Newspaper Page Text
' The latest acquisition of tbe Imp- riot
opera bouse of Vienna la u former , himney
•weep by the name of Elen son. II. « .«
sluglng while cleaning the chimney .,( n
rteli customer at Htutlitart end hie voice at-
traded the attention at the hettae owner,
who cauaed It to be trained.
Mohammed Bey. aun of Turkey'a rlrhe.t
man and heir to a root fortune, la In Boa-
ton buying oboe anil cotton machinery. Ha
la hlalily educated, haa mastered aeveral of
the great Indnatrlea which hla father con*
trait anil la a fcoyn Imalneaa man. fie will
leave about (500.000, which aum represents
the coat of applianeea he Intenda to pur-
Henry A. Buchtel, the recently eleetct
overnor of Colorado, will not realde lu tho
THIRD SECTION.
1
lhe Atlanta Georgian.
THIRD SECTION.
VOL. 1. NO. 202.
ATLANTA, OA., WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19,1906.
UNCLE SAM, SANTA CLAUS’ MESSENGER;
HOLIDAYS MEAN WORK AT POSTOFFICE
Tons of Presents Give
Postal Men a Season
of Fatigue.
LETTERS TO SANTA
BRING PATHOS TO
NIXIE DEPAR TMENT
BUT FEW LOST
OUT OF HUNDREDS
Fast and Accurate Are the
Men Who Handle
Mail.
By CHARLES E. HARP.
Chriatm&a for the clerka In tho At
lanta postofflee Is a synonym for hard
work and lots of It. Qreat piles of
Christmas packages and parcels con
taining presents and remembrances
from loved ones at a distance confront
the employees every day for two weeks
before Christmas day arrives. The
night and day forces augmented by a
hundred extra men work constantly to
Insure the prompt dispatch of these
holiday malls.
Tired and worn out by extra hours
at the cases or bag racks, the general
delivery, money order, registry and
stamp windows during the holidays, the
postofflee clerks welcome the passing
of Christmas. They do their work
honestly and creditably and If some one
Is disappointed because of a gift de
layed In transit the disappointment
would dissolve Into sympathy if a
glance could be had Into the Interior
of the big workshop and the great
quantities of mall that accumulates
could be taken.
Over 100,000 letters atone are handled
every day by the letter clerka. Over
10.000 pounds of second-class mall and
other matter of lower grade Is handled
by the paper clerks every 24 hours.
This does not Include Atlanta's four
daily newspapers, who mall Is worked,
weighed and put aboard trains without
the formalities of going through the
postofflee.
Not Enough Room.
There are so many letter cases and
pouch racks behind the screen which
shuts out the public that there Is hard
ly room enough left for the movements
of the regular force of clerka. So great
- and so rapid has been the Increase of
mall matter handled In the Atlanta
postofflee that the officials have been
unable to provide room to accommo
date the business. ,
All out-going mall matter other than
first-class letters, such as packages and
parcels, books, calendars and papers. Is
handled In the basement, where the of
ficials were forced to Install racks and
paper cases for the Increase In the vol
ume of this kind of mall. The room Is
lighted ns well as possible, but It Is
anything but a pleasant place for a
clerk to work while other peoplo are
enjoying Christmas.
It Is possible that some Idea of the
quantity of matter handled dally by
the clerks can be secured when It la
known that nt least 1O.U00 pounds other
than flrst-class mail is routed every 24
hours for out-going trains. None of
the officials will nttempt to estlmato
the Increase of out-going mall mattor
In this department Incident to the
Christmas holidays.
Work Hour After Hour.
Standing hour after hour and throw
ing pieces of mall matter Into pouches
from two to ten feet away Is anything
hut a pleasant task. The racks four
nnd live deep are arranged In a semi
circle and almost surround the clerk.
Postoffice Has Many| the peculiar Idea that he
Il/tfl dfntlnn " finma ot
Missives To Be
Delivered.
ADDRESS TO “SANTA,”
WHO CAN’T BE FOUND
Children of Rich and Poor
Send Letters to Their
Patron Saint.
\ A CHRISTMAd RUSH IN MAIN WORK ROOM OF ATIANTA P08T0FFICE.
Here the deluge of holiday gifts Is assorted and sent flying into mail bags preparatory for the trip to every part of the country. In a few days thel
scene will change in one reepeot—It will be incoming gifts instead of those outward bound, which will keep the clerks busy.
until a few days after Christmas. The
force of .employees has been Increased
as much as possible by the officials.
