The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-07-05
SOME OF THE EVILS OF
THE GENERAL DELIVERY

q ltltSIt dHu the Neu ana ana
the rest tell the story.
Two young women enter together. They
are giggling and blushing. 1t is prob
ably their first Irritation by mail. They
are evidently of respectable, well-doing
families and dare not receive their let
tiers at home. Each receives a letter. and
they hurry forth with more blushng and
giggling to a place were they can enjoy
their foolish correspondence to the full
in their own foolish way. As l stood
watching the motley procession two young
men entered. They wore good tweed
suits, evidently belonged to good fami-
lies, but as evidently were not blessed
with much money of their own, and yet
yearned to belong to the cheaper fast
class of "young bloods." They received
read them aloud to each other, with some
laughter and some swearing. The letter
of one was from a love-sick girl who
berated this young man because she heard
he was going with another girl" She
warned him that If she found it to be
true she would make it hot for him."
The letter of the other was from a differ
ent stamp of girl, who boldly asked for
money, and the young fellow said he
would like to see her get It,"
All Conditions Meet.
A matronly looking woman, unveiled
approached the window with a guilty
look which told her story as plainly as
though she wore a pacard. She re-
ceived the expected letter and walked
away with faint smile, but her eyes
told of a mingling of hope and fear
Other women there were about whose
position in the social scale there could
be no doubt, and these made their in
qulries with swagger, while their Jaws
worked necessarily in a laborious at
tempt to masticate chewing gum.
Thus day after day, week after week.
year. in and year out, the pathetic. the
tragic, all shades of the sinister side
of social life, are found In endless pro-
cession at these windows, a mingling
of hearts ease and hearts break, the
legitimate and the illegtimate, joy being
the lot of some and wretchedness and
ruin the lot of others.
/ If the young girls and young men,
their letters, and, standing close to me,
the husbands and the wives who use
these windows for clandestine purposes,
to receive correspondence that cannot be
trusted to the carriers and must not be
delivered at their homes or their places
of business, could know that they are not
only frequently watched by the curious
as l watched them, but that often de-
tectiveS hover around for one purpose or
another, they might not be so free, many
of them, to misuse the privileges offered
by Uncle Sans general delivery, and for
the work of which nine clerks are kept
buy night and day, Sundays included,
the year round.
OF Use to Thieves.
Aside from this phase of social and
clandestine use of the general delivery
there Is another abuse which works for
both i'll and good. Thieves employ it
as the only means of communicating
with each other, using sometimes one
4 nt.1 a.4s
plans for meeting and arranging for
new stall" This is an abuse that
works both ways. 1t is a phase of the
general delivery which is not discussed
by the officials 1t it is not within their
province to admit that they often have
the opportunity to Tip off, detectives
when some one suspected of being a
yeggman calls for letter. or that let
ters known to be for yeggmen are
possibly used for the discovery of the
hount of a pal and to lay bare plans
for some exploit of burglary or safe-
| blowing.
1t is a known fact, however, that
many a yeggman has been caught by
means of the general delivery and for
+, this reason that shrewd gentry fgh
| shy of it and use 1t only as a last re-
sort, rarely calling for their letters in
person, but securing them perhaps
! through boy with an order for de-
! livery Such are the safeguards, how
ever that the mission of such a boy is
/ in these days closely scanned that
/ the venture is full of risk, and the use
-, of the windows by this class is not as
/ frequent as of old.
The problem remains unsolved as to
| how the last vestige of abuse shall be
eliminated from the general delivery.
1t has had the attention of all post
offioa a ,thnrttiec
seems to be the opinion that all has
| been done that is possible. In other
| years the private boxes were largely
used for illegitimate purposes but this
| has been almost wholly halted by re-
curing satisfactory. references from
every person who wishes to rent a box.
The general delivery must imperative
| ly be maintained for a large number
! which can get mail in no other way
or for which it is for many reasons
most convenient, but its abuse for clan
destine correspondence can only be linn
| tied and never abolished.
One of the most insidious evils in
this connection, but which Is only in
cidental, is the advantage taken of the
free delivery by the professional black
mailer. He more than the detectives
! is to be feared in this clandestine work.
Every city in the land, Pittsburg not
excepted, has it's multiple tales of
! Matchmaking, the inception of which
happened in the Hobbies of postoffices
and in the region of the general de-
livery.
An Expert Analyst.
The professional who lives upon his
knowledge OF the social and domestic
misdemeanors of men and women soon
comes to be one Of the most expert
analysts of human action and express
sion. He can tell at a glance If a man
or woman, youth or miss is using the
general delivery for purpose which,
if made known. would blast their
characters, Or at least place them in
very uncanny and uncomfortable
position. He singles out his intended
victims, follows them, learns where
they live, their habits, their associa-
tions, and finally runs to earth the
other party to the clandestine corre-
spondence. Instances have been cited
when they have wrenched letters from
the hands of their quarry, we'll know
ing that no outcry would be made, and
one letter in such a scoundreFs possess
sion is sufficient for his purpose
Then the bleeding process begins
Gentle at first, perhaps, and as though
one contribution would be all. Gradu
ally the demands grow more insistent
threatening follows cunning wheedling
and there Is no end of the matter until
the victim is squeezed dry financially or
until, in desperation clean confession
is made to husband, wife, or other per-
son most nearly Interested; and then
the end comes for the blackmailer but
also catastrophe for the victim.
All of these possibilities must be con-
sidered by the person who carries on a