Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-03-12
GENERAL DELIVERY
The Post Office Window a
Busy Place.
CURIOUS INCIDEN rs
SOME OF THE PEOPLE WHO ASK
FOR LETTERS.
Trying on the Patience and Temper OF
the Employees, but They Are
Always Good Natured.

Star reporter this morning, but II you want
a good human interest story paste yourseiI
against the wall in front Of the general de-
livery window down stairs and watch the
tide of people as they come and CO. THINK
that at the end of an hour you Will have
material enough to make several columns
of good readable matter.
Patience, coupled with unceasing good
nature" he continued, must be the CHIEF
accomplishments of the clerks at. the gen.
eral delivery window of the local post OF
flee. In addition to these requirements the
men and women who are employed there
must be quick, alert, courteous and for
ever cheerful in their dealings with
the multitudes that call upon them
for letters, for the persons who deal
with that window are, as general
rule, not in positions to increase their
natural good nature, If they possess thas
qualification to the respect Of their fellows.
They are generally expecting letters OF
more or less Importance, but to them OF
much more Importance than any one else
could possibly understand. Men and women
call there for money orderss for news OF
the health of loved ones, for letters Of all
the kinds that go to make up the sum OF
human happiness or woe, and under all cir
cumstances the clerk who deals with the
searchers must, as it were, enter into their
sorrows or joys as If they were his very
own"
Does Large Business.
The local post Office does business much
larger in proportion to the population OF
the city than nearly any other in the en-
tire country. The population of the capital
is even more transient than that of New
York, the latter having much larger pro-
portion Of foreigners but a smaller proper
ton of transients than Washington. AS
natural sequence the general delivery win
dow Of the local office is one Of the busiest
places in the government service. Streams
of callers all day long make the place OF
the clerk in charge far from a sinecure and
teach him more Of human nature than ne
ever fancied existed before he took the po-
sition to deal out hope, fear and joy to his
fellow man. So busy is the window that
during most of the day there are three
clerks constantly employed there.
An incident happened there this morn
ing that for time changed the preoccu-
pied airs of the people awaiting their turn
at the window to the liveliest amusement.
A lady and gentleman entered and the lat
ter stepped to the window and inquired for
mail. There happened to be a letter for
him, but the postage was short and the
clerk refused to deliver it without the la ok
ing 2 cents. He reached into his pocket
and drew forth a handful of keys and two
knives without disclosing any money. Into
his other pocket he dived with the same
result. Then turning to the lady who had
accompanied him he asked:
Dear, will you please let me have 2
cents to pay the postage on this letter?'
Certainly she returned. opening her
purse and stepping toward the window.
But out of the purse came nothing re-
sembling money. There was dainty ker-
chief, a glove buttoner and an odd aSsort-
ment of small pieces of paper, but no
change Suddenly her face frightened with
an idea.
wait a moment" she said, and made a
and the man stepped to the side of the line
and waited, look of annoyance on his
face Presently she reappeared through
the revolving doors, painting from the I'M
usual exercise and excitement, but in her
hand she held out a roll of bills that was
large enough to make the eyes of the crowd
bulge and to have bought the entire stock
of postage-due stamps behind the barred
windows.
The husband, Indignant that they had
both been put to the annoyance, and to
show his utter Indifference to money, peeled
off a twenty from the outside OF the roll
and made the clerk take it in exchange for
a 2-cent stamp. The action showed that
he was not of the material that goes to
make up the successful delivery clerk, for
the latter smiled as she gave him the
change and did not rub it In by making
him take silver.
An Old-Time Darky.
In direct contradistinction to this couple
came a darby Of the old-fashioned type
that is rapidly becoming a memory, even
in the land of Dixey. His Uncle Tom
whiskers were as white as the snow on a
country hillside, and the head, from which
he had deferentially removed the tattered
hat, shone like an ebony ball. With the
manners of Chesterfield he asked: BOSS,
is yeh done got letter fumme?'
whats your name, uncle?" asked the
smiling clerk.
~ Tnsh or P11n1 in, no m
sab, If yeh please, sab; and nah gran son
done tole meh dat Missus Buckin ham done
writ meh letter and 1t done come to de
general 'Iibbery offus hyah"
The clerk rapidly shuff1ed over the mail
in the box labeled "B'' and turned to the
delighted old man with a blue envelope on
which the address was inscribed in a deli
cate tracery indicating the aristocrat. The
old darby. his face study in delight over
the receipt Of a letter from the old home
which he had known and loved as a slave
shambled away to make room for the next
conner.
A fiashily dressed man smiled at the wo.
man behind the window and inquired II
there was a letter there for Mr. Stanley
Mortimer Of the - Company" naming
theatrical company playing an engagement
at one Of the local theaters. His air Of i'm.
portance spoke more loudly than a pagt
advertisement In the best style of the pres.
agent that 1t was his first season with
legitimate company, and his requirement OF
| diamonds told all too sadly that his forme
days had been spent in turkey" acting
when he was not engaged in the pursu
OF job. She quickly dissipated any hope.
that he may have had that there was am
| one who felt his absence so keenly that 1t.
expression by the mails was a necessity
| and he swung his tragic way along the cor
| ridor and out the door. That breed makes
| 1t habit to inquire at the general delivery
| window for mail that seldom or never comes
there, for II there is anything for actors i
| almost invariably goes to the theater wher,
they are billed or the hotel where thu
troupe stops.
During a lull at the noon hour the clerl
nodded to the Star reporter and smiled al
he said: Funny crowd, aren't they? Blu
you haven't seen the best Of them. I sup
pose we have a greater variety Of human
nature in front of this window than ever
the teller OF a bank has to deal with. Som,
Of them only cause amusement, but Their,
are times when 1t takes a good deal Of self
restraint to keep my hands or a fresh
chap"
A Clerks "Reminiscences.
Then. in reminiscent tone, he added re-
hectively: 81 guess the architect knew hil
business when he had those brass rods put
before that window. The public generally
| II they think OF X at all, fancy they arr