Extra clerks have been put In the reg
istry, money order and stamp depart
ments to assist In the prompt dispatch
of mall. The city carriers will have
assistants and as Christmas day ap
proaches their dally pro rata of mall
will Increase until It la twlfe as much
as two men might carry. On the more
populous routes wagons will bo pro
vided the last three or four days before
Christmas and the work of Santa Claus
will be helped as much as possible. ,
Roosevelt’s Trip to Panama.
As Reported Out in Arizona—Chroni-
oied by a Graham County Editor.
T'
From The knftold (Arts.) Guardian.
EKIiV upon his arrival lioarded the
railroad couch nnd “Rid" across Ills
"lumas" (ns now speld). nnd waded
out nine miles Into the Parltlr Ocean, where
It won knee deep. Just to show the man-eat-
Ing sharks nnd numerous marine aupvhuke
Hint be won “game." On turning round
to foot It back to shore lie dlncuver.nl a
ncIkh.I uf whales in bis path, He squnred
himself for n renl good klr'- ■—
tl
... elc Into the gang,
lint won only partially successful, ns Ids
Itoiigh Hitler spur, which he happened nt
the time to hove on. .-might lit a thrce acre
bunch of flawed nn<l his effort lnnile*! only
eleven full grown wlinles nslioro, lueludlutf
the blf bull of the flock.
on hi* way back on the train he Jumped
ofT near the Culebra cut, rrabl>ed 11.000
workmen by the hand In exactly tbree-<iunr-
tera of it minute, nchednle time, with the
exprexiilon ••nee-IlKht-ed" for each rapu.
cone anu a.mosr surrouna me c.erx. «
The mail Is wheeled to him In largo , l)lk . towlir ,| t |„. Ailnntlc Ocean. He plunged
hamper baskets plied to overflowing
during tho holidays with packages of
every conceivable else and weight.
Some addressee are plainly written, but
hundreds of others are scrawled and
blurred. When one of these face the
Clerk he stops until It Is deciphered or
else throwe the package Into the "nixie"
basket.
The "nixie” basket Is where Santa
Claus most frequently falls down. Lots
of the old fellow's assistants don t
write legibly and some of them mall
his packages without writing the ad
dressee nt all. The consequence Is
somebody Is disappointed In not re
ceiving a gift when It Is lying In the
posi'ifflce because of some shortcoming.
I'iie department where the clerks
must work faster than most of the
others Is where the. first-class letters
are atstrlbuted In tho carriers' racks for
in- city distribution. If the carriers
h ive everything reedy to go on their
routes an ordinary quantity of flrst-
ci iss mall matter can be put on the
streets within live minutes. The let
ters are already worked on the city
schemes by clerka In the In-coming
~ nptled
mall care. The pouches are emi
on a large table at the postofflee end
the packages of letters are distributed
* acre the city carriers may reach them
without loss of time.
Dreed the Holidays.
Nowhere la the approach of tho holl
* tv * Felt more Intensely than at the
trneral delivery windows. *Hera ex
pectant and Impatient patrons of tho
°®ce make things lively and sometimes
Interesting for the clerks. People of all
classes and nationalities, colors and
temperaments apply here for their
. No position requires-more care
patience than at the windows.
,''™e of the patrons are morally cer-
. J that they have mall In the ofllce
and the clerk won’t give it to them Just
out of p ur# cueeedneas. Others receive
shake of the clerk’s head with .1
sinking feeling about the heart and
turn aw ay with a woefully disappoint
'd look over their faces. General de-
••• i!? cl ' rk » have been called "thieves "
robbers" and "highwaymen," but they
are usually patient and forbearing and
^ understand. ■ Iir nmrui aeev- ess*.
1 ' real holiday ruah of bualness be- 1 could have been
** n ratty this wssk and wUl continue css.
it gigantic shove! eleven fed Into the
Mother Earth at Ms flrst motion.
ami the I’au Aiserlean republics bsik It far
another earthquake when the vilirnlloiis
were fell. Within Just two minutes nnd
sevi-ntei-n siH-ends be bad dug that "fsmas
Cnnnr one mile .mil three-quarters.
While awaiting for his train to convey
him from Iho cut. he held a "let with
the workmen, which nniultered some 200
English-speaking persona and something
over 0.00 ’ Inmortcl-shlrt-tall-hnn.i-mieuiiilnc
animated Chinese pigtails, the latter.warm
ly greeting him with "Hoopla Teddy, him
liellv goon Mellcan man.'' During this
brief Interval, nnd In exactly forty-one
seronils, Teddy made a alxyear contract
with three of the coolie pigtails to do the
White House washing np to the end of the
u*»xt Pr»**t«l«*ntl*l term.
