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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 24, 1901)
THIS OMAIIA DAILY BEE: SUNDAY, NOVEMBEll 21, 1901. DARK PUZZLES OF THE MAILS Tkonundi flthid Ersrj Mentk bj a "Blind Rder" In H.w York. IOME HARD PROBLEMS COME TO HIM Cnrlonltlpn In Letter ACdresses, Unlit In Siicllltiir, Intrntlunnl Myall llcntluiii nnil thu Worst of HainliTrltliiBr. Extra Extra 18 X .V J .fat Of the millions of letters which go through tho New York poslolllco every month eventy-odd thousand aro thrown asldo by tho clerks ns "blind addresses." This means that they aro too lll-wrlttcn, badly spoiled or quecrly directed for tho employes of tho department, all of whom aro very keen at deciphering these unintentional cryptograms, and must go to tho "blind reader," Mr. 0. O. Meager. Mr. Monger Is probably tho most extraordinary puzzlo eolvcr' In this country, if not In tho world, for his rango of subjects covers a wider Held than all tho "prlzo puzzlo depart ments" put togother, and to many of tho problems to which ho must direct his faculties thcro is no auawcr. In ono month of this year he examined 73,880 blind ad dresses, nearly 04,000 of which ho sent to their propor destinations. Blind roadcrs aro born, not mado. They must havo a natural instinct tor unraveling mysteries, u certain power of intuition, an exhaustlvo ran bo of geographical informa tion, a knowlcdgo of many languages and chirographics, a prodigious memory for mlnuto facts and a special tasto for tho curiosities of language. All this wa3 de veloped In tho coso of tho present specialist by fourteen years of practice and dlsclpllno under his prodeccssor, Mr. W. W. Stotio, tho first professional "blind reador" In tho world, who died In August, 1900. Mr. Monger haa a collection of theso addresses, nlno out of ten of which would drlvo tho avrorago man to dcBDalr. Poor chirograph? is In Itself tho least of tho export's troublos. Ho haa nothing to think about until two essential elements of an address out of thrco aro omitted and tho rest spoiled in a manner beyond tho dreams of tho wildest "fonottik." Taking Mr. Monger's collection as representative of tho most interesting work that falls to tho export's lot, tho troublo or tho fun, as ho ralght call It arises out of one or other of theso four general causes: . Foreign lgnoranco of American geog raphy and tho Kngllsh language. 2. l'ulao or defective Information about tho particular address intended, with more or less carelessness. 3. Whims and oddities of cranks and semi, cranks. 4. Various attempts to mako a public dis play of wit and humor. Where Tltcy Originate. Of all tho qucor addresses In tho collec tion, those which belong In tho first of theso classes aro tho most Interesting and amus ing; thoso of tho last tho. would-bo funny re tho least so. Sovoral Inventors of ciphers havo experimented on tho postoflW by using their own Inventions to address nvolopes to thcmsolves, with tho mortify ing result that tho envelopes bo addressed Infallibly reached tholr destinations In coursa of time. To understand why the postofllco ofilclalB should troublo thorn .elves to decipher theso puerilities ono must remcmbor that tho postal scrvlco haB its sprit do corps, and a wholcsomo rivalry between tho Now York postofllco and tho dead letter ofllco at Washington forces tho activity of both fur beyond tho point whero trlct obligation might fairly bo Bupposcd to end. Then thcro Is tho smart youth one could Almost draw a picture of him, leaning gainst tho drug Btoro nowol! post with a clgarctto tilted In his mouth after reading this lofty effort nt cabalistic humor or an envolopo: "Miss J. II. I). Stone, Saccharine Elovatlon, N. II.," which promptly wont to Sugar Hill, N. II. doing backward through tho four classes fcoro asBumul, tho uoxt In order tho crank clasB Is much smaller than might havo boon oxpectcd. "To tho Monkeys of Mcxaco In Amorlca," with a Liverpool postmark, suggests a violent caso of Insanity. An other from Ungtand, addressed to "Mrs. Stanford, California," vory likely exhibits u xnadnoss with method In It. It Is perhaps significant that the address, "Mr. Pluto, tho Fourth Circle, Hades on tho Btyx," should havo como from Sing Sing; even moro so that Sioux Falls, S. D should bo tho point of doparturo of a loiter ad dressed "Any Manufacturer or Dcalor In Marrlago CortiUcates, Now York City, In. y." ItcRcmblHiicc In Nnnici, i The largest number of blind addresses are tho result of tho closo similarity be ,twoon names of postofllccs In tho samo atato. New Jersey, for Instance, has not only a Worrlstown, but a Maurtcetown and a Moorestowu. And hero Is an astonishing list of what may bo called pairs of twin names In Pennsylvania: Dala and Bela, Coldcreek and Coles Creek, Dllllner