Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1913-12-23
TOTAL OF 1901 PACKAGES De.
LlvERED IN MARsHALLTowN
MONDAY.
HIGH TIDE WILL NOT BE
REACHED TILL WEDNESDAY,
Stamp Sales Monday Aggregated Over
$500, and Il Proved Impossible to
Keep Check on Number Of Outgoing
Packages, SO Big Was the Volume
Motor Truck For Deliveries.

The full force and meaning of the re-
sponsibility and labor incident to hand
ling the Christmas parcel post BUSH
ness was driven home to the local post
office force Monday. What the force
thought was rush of parcel post bus
mess Saturday shrunk to small pro-
portions compared with the hurricane
of packages that swept in and out thru
the office Monday.
/ 1t was thought late Monday afternoon
that the top Of the outgoing business
would be reached either Monday or to-
day. But the apex of the incoming rush
of packages will not reach here until
! Wednesday. In recent days the in
crease in the business has been jump
! ing. doubling and trebeling day after
day. If the public could stand for a
time and watch the crush and jam Of
packages, and the crowding and wedg-
ing of theme into small space as was
, necessary Monday, they would mail
their packages earlier to get them out
! of the way before the rush was on.
More Than $500 Stamp Sales.
No record of outgoing business was
kept Monday. 1t wasn't possible. But
some idea of it may be gained from
these. The sales of postage stamps
at the office amounted to more than
$500. One man was kept constantly
busy weighing packages and taking in
the cash, while a line of people stood
all day long in the lobby waiting their
turn at the parcel post window. Ano
-{o
Oh the packages paid Tor. Still another.
with the part time help Of an assis-
tant was throwing outgoing packages
from early morning until late in the
night The ordinary mail wagons
proved too small to haul the sacks. A
baggage truck had to be pressed into
service. Forty sacks Of parcels were
taken to the trains at one time in the
evening. Probably the total number Of
sacks filled and sent out during the day
would be twice that many.
There was no let up for the distrib-
! utors. They stayed on the Job until
the window closed, and all the pack
ages had been sacked and made ready
for the trains.
Motor Truck Delivers 1901 PereeIs.
| Altho Monday is not going to be the
| DIG DAY Dy any means OK CQe incoming
business 1,001 packages were delivered
| in the two deliveries made. This bus
mess outgrew the ordinary means Of
handling it. In order to get the pack
ages out an auto truck was hired, and
four men to deliver packages were sent
out with 1t. The inexperience Of these
new mon naturally handicapped this
delivery some for only packages that
| were plainly and correctly addressed
| with the street number were sent out
/ for them to deliver. A man from the
office took charge Of the truck and
superintended the delivery.
| Shows Effect on Express Business.
| Approximately $50 sacks of parcel
| post packages were sent out of this
! city on the early forenoon trains. BY
actual count 1873 sacks were loaded on
| trains at the union station. and very
| large part Of this business originated
/ in this city and near here.
| Regarding the effect OF the parcel
post business on the express business,
it was interesting to note that very
large part Of the business handled out
of this city this forenoon by the ex-
press companies was not Christmas
packages at all, but the usual consign-
ments of meat, produce, fruit, and mer-
chandise There were only few
/ Christmas packages on the express
trucks, but the number was small.