Saturday, Dcci'iuW 10, 1!'27,
THE EVENIN'O HKKALD. KI.AMATM FATJiy ORFr.ON
Pajre Tfvd
HRISTMAS BY THE f'ON
1
Atlas May Have Carried the vt'orld
On His Shoulders But the Job
Was a Snap When Compared
To the Postman's at Yuletidt
- ;
4
A V. Sy erersnp:
( v v,e;Kl''-
V J . p-i dsy,
i,. S driire lo
I Hr1 averatr ntr
.-llus W if
Jty. . . .
A a ncro la
c r v ' n c
oJ a n v
tcirre. or toe
I'ul il tva
It . h en J I a
th,ttfht
ndJieu.
r.'":'U.t. .
i!ri in l!.r c 'y where U r
-iris cn!y
Vi cccrd 17 the r
!i ca'C I !,(:r pirL : ;
D
URING any hour o the rwxt two wrrkf, over S,0 J.-
tOO pcn ol holiday mail Kill be drcp;rd mla II r
vnioul ircrp'.aclri ptovxlrd llirouglioul (he country
by thr tJoil Office Department, wh Is anolhri
5.000.000 nlecet will tw delivered by the r.iy rind
my ol poitmen. Il it theiefdre only natural, perhipi. that
-'.hen the holidays are over the men mIio handle the mail will
join with the lmi"n of lanltrut father), di.vip.ng mrthers and
priotrate talet girl in heaving heart fr It it;h of r-l ef.
Troliahly few people realize that more than 300,000 trained
employee! are engaged in collecting, roiling and distributing the
letters and packages which the papulation of this country in
trusts to the mails.
"The postmasters and their men naturally divide thej wi I
into two major classifications getting the mail from the pjll
lo the trains and getting the mail from live trams lo the puMic."
uys John i i Hatllc.l first assistant p-Mlmaster general. "Con
stant changes in population, in the volume ol mail luiinss and
in the habils of the people, serve to keep the Post Office Depart
ment continually working to nice) new situations.
"F.ver hour of every 24 in the day, on an average, the
people drop into SO 266 twsl offices, 200.000 street boxes.
50. 000 mail chutes and other paints of contact apprommalcly
3.000.000 pieces of mail. This is 72.000.000 p.ece every
iajr or 26.400.000,000 every year, the number constantly in-
mail at a ctniiat po;:o.
the pourus for fait Iraini.
rjc;irf?rin' th.'s l.'u: nets in term c'
ojt 4'J0 Ions prr h--ur. 9.4J0
r 3.424.645 tuns p-r yrar. II yoj
'o a hole ci-nputin,! I llmiSi y j w.ll
72.COO.OCO pe;rs cl mail V-i day
eight inche each in Icnylh w;,ulJ ex
In. I h-.t is. it wuld rea-.n IraT
lloilon to an I rancto t!i;e
xes ju:t one day s v,oik."
riIIIS larrrnl (.1 mail cooler
I irt-i the Kt cffi:es in a le
wildering onlu-icn. Mi.
Purllcll ssyv 1 he lo-.e mttiive
dr-.lined lo fly a thousand n:ilrs is
mixed with the hankpr's chetk
that is lo walk wi h a post.nan
across the slreet. Wedding invi
tations and divorce nttircs ruli
stamps. I he buinen letter ol thp
n-il!ionaire lies with the rciavsled trpeal of llir p-jp:r. ct the
skll-d sortir cleiks. wuiking 24 hcurs a day. s:l eaJi su;
cc3?ive UT.ble in tuo hours and send the rr,al on its way.
"U'e have in the 4.548 fi.tl and second class poll ofli:rs.
regular clerks, substitute clerks, supervisors and j!oiers to ihe
number of 82.953." Bartle'.t continurs. "As soon a thai m.xci
mais of mail finds its wiy into the pv.t cffi:e the wark ol the
clerks is to unsnarl the Mixture, canc.l the stampi. s. rjlini. e the
V(mil and metered mail and arrange it all in geagra;'h:c oidei
so thnl it can be dr.patched li ihe variaus cjits and towns
which ft is addressed.