IN THE EXCHANGES.
Mary had a little lamb; ,
bile nut It on n shelf,
And every time It wagged Its tail
It spauked Its little self.
* -St. Ibiul News.
The latest definition of V. M. t\ A. Is You
May Contribute Agulu.-Ba'rolo Times.
From the talkative person who Is dowu
In the month good Lord deliver us.—Ur
News.
POSTMASTER E. F. BLODGETT AND HEADS OF DEPARTMENTS.
Than# art the men behind the mtil. Their watchfulness and tireless energy aid Sants Cleue mightily In his
effort to deliver the goods. They will have little sleep during the next week and every one will be glad when
Christmas is over.
RECKLESS WASTE THREATENS
BANKRUPTCY OF THE NATION
Uleek and bine fading In spots Into yellow
are the prevailing college colors jast now.—
Nest York Telegram.
Truth Is sometimes stranger than action.
A charity ball In Mexico caute out with a
prollt—Birmingham News.
The only thing that makes a fellow feel
that be Is lu It St hla own wedding la Ibe
word "obey."—Philadelphia Beeord.
A Frenchman baa Invented a phonograph
that can 1st beard for a mile. It will be in
dispensable to those who have to waken
four small children In time to go to schisd.
—Philadelphia l-cdger.
A Washington hotel keeper died the other
day and was ilaocrtbed In tha local peperk
an merely "a modest and a useful eltlsen.’
That In what one gels for owning tbe eara-
rammry instead of clerking In lt.-Lonlsvllle
Coarier-Journnl.
(Copyright, 1806, by W. R. Hearat.)
M il. J. J. IIILL has recently given n
most Interesting paper on the waste
of the resources of the nation, nnd
rightly estimates If the same reckless spirit
of extrnvttgnnre nnd .Instruction of timber,
coal and other sources of wealth to the
1:1111101 Stoles continues we shall become a
bankrupt people.
At the rate nt which we have been ex-
hassling oar soil nnd mines of various min
erals wo shall have expended their vast
products In a little more than another half
century, since eo little attention Is given
to their reparation.
In clearing the . —. ,,. ,
West—the giants of the splendid forests
have fallen like blnilcn of gnus before the
reaper's acyibe nr the bands of pioneers
ami wouduieu. Yearn ago comparatively
few of ibe great trunks of the trees ronlil
lie transported either sawed or nnsawed to
the market end were consequently rolled to-
gether In piles ns high as human hands
r-onld put them and were When burned to
nsitee on the soil upon which they grew.
As civilisation imsbeil Jta way to the
Imundarlen of tbe 1.
porlnlloii was 1
time to time sent
primeval forests to cut timber for home
end export consumption. Great fortunea
have been amassed In the lumber trade.
Thousands of emigrants have settled upon
the lands cleared In this way nnd are be
ginning to clamor for timber for use In
erecting buildings, for fencing, fuel and
otb**r purpoM InalBptnttble lu thu settle*
meiit of § new country.
Tho operations of tbe rest coal mines lo
*• .e union hat-
titles of he«
... foot* ftfcon
terra uea 11 passage* nude In derelonlnc
mine*. The ■apply of this class of timber
tly reduced nnd a cry of dl*-
1 expected ^rom that direc-
By MRS. JOHN A. LOGAN.
occupied rich lands In many section* on
such it bn*i* a* would enable them to sup-
I*>rt their fiimlllc* while they erttablliilied
Itemmncut home* and became revenue-pro-
Mining citizen*.
It I* to bo hoped that Mr. Hill** warning
may attract the attentiou of tho**' who can
afford to move In the matter of getting the
people to embark In the work of tilling the
” 1 ud reaping tho harvest.
Should Immigration continue In tin* pres
ent ratio 1! would worn that Mr JIlll's pre
diction * are not untimely, and that hi
et-rleb theories 1
dishonesty In public and private :
The tmte for agriculture—cultivation of
the soli—the establishment of |>ernuiuoiit
home* and personal Independence through
tho Industry of the people and Ibe {Hisses-
slon of property which governed tbe build
ers of the nation have lajen supplanted by
restlessness, speculation and tmpntlcut av
arice. MItS. JOHN A. LOU AN.
By CLAUDE NEALEY.
The greatest and grandeet and moat
unlveraally beloved personage In all
the world today Is that good old man
of mystery, Santa Claua—grizzly and
generous and the supreme delight of
the childish heart.
