAllOos Al
covered by each wagon are comparatively
small. and the driver, having the same
route day after day, becomes thoroughly
acquainted with 1t, just as a postman does.
1t is no unusual thing for a driver to hand
back a package with such a remark as:
Mrs. John Henry Brown don't live at 1923.
She's two blocks beyond" The package
goes straightway TO the blunder clerk, who
follows its record, and the mistake is fire.
quentiy corrected without troubling the
purchaser.
AS a rule, IT requires about fifteen min
utes for an expert wagon man to check OF
the contents Of his bin and load his wagon.
Generally, too, his hours are not hard.
He is supposed to report at the stables by
8 a. m. and at the store with his wagon
half an hour later. If his last delivery
is at $3.50 p. m. he should be ready to leave
the stable for home by 6 in the evening.
But at the holiday season all rules fail and
the delivery men work until they are ready
to drop.
Around The outside of the bins runs an
aisle, and on the other side of this is a
number of dens connected with the parcel
delivery. One of these Is the wrong ad-
dress room, where everything missent must
be turned in for investigation. Some
times this is accomplished by going back
to the salespeople. or to the ledgers, in
case Of a charge account. Here, too, come
the G. o. D.. packages, which are not
claimed when first delivered. A wagon
man must make at least three efforts to
deliver C.. o. d. packages, each time re-
porting to this wrong address ROOM" to
have his sheet signed and turn in his goods
to be held for another delivery.
1t requires thirty men in all to run the
den devoted to returned or refused c.. O.. d.
packages. Fully 10 per cent of all goods
purchased this way are refused on delivery
and there is nothing to do except to bring
them back to the store. Wagon men say
that the majority Of these refussls are
due not to fckleness OF eminin taste. but
to a tendency to extravaganza. On count
ing up the days shopping women find tina
they have overstepped the allowance, or
their husbands object to so large an ex-
pend.ture and the goods are fatty refused.
These refused goods are sorted twice a