Evening star., 1909-05-07
POST OFFICE CASTOfFS SOLD
HETEROGENEOUS COLLECTION
GOES UNDER HAMMER.
5omebody Willing to Buy Apparent
" Useless Things-Clarkson's
Portrait Rescued.

red flag at the door. long array
Of furniture on the sidewalk and the
professional ritual Of the auctioneer
brought q crowd to the Post ONCE De-
partment side Of 1lth street yesterday
All this does not signify that Postmas-
ter General Hitchcock has not paid his
rent, nor has he been elected or sold out
by the United States marshal. The an
nual sale OF a heterogeneous collection of
old junk, politely designated as old fur
niture was on.
Ancient as was the material offered,
there was some reason for doubt that
much of it. even with the widest stretch
of imagination. could be decently classi-
fed as furniture Almost every mag
Unable thing under the sun was in the
collection.
There was array of motor sewing
machines that have served their day.
and carpets and rugs that hold the 19Gth
generation of the germs who were the
original settlers therein.
Historic Associations.
The remains of an old desk, with the
map Of the United States set in its top
and Jagged edges all around where a
plate-glass cover had once rested. proved
to be the desk used by John Wanamaker
ther along the line was a seedy-looking
old leather-covered chair which had once
proudly formed the resting place Of for
mer Postmaster General Geary.
There was a collection Of water coolers.
with battered eXteriors and rusty insdes,
that might harbor all the bacteria known
to science: letter copy-presses, burned
out electric lamp bulbs. broken desks.
ing .dervish bookcases and barrels of old
insulated electric light wire.
Even was there picture of former
First Assistant Postmaster General John
. Clarkson. potent politician in his
day. Happily 1t was rescued from the
auction block and sent to keep company
with the queer group Of once Postmaster
Generals that now adorns the walls of
the third floor of the Post Office building
and forms a unique feature of the mu-
scum
1t was explained that group of little
brown jugs which barefacedly sat on a
high pinnacle in full view of the passerby
had never held anything to shock the
delicate sensibilities Of the most ardent
advocate of prohibition. They were sim
ply disinfectant jars and found pur-
chaser.
Buyers for ANY Old Thing.
A miniature desk such as even in its
dlapidated condition would have tickled
the heart Of almost any schoolboy or
schoolgirl proved an old mimeograph
stand. A distorted-looking mess that re-
sembled a bunch of eels in distress was
offered by the auctioneer as chairs. some
Of them broken and some otherwise"
Strange to say. they, too, found some
one willing to own them.
The prices for what in their day might |
have been costly articles were low, very
low. For instance. the motor sewing |
machines, six of them, brought but 81 |
apiece. But drawing desks. cylinder
desks, square desks and everything like |
Office furniture gave a good account of
themselves.
The articles sold gave evidence Of long
usage and economical administration in
the department. The buyers were most |
ly of the junk or secondhand dealer
class. although Mrs. Toodles was there
to wrestle for what took her fancy, and
she generally got it. too.