"Just how many separate groupings into which l!ns mail it
to Le woil.ed for diial-h is drlerm.ned by the slai ol tlie rail
way mail service. Tln-y formulate toe scheme el dispatch
vhich the clerks in the po:t efhees musl IdIIdw. In sorr.r cares
ll e po:t office sirrply works it to slates, to big c:lies or lo vpecific
trains, leaving ll to the men on the trains to walk ll st II "finer"
as the trains proceed cn their runs. In olh-v cases the deiks
woik il not only la the tiairu but lo l!i: various places on '..t
j-e and to the branch inei. Of cour:e the local or c.y miil
mUil at Once lie lrvtA nnA 4mrVd In lh dilTerenl r.irr ei
U n cl Cljtilmat rr.aX at a mcopsifxt patttl
poA rccr.v rg ila'.ion.
' Triled. It n u I n'-l Ik- ha;!i!y diipal-h'-d i
f.-.i dispalih l.;d up by the clerks u
- ol f ".li.l.u un wlii-.li i hey are pract cm ll-!-:ly
Ll.rlcd are put inla bs. pi-jclie.
end sacks and tVy in turn are labeled
It lli; ;o n's nl dr-.tinalron."
I l-e.e are 21 'v2 ra Iway mad clrr
rd ihry travel n:;re thin 2.20.C
1.1 a clay.
LTI IOUCH tr.a.-iy illmpii hav.
hern rriode to clrv se Leltfi con
tainers (cr mad ll-.an the 'm.liai
anvas barji. ncthir.j mre su:tahie has
et been produced. I he Post Cfiicr
Jepar'.menl has a mall baj factory a-.Va-l-ir-jion
wheie it manii'acluie
1. 253.000 ba3s a.id repairs OlJO.CJO
nore every year. For thre intersMed m
nalhrmatical corrpartv;ns il may be
Ct-d thc-l Ihe 1 4 C00.000 bags owned
y the dnartT.ent would placed er.d lo
:id. reach frcm los'on lo San f-ran
iico a.-.d rrturn oi. p.lrd emotv une oi
cp rl anlier wo-ild reach mile
.nto the sky il tlie p.le ccKiId :c pit
vcr.lcd from Isppling.
New York City's pail off.-e Jars the
largest business, w.th receipts ol $72.
697.907 (or Ihe fixal year ol 1927.
w York err.pbys 17.2)5 men.
second placa v.:i annual re-
Fl.c p3:tal orjania'ion in N
f'liirafft' n-t rfire ftands I
cc iU o! $'jl.24'),744 and with a city orsanizaUoa ol l.t-J
n e.i.
A year ago the smallest post office in the coantry was Racp
! crry. Aik.. wh!r,h did an annual business ol $3.65. but tins
year Chambers. Ga!. has nosed cut her rival wi.h rece.pts
S8.45.
Son-.e idea ol the magnitude ol the pastal butineas can be
aired liom the revenues cl the Post Office Department last
,ear. which were . $583,000,000. During ihe year postal
Iciks issued money orders lotalin $1 65 3.657.554 and o'.hei
cl-rls handled some 25.000.000,000 pieces of first, second,
third and fourth class mad.
The dead l.'tter office, the clearing house for the i-ublic "s
mistakes, handled 25.654 645 letters and 456 71 3 parcels
last year. Alter there had been opened and examined it was
possible to return 4 073.639 of the letters and 121.780 of the
parcels. The dead letters contained $113,066 in cunency.
429 644 in postage staxps and $5,184.31 I in dralts. checks.
m-ivy orders and ether co-nrnercial rapers. Nearly all of the
drafts were returned to the senders but since many of the
senders of tlie letters were unknown $40 000 in currency and
. $22. CC0 in stamps had to be kepi by ihe department.
Multiply this d :i!y average gr ef of the post office by about
lour or perhaps more, and yo-j have the concentrated burden ol
the mailman during the next Iwo weeks.
It ciplsirs, perhaps, what the Pest Office Department mean
when it begins its drive fsr the "mad early for Christmas" move
rrtcnt. '
Tnere is on odd Jigercmt bclucen alligatott. ir.iicft come ;ro.-n
the nrn &01IJ. and croroii'ci. u'hicri come from (He old.
Tltrmm ... mIHo.mImw 1 1 a ...I- l L lum .. ' ,.. J..
tremon rtptde fur Jeon. ' i iCiS
. .. . .r
I
Wmi . A JrK... tai f sw..riw JaljlSsS. I Lg"
r .
fiA Woman Doctor for- Reptiles
Pretty Joan Proctor Provides
Furnished Flats Heated
By Electricity for Her
Creepy Patients in Zoo
Hospital of London
.' ; Los Dos.