And If anyone In this great city for
any reason should doubt the popularity
of the "good old man,” that doubting
individual would only have to commit
the "nixie” department of the Atlanta
postofflee, to which place ail mall Im
properly addressed and stamped finds
Its way, and be convinced. It la In this
ofllce that Santa Claua' "official" mall
la deposited, preparatory to being for
warded to Its Anal destination—the
dead letter office In Washington. In
the “nixie” office can now be (ound
stacks and stacks of moll, representing
thousands of letters addressed to ‘‘Dear
Old Santa.”
In the local postofflee W. B. Hunt nnd
H. C. Saul, who are In charge of the
"nixie’’ department, are designated
Santa Claus. Messrs. Hunt nnd Saul
take charge of all Santa Claus' mall
and lo say that they have their hands
full Just at this time Is but mildly ex
pressing It.
This genial and happy friend of the
children, old Santa, la never bothered
with mall but once a year—the beauti
ful Christmas season—but during this
time the old man Is simply swamped.
And If he had to take time to answer
his thousands and thousands of bright
little correspondents, he would bo com
pelled to employ a corps of secreta
ries greater than the standing army of
the United States. \
Santa Claus’ Letters.
Every mall that has came Into the
postofflee during the past few days has
flmplv been loaded with theie highly
unique lettefs,'airtelling the same story
of childish I wants ar.d expressing be
tween the lines implicit confidence that
Santa will be amply able to nil these
wants. This class of mall will continue
to pour Into the postofflee In increased
volumes until after Santa makes his
annual tour, at which time the chil
dren will realise their wants or beci-me
convinced that the dear old man fulled
lo receive their letter.
After writing to Santa, the children,
brim fpll of Joy and In a fever of ex
pectancy, Impatlehtly await this time,
eager for the great loads of presents.
Earnestness, love and sublime faith In
the Inexhaustible generosity 'of Santa
can be detected In overy line, although
| some of the appeals, penned by the
I cherry Jtttle tols, ure almost Illegible.
However, the children know that Santa
Claua Is a great man and they (eel no
fear that he will fall to discern any of
their wants. •
Tht letter* embrace requests for a
varied assortment of toy* ami almost
every conceivable article that would
tend to tickle the childish fancy. The
manner of expressing these requests is
sometimes highly humorous, bringing
smiles to the faces of those who petuss
the letters, others, however, f*r from
being laughable, express a sentiment
Intensely pathetic anil cause the heart
la throb with sympathy, arousing a de.
sire on the part of the readers to take
.Santa's place fur once anti supply the '
gifts themselves.
For it may be that H.tntn, with his
wide territory to cover und his great
lond of presents to distribute, inny be
come delayed and fall to reach the
homes of some of the confiding little
fellows, who have sought through tho
mails an expression of his kindness.
Every Kind of Addraaa.
According to hi* mall, Santa Clau* I*
provided with an abundance of homes.
HU mail U addressed to a variety of
places. Including the “North Pole,'
"Fairyland," “Greenland,” "Atlanta,"
have even got
Is at the "po
lice station." Some of the children,
realizing that everybody knows their
friend and feeling confident the poat-
oflice authorities will deliver their let
ters properly, merely address them
"Santa Claus.” This conclusion Is cor
rect. The postofflee officials know
where to deliver Santa’s malL It is
all sent to the same place. '
In a batch of Santa's mall was found
a letter bearing this unique address:
“Santa Claus—Wherever he la”
The writer, a little boy, was thought,
ful enough to place his own name and
address on one corner of the envelope,
and It was this fact that saved his let
ter from taking a trip to the dead let
ter ofllce In Washington. The letter
was returned to the child, with this
Inscription across tlis envelope:
“Can't be found.”
Undaunted, the little fellow has
probably sent another letter, with a
more definite address.
“I Have Been Goad.”
The contents of these letter* are
equally, If not more, remarkable than
the striking addresses. While the ma
jor portion of the letters bear simi
larity, there Is one thing that stands
out boldly above all others In nearly
every letter. That I* the statement
that the writer has been "good.” Par
ticular stress Is laid on this word, us
the children know It has special signifi
cance w(,th Santa Claus.
For Instance, this one from a bright
little girl:
“Dear Santa Claus: I am a good
little girl, nnd I think you ought to
bring me a dimon ring and fifty little
tin trains nnd a pair of white kPI
gloves nnd a doll with a red hat and
dress and a doll house and a whole lot*
of good things to eat.
"YOUR LITTLE FRIEND.”