nnd Zollinger, Drlfton and Drifting, DrUmoro and Dunraore, Hamilton nud Hamllnton, Xloland and Rowland. Mistakes In address ing aro inovltablo when such namos as these are given by word of mouth, as friends In rartlng be each othor to "bo suro to let mo hear from you." This class now and then furnishes some amusement, as, for W.H.WILLS. AfTofwiVAT Law mid SCUCITOft OFClMHS AtlOpATEtlTJ. WILLS Bltt, Jli INDIAN AVE.. n.U. WX5H M, A X I f ' ' '. . II I ' I I I I . I- t 11 , ... (A80V8 AOORtlt) MR'E.DOWMIHC Hot Park Pi, it ( Lowcr) POJTMAJTH, GAVHCAD. CtftlN Co. H.Y. Instance, where thn nnmn nf Trnlmxttn. N. J., appears as "Hell Meadow." Dutchess' Junction, N. J., masquerades under tho naina of "Dutch Johnson" and Colts Neck figures as "Cold Snake." Quito recently tho New York sorters havo been puzzled by these thrco: "Liquid," "Lobster Day" and "North Dutchiown," respectively intended for Lakewood, Oyster Bay and Qcrmantowu. Tho apparatus for dealing with this class of difficulties consists chlolly of a remark ably large outfit of books of roferenco directories of cities, gazetteers, directories of every trade and occupation, tho army list, the navy list, tho register of light houses, registers of persons specially In terested In various artistic and scientific pursuits (such as tho Naturalists' Di rectory), and, not loast, tho Social Register. It needs a; trained judgment, almost equal to an Instinct In Its effect, to guess In which of theso books a name Is most llkoly to bo found. It may havo bocn easy, for Instance, to dccldo on general appearances that "Miss Mary Murphy, America," to whom this unstamped cnvelopo Is addressed, need not bo looked for in the Social Reg ister, but many cases requlro a much closer consideration of all the details. lluuie nud PorelBii Cnrlunttle. Tho cream of tho collection, regarding it as a museum of epistolary curiosities, Is In tho foreign written addresses. Most of theso. havo bocn condemned as "hards" and laid a'Bldo by tho sorting clerks who handlo tho Incoming foreign malls, and tho neces sity for a Specialist to do this work of deciphering in the Now York postofllco is doubtless duo to that city's being tho most froqucntcd port of arrival for mall-carrying ocean steamors. But tho term "foreign" in this connection must bo taken to Include not only Inhabitants of othor English speaking countries, but also, very largely, tho foreign born persons living In this country. This envelope, for oxample, ad dressod to a young woman at "Spencor, Insen," whero "InBoa" stands for tho Initials N. C, Is not llkoly to havo been mailed by a natlvo American, but it bears a United States stamp; tho samo Is true of tho envelopes Inscribed "W. Hoboknly," In very bad German script, meaning West Hoboken; "Ancram Lead, Kalambl Colty," for Ancram Lead Mines, Columbia county, N. Y.; "Al SIgnor Lulgl Scarplna, Anovl folsl, N. Y.," meaning Hannawa Falls, N. Y., and that triumph of blind reading In which a trackless junglo of big and llttlo lottors has been so reduced to order as to spell "192 NoRtH stl Tie Eti bostock Massa," and interpreted 193 North street, Boston, Mass. Tho letter addressed to "Fcdvoltoncszl" (Faycttovllle, Tcnn.,) has no stamp at all, but it was mailed in New York. On tho other hand, that addressed to "Knonghyto P. O., Con., U. S. A.," for Naugatuck, Conn., bears tho postmark of letters that go to Italy and has not tho stamp on. Your P. Do Marso." Hut the blindest of the blind addresses In tho collection aro such as the following: "address" I wish you alia Huppy Now Yeur nnd Merry Christmas Amorlckn." which Is from Stockholm, Sweden; and "Mister Samuel Inulberjf You Is alright old Grandmother Yukl Inula bully ucho 1 2 .1 t 5 (1 7 S 3 10 III Newlork Anictika," from Vienna, Austria; and "Miss my darling sweet hart I lov Juy Nortamorlka." from ft country postofllco in Sweden. Addresses llko theso aro not only Im possible of translation Into anythiug llko working forms, but they defy tho non-ex pert to guess what could possibly have caused them to bo written. The expert's theory Is that In all theso cases and thero aro many moro llko them tho addressee has written In last letter a fow words of English, Just to show his familiarity with that language; his correspondent at homo has mistaken tho words for his American address, and, as a rulo, tho lottor finds Its way to tho dead letter ofQco. Tho anguish of tho Swedish Miss , whoso coy outpouring of tho heart in a language her lover knew not, resulted In her getting no answer to her letter, is only ono among many pathetic romances suggested by the contents of this album of queer addresses. EWAN M'PHEHSON. OUT OF THU OHDI.VAnY. New York has 260 hotels. Tho potato forms nearly li per cent of tho total food of tho peoplo of, this