"F'SNAKILi ano .ird and crxodrlcs and lartows and
such could read. cluub'.h Miss Joan r. Proctor would
Jiang up An a.lvcrlisemenl in all the jungles ol the woild.
II woul I renJT . .1
. l,i'OR ItKrt'T-- r-.vn' of charza. nl-o tints in
V krsin-'.rii itraisittnt hou. fltted with all lioniu
llkp B'irr.rui: tti'Ci. Constant heat. Until and water.
, . 'llavla U .
Fd.- ),oeri:iV,?ifit ii lhi Ltwlv of the Sna'tci a serioui scien
tirl, -ii.ii!.r rjtf jr leptiles. She's the only ivomin in
the norld 'ilh siK-h .- '! and. p"rha;is, nlsri the younjest ol
eillter ie'; r kite's liir. Cor.-.l,.- ol Replies al the great London
Zpp an 1 iiruler Iiim aiiinii.irtration a new repl le hou;e lias u.l
beeii ftpen.'Tl Which ii tin? word in scientific conilorl lor the
cold -hLoderl tectls.
il is :uniiHctt'ly iiea'.-! electricity llimushout. Rach rep
ti!.'. in its corriparttneti: nu the amount of heat to win. h il is
a'eustonied in its nati: '.Munts and under which il llirivs best.
Vli'.s heat i kepi sti-U'llly ut n fixed temperature, thereby lessen
iin; the' chances of li; tcptiles from tropical regions gellinj
chilled and dying. '
Bach compartment !.. lighted Irom outside by special glars
which permits ccrtiii tilt -King sun rays lo come lliroimli. -In
addition, each cagvViN fif.r.rled with violet rays in such a way
thai the reptiles ar-J coiistatnir bathed in artificial sunlight. I he
result il lliat tliey are livelier than is usual in a zoo. The
lizards scamper nbKit; the Jii.vkes crawl on their daily errands.
' There is also an innovalion from Ihe standpoint of the specta
tor, too.' F.ach reptile cage or compartment has a painted back
ground representative of the hnbital of Ihe animal when in lb
native haunts. The cages are also filled with llie kind ol vege
tation to which ihe occupant is ured. If il likes fin; white sand
there ii plenty of it. - If it likes mud, it gets il. If il needs a
big water pool, the pond is supplied.
MI5S PROCTOR had a srientifi: love ot living- animals
almost from her cradle. I ler grnndfiilhc was a Inmous
. British (lilomclogist and 10 the little tji'l was taujlil not
jr.akn. scns
Miu Plotter.
"suffer 10m pneumonia.'
if
1 x
t i p iff -
I i '
v S i : .r w
If A
con Ptociir . . . ILt p.'aji
ir.ctcs leund a sma'l python
rurlcd about the char.dclisr.
lo eru.h buis. but to sludv them.
Al an age when most kids shrink into
themeelves when reptiles ore around, she had converted her
home into a miniature zon. Her friends got ihe thrill ol their
lives when they went into her room, for they were apt lo find
a small python cuiled around the gas chandelier, Biaiilian
house snakes draied artistically on the ma:cl-piece, lizards
Kampering up the walla, and a baby crocodil; waiting lazily to
be given its lavorite sweel-meats nice fat flies.
When she finished al Si. Paul's School for Girls, her par
ents asked the eighteen-year-old graduate what she wanted to
da. Most girls would answer:
"Dance and have a good lime."
Miss Pioctor answered in one word:
"Snakes."
Four years ago she was called lo the London Zoo to he
Curator in the Reptile Department. She was responsible loi
the care, comfort and health of dozens ol rare and expensive
specimens. As Curator now she makes a daily inspection ol
her charges. If any of them arc ill they are carted oil lo hei
hocpil.-.l. II any little ones have been born, they are carried
of to her reptile nursery before their parents can eat them 01
spank them.
hospital is one of the interesting places the general
IS fitted up with all sorts of special
appliances. There ate steam tanks lor snakes which
happen to Le lu Acting from something which very much re-
ICopirlahi, Ii:
Feeding a s.ck Urtcise at tl:e London Zoo hospital.
rni ie
I puLlic never sees. It
sentb I e s
in
human
beings
and mon
keys. There rs
a spe
cial s e 1
o I a p
paratus lor treating the tcelh of snakes. Sick reptiles are heie giv
en special fcod, no cost being spared. In cace of wounds 01
sores they are given special dressing. If necessary they are
operated on in the surgery. And Miss Proctor declares it is
surprising how soon the wild creatures, which are supposed le
be so dull compared with higher orders ol animals, become uced
tc special treatment.