Here Is one from a little boy:
"dear Snnty, I wrote you la»t year
but I gues you dldent get the letter for
you dldent bring me all I ask for on 1
I will ask again, mama say* I am t
good boy and she ortcr know. I want
a pistol nnd some Sliding blocks l
board to play some games on a book
with plcters don't forget the candle
mania snys mr woodward who Is our
mayer alnt goln to let any fireworks be
shop and so I done cars for any an.. -
way.”
Another from a little 6-year-old girl,
tho writing of which wa» nlmpst Illegi
ble, was deciphered something like
this:
“Dear Sants: I am six years old. I
want you to bring me a parlor Bet of
furniture and a automobile nnd a doll
ns big as u lady and a buggy and
horse and a little wagon.
"Your loving sweet little friend.”
A Pathetic Letter.
The following from a little boy gives
an Insight Into the pathetic aide and
tells a story that no doubt prevails In
more than one home In the city of
Atlanta.’ Written on dlrt-b**meared
paper and Inclosed In a muchly lin
gered envelope, the letter makes a
touching appeal:
"Dear Santa claws mommer told mo
If I wuld rite to you you might como
to sjfte ine you havent been to see mu
since too years mommer she Is sick
and couldent rile hersef she has been
•lek a month I alnt got no popper mum
mer says she Is afrad you wont be ubel
to And our hous I feel so sory o.ius
mommers tick and dear santa If you
can come It mite do her good mommer
has to wurk and.alnt ube! to send me to
skool much and I cant rite much hot
door santa I try to bo good and I do
luv you so much."
One boy, fearing 8anta might mako
mistake or overlook him. concludes
Ills letter with these lnstructlons:
"Come to the middle chimney on the
left bond side of the Rouse. I will be
In that room.”
A little girl, who. evidently ha> an
extensive capacity for wnnta. after
enumerating many things, closes In this
wise:
Now Santa If you have anything I
aim Is a good man but Mama la go
er."
1 The hosts of little people will I mk
forward unxluusly to a substantial on-
swnr lo their letters, and It Is P> bo
hoped good old Sunta will be able to
visit nil and render bright and eheerrut
on the happy Christmas morn the
homes of rich and poor alike.
OF A PERSONAL NATURE.
Mrs. Itosa Lewi*, chief culinary artl-t of
tho Cavendish betel, Isnidun, Is | .. re
draw n larger oalnry than nny ether
cook' la tho world. Mho Is paid 110,00 a
It Is zonprslly agreed In Washington that
viscount Slum Aaltl, amlisssadnr Ir.n
in to tho United Ktates. I
ploniat ever aeeu there.
’ too
leas axiravaganre id uie won
Ivsr, copper sad coal mines i
strongly pictured, nnd ss n <
ho ultimate oihauatlon of t
u In light within Iona than
“Not guilty. j
whra questioned eoneernlqg . -- --
abo lo to wed a Freneh nohlemaa. In the
light of recent occurrences, this seems to
he shoot the most
Moraeuee tho ultimate exhaustion of their
riches seems In light within lew than nu-
other ceotnry. These facts apparently make
little Imprewlon on the present generation,
who are wholly absorbed In their own In
terests and therefore recreant In their duty
to poeterity. They should call a halt In the
needless waste that la rnnntag riot all over
onr country.
Home time ago I made an appeal to the
millionaires of the nation to form a colo
nisation scheme to transfer the ni
awl Indigent of tbs great cities i
W. B. HUNT AND H. C. SAUL, "NIXIE CLERK8.”
Tha “Nixia" office is where the Hundreds of queer letters whose addresses cannot bo found arc sent Tho
"Nixia” clerks are expert in deciphering strange addresses and many puzzle letters which would baffle tho ordi
nary man arc sent to tho right address.
executive mansion, hat will cmUna. _
live In hla bungalow In Untverally Park In
order to be near tbe L'nlreralty of Denver,
of which he will continue chancellor.
Frank M. Nye, n brother of the late
Nye. the humorist, Is one nr the new
publican congressmen lu Minnesota.
Manhattan opera bouse. New
inlleat noted all
nred before tbe
neared before _ t |
high heele nnd every other lid In ln>
stature, he Is barely are foot high.
stature,
Colonel William KUlott
BurwiK
I in Increasing
apotla cemeteries. He proposes t
tbs fity until he locates the graves or else
cenfludes that hla tux Is Impossible.
The latest acquisition of the Imperial
open hosae In Vienna la n former .-hiiu-
ney eweep turned Llenson. He was si
while eleanlne tbe chimney ,i rl h
turner at Htattgart,' and bin need sits
the attention of th« bouse owner,
censed It to be trained.