country. Policemen In Vienna must bo nblo to swim, row a boat and understand tele graphing. J. N. Brongel of Rondout. N. Y has in his possession a photograph of John Brown, With his autograph attached. India was In possession of a steel secret once, which Is lost now. TIiIb was In tho Inlaying with gold of ntecl blades In such a manner that tho strength of tho blades aa not Impaired nor tholr temper spoiled. Simon Lnko of Baltimore linllt n ni,. marlno wrecking vessel, and 1h searching near Bridgeport, Conn., for J3G0.00O, wHlch Tlpporary, and "To And Over Stroet Sailing wcn lwn with tho Lexington, when It Mass," for 2 Andover stroet, Salem, Mass.. , , . k comes from Ballymoro, In tho. Green MeJfclM MR. MENGER, NEW YORK'S EXPERT ON "BUND" ADDRESSES I"lmt thm GOLD OUST iwtmm your workf" Mym iwAt mmmp fmm xtw mtomtmi, ym will fin a Mai I GOLD DUST I fc irore 'convenient, cheaper and better than any soap at any price. Thrl no cleanwr of I anylctnd m ai GOLD DUSTYana n? ctetntnc thu GOLD DUSTwU cstdobeuar H thin anything elte. Try U once and you will alway um It THE H, K. FAIRBANK COMPANY, Chisago. St Louis. tw York. Bottan. From tho samo quarter of tho globo como tho moro recent oddities of "Cranston Royal Irish" (for Cranston, R. I) and tho spell ing out of Washington, D. C, as "Wash ington, Dublin County." A very Important point In solving tho problem of tho foreign addresser's Intontlon Is, evidently, a knowlcdgo of tho sound values which tho characters ho writes would bo likely to bear for him Individually. Hero the expert's tasto for llngulstlo niceties, with tho corresponding keen ear for differences! of sound, Is Invaluable A man who has become accurately familiar with Italian sounds sees at a glance that "Neglosl," giving tho Italian values to the lotters, exactly represents an Illiterate Italian's attempt at tho sounds which Amerlcnns wrlto Now Jersey. On an en volopo with a Russian sftrap "Kroenpoynp" means Groenpolnt, for tho Russian mouth Is apt to substltuto a lab.' il for a dental consonant, and a K for a guttural G. Again, thero Is tho wonderful postmark "Przocxaw" on a. letter to "Mis Karollna Janowska." Ono who has listened carefully to cither Russian of Polish talk knows how'a man of Przecxaw would read aloud tho lino which follow tho nume "Tut wody tu Is Chandnr Ten stryt;" It would sound something very llko "Two forty two, East Hundred Ten street," which Is a fairly latolllglblo ad dress. St ii inn the Kzpert. Of course many addresses defy tho most exhaustlvo study, and many letters land In tho dead letter office. To this class belongs tho effort of a sturdy Briton, who wroto to bis friend, Mr. Thomas Clacy, at "Now Jorsoy, United States America," and then, with truly British misgivings as to tho American Institutions, appended a llttlo private noto to the postofllco au thorities assuring them that "this address is correct." Probably it was, as far as it went, but it hasn't gono far enough yet to get Thomas Clacy, Hero is a Russian speci men with 10 cents due: "This handwrit ing is ow off your brother's daughter his nurao Is Simon Galltsky, America." All that was on an unstamped envelope found In a Schnoctady (N. Y.) mall box was "Plcaso put on this t cents stamp on the tho npproach of a storm 100 miles away nnd In plain storm language tells tho hearer whero It is going and what It la doing, 11. C. Thurston, who was the tallest man In tho confederate army. Is still living In Mount Vernon, Tex. Although 7 feet 714 IncheH In height, and naturally a mark for sharpshooters, ho was wounded only once in all tho campaigns. It hus remnlnod for tho Boston Journal to demonstrate how llttlo of u rurlty Is tho KoHlon wedding unnlversary at leaM In New bnclnnd. That paper has found 818 couples In tho territory Indicated still en joying wedded life after fifty years and more. Liverpool lias tho biggest warehouso In thn world. It Is built benldo tho docks and is Intended to house tlw ImportH of tobacco, which forms so Important a part of Liver pool's trade. Tho warehouso Is 12514 feet In loncth, 165 feet wldo and 121 feet 10 lnchos high. Tho ground nrea Is 13,000 square yards, and the area of tho several floors 174,09S squaro yards. A committee appointed by tho legislature of Rhode Island to consider the advisability of establishing u stato sunlturlmn for tho treatment of consumptives by tho open-air method, has mado a report In Ita fnvor. Last year K.7) iiarMnnn dlml nf nnnniifnrtHni. In, tho state, and In tho last ten years there has been an a vera go of 779 deaths an- iiuuny irom, uio uiseuse. Dr. J. J. Lafferty of Richmond, Va., pos sesses a remnrkable cano. At the tlmo of the burial of General Stonewall Jackson some ono planted u twig upon tho grave, it grow to bo a sapling several Inches In diameter. Friