Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-12-25
CLOSING UP WORK
OF HOLIDAY WEEK
Post Office Force Will Be Busy
Until NightfalI Delivering
Christmas Mail.

| While the departmental and business
| wheels of the National Capital are at
rest today. the city post Office and Union
station hum with activity. The post Of
flee force. including every employe. will
be busy until after dark delivering par
eel post packages to the homes in the
| city.
| A feet of fifty automobiles will deliv-
er belated parcels. This is the fourth
Christmas the post Office has handled
| parcel post matter. In former years it
has been the custom to carry the par
cells in postal wagons to various blocks
of the city. and then place them on the
ground for delivery by carrier along
the block.
This "block delivery a familiar
sight during past Christmas times, has
been done away with this year. on ac-
count of the form of parcel post mat
ter being sent throughout the nation.
Formerly the only kinds of parcels sent
by parcel post were comparatively
small. and the very small packages
Delivered as Letters Are.
This year the parcel post section of
the city post office has taken on all
the semblance of an express Office. with
the result that officials abandoned the
block delivery method. The big par
cells are routed to various sections of
the city by automobile just as letters
are routed by carriers.
This year the packages are either
very large or very small. The large
ones are routed by automobiles and
delivered direct to each home. and the
small ones are routed by carriers and
delivered by them
| Looking out upon such a wet Christ
| mas in such a dry town. it was re-
garded as lucky that the Post ONCE
| Department no longer put the packages
along the streets for delivery.
Office Practically Finishes Task.
| The city post Office was practically
Cleaned up today, but 800 sacks of
parcels received during the night. be-
| ing on hand, and every package of this
will be delivered before tonight, it was
promised.
During the day ended last midnight
| Supt. Haycock reported to Postmaster
| Chance today. 638,43s letters were can
celled here as against 126, $50 cancella-
| tions made December 24.1916. 1t must
| be borne in mind that the day before
Christmas last year was Sunday. when
mail usually runs light.
! Additional Statistics.
| Yesterday 1890 parcel post pa ckages
were delivered by automobiles, as
| against $3.50 packages delivered De-
| cember "a, 1916. Sacks dispatched yes
| terday totalled $500 as against 4o13
| last year, and sacks received totalled
| S,451 yesterday as gainst $3.50 last
I year
| Traffic at the Union station while
| heavy. showed marked falling off
| from the record-breaking crowds of
| Saturday and Sunday. Soldiers form
cd large proportion of the travelling
| public.
! Fifty soldiers from Camp Meies were
! at work unloading from cars in the
terminal mail destined for southern
> points. especially the cantonments
Terminal Company's Statement.
| In a statement today the Washington
Terminal Company declared:
| "On Saturday, the ticket sales in
! Washington terminal were equivalent
| to the total of business handled during
the holiday week OF the year 1914. four
and one-half times greater than the
holiday period of the year 1915 and
| three times greater than the heaviest
days business for the holiday period
| of the year 1915.
In addition to the extra troop trains
| and extra regular trains, the terminal
| on Saturday handled great number OF
extra sleeping cars in the yard besides
| the thirty one sleeping cars from the
| south that heretofore did not stop al
| the terminal.
| Another new test TO which the ter
minal was put is the handling of TWEEN
ty-fye carloads of mail a day that goes
to cantonments, which was something
the station never had before The ex-
press business never was SO heavy In
addition to tho regular express depot
or station one of the freight stations is
Obliged to be used for this purpose
The volume of baggage handled has
increased In the same proportion as
the travel.
Each Of the railroads represented in
the terminal have a large number of
extra representatives Of the transpor-
tation and passenger departments as
sisung the terminal people in handling
the business, and there is no Confusion
Inofwithstanding the enormous passen
ger traffic"