There was. for instance, a lizard which had car trouble, ll
allowed its ear to be syringed and plugged up with cotton.
There was another which, waddled about completely covered
with bandages. There was a comic lat toad from Brazil which
hopped aiound wearing bandages on its head and made no
attempt to claw ihcm oil.
The giant Koniodo lizards, which come Irom a liny icland
in the Dutch East Indies and which are the largest in the world
often attaining a length of I 5 feel, are the last relics ol the
age of prehistoric super-giants ol the reptile world. Une ol
them arrived at the zoo with an ulcerated tail. Despite the
fact that il is nine feci long from snout to Ihe tip ol its tail, has
furepaws as big as a crocodile's and big cruel claws, the patient
made no attempt to fijlit. It -seemed lo realize it was on the
sick list and behaved accordingly.
JTT IS commonly supposed that reptiles, having a very low
order of intelligence, never lhow any gratitude for what is
done for them and never get U.-r.e, but Mbj Proctor says
.N'EA Mauuilne)
Jus 11 rot in the strictest sense so.
"They all start behaving badly as possible,
but a is due largely to fright." she declares.
As soon as they understand your hand
not something to' be afraid ot. but is some
h.ng warm and soft and kindly, their fear
tins gradually to dwindle. 1 don't believe
-!iles ever distinguish between individual
human beings as do the higher order ol
animals. For instance, a hon knows its
keeper by sigh' and smell and also by the
sound of his voice. 1 don't think leptiles
ever do that. The most 'they do is to get
used to being handled by human beings.
Even some of the poisonous snakes do.
Jnce you gel them uced to being handled, you
ta-.e to go on handling them. Otherwise Iks
old innate sense of fear returns and they are
once more wild things.
"The viper. Ihe cobra and the American
ccal snake thus gel used to human beings.
Rut other snakes never gel over their fear.
our American rattlesnake, though, never
a. lows, il.ell lo be handled with impunity, nor
do the r. .' snakes which kill their piey by
cru hmj ti-.m lo death in the folds ol their
tnormau.ly jtiong muscular bodies. I mean
the b.'s lor-'.nclor, the python and the ana
conda. 1 hey all remain savage."
a fcy hbtul their food as human beings. Thus
i e t ? pythons w- ckens. The anaconda prelert
M i tikes raShils. r :.eans a.:d guinea pigs. We
r.c ti-at'ires .-iier they I ale been killed. When
iC snakes arc led aD.-.t eery fortnight. And just as the
lions and '.iv.n !---'in to rage around every afternoon
when they se-,:r tV.at feeding time rs near, so these big
snakei begin -.-i :rs:lss when they hear doors slam around
their eaes. 1 ivy kn. w preparations are being made to feed
litem.
"Th-v
v h-.ie .e
.hex. : I,-
i.vj mem I
t.v -JioJl-eo ill Uie c-ges. I'.e s-.cV-s make one swill wild
bi'e at litem if to k:!i t:.im and Oitn proceed to Ihe slow
proctrs tl swallowing then, wnole.
"Alihiui:h they aie nut poio..T:5 their bile is a terrible
thing. The teeth curve inwards that the more then prey
itrujjles. ihe more il l.vter.itrs .t-rii and fastens itself on the
cruel fangs. A keex-i at a t".r.v r.tal n.o was once bitten
t.in. way and hit. leg w.-is sii lei.it 'y to. 11 that he died ol hit
injures.
"There is a very odd difleicnce betwee.i alligators, which
come Irom the new world, and crocodiles, which come frcm
ill: old. rhe alligators get used to their keejiers being around
and the men can work amid them quite with impunity. But
the crocodile, is an untameablc savage. And he a quick as
lightning. When you see him lyin in the water or on the sand
inert and sluggish, you think hiv every movement would be de
liberate. But he can whirl around quicker than the eye can
follow. His tail it apt to be where you saw hit head and he
will hit you a powerful blow with his tail- Or il you touch
his tail, the next instnnt almost he will have whirled around with
his savage, powerful jaws filled with cruel, tearing teeth."
All of which proves most conclusively thai the field ol reptile
surgery hat itt thrills.
And the next time the flapper daughter ttartt yellng lor
career, show her this article and tell her to go take the nakc'
pulse 01 ehe shut up. a)
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