Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-07-12
CAUSE FOR HEART ACHE
HOPES THAT POST OFFICE CLOCK
CAN NOW BE SEEN.

Say. Gully, wouldn't dat give yuse heart
failure?"
The speaker was street gamin who sells
The Evening Star and the cause for his re-
mark was a scene that had caused many
people passing to and fro on Pennsylvania
avenue in front of The Star to rubber
| neck In the direction of the tall tower that
| surmounts the city post Office building.
The scene was due to an earnest effort on
the part of one of Uncle Sans able assist
ants in the Post Office Department, who be-
came suddenly seized with desire to make
the clock faces on the tower do what they
were expected by a suffering populace to
do, but which end they had never met with
any degree Of satisfaction. He took the
chance.
From the days of their inception the clock
faces on the post office tower have been a
puzzle to persons more than few feet
away from them.
Kept All Sorts Of Time.
The clock in itself has kept "all kinds
OF time" but it mattered little, as the Ro-
man letters on the faces supposed to indi-
cate the various hours from II on to IL
again failed to answer the purpose and at
| the distance Of square became little more
than blur.
to time. and a few days ago the clock faces
developed a blush tinge which caused some
msgivng to those looking at 1t.
When the blush tinge turned to greenish
yellow and then motley shade of tan the
physicians In the department who have the
clock in charge became assured that there
was some trouble that should be investi-
gated at once. Like the great Lanston in
quiry that is going on behind doubly guard
ed doors at the government printing office,
there was conclusion that the trouble
should be relieved by a coat of whitewash,
and for the past two days painters have
been laboring hard to remove the cause of
the trouble, or, at least. to hide 1t from
the public view.
Now Faces Are White.
Today the driven snow of December day
could not be winter than the faces of the
post office clocks. How long they will
main so and just how far off one can tell time
from them is a matter the department will
appoint q special committee composed of
the special delivery messenger boys to de-
termine. These boys go to all parts of the
to tell time by the clock from some unex-
pected place they will Immediately tele-
phone to the Post Office Department and
score one.
Good Eyes Proved.
The boy who gets the most scores, 1t will
be decided, is not In need of the services of
an occulist. while the others will be fur
nished with glasses by which the clock can
be distinctly seen as far as the Raleigh
Hotel at least.
This suggestion, 1t Is said, was made by
the Postmaster Generals trusty chief clerk,
and Mr.. Cortelyou thought 1T would be well
to chance 1t.
Hung Their Scafold.
From the highest part of the tower the
painters let down their scaffold While
crowds of pedestrians on Pennsylvania
avenue stood and watched them do their
work of putting a new face on the clock
Many wondered what the sensations were or
being so far above the EARTH held only
by rope of about half inch thickness
From the pavement the painters seemed as
pigmies and at the same time afforded
the spectators an opportunity TO judge as
to the size of the clock. From the street
after resting the eye for a moment upon
the clock and seeing the tiny figures out
lined across its face one for guess would
say that the clock was about twenty rect
across and of course equally high. After
the face of the clock had been painted
white, which was a very difficult job, the
hours on the dial had to be painted black
In the next day or so the last coat OF
paint will be put on and the lace of the
timepiece will be a beautiful white, with
coat of black upon the hands and figures
of the dial.
Assistant superintendent Oh the toSt
Office Building Shaw stated this morning
that after the painting and repairs have
been finished there will be a marked i'm
provement in the clock. He said that a
great deal of complaint had been heard
that the minute hand heretofore had been
too long and that those attempting to read
the time from the street had in instances
been puzzled for considerable length or
time and the hand had been shortened.
Several times during the past week many
persons whose business takes them down
Pennsylvania avenue and in sight of the
dial have wondered If the clock was not
out of order, as in some instances 1t was
from two to three hours late, but Mr.. Shaw
explained that this was on account of the
fact that the heavy counter weights were
being installed and the workmen were COM
PEELED to stop the clock until the weights
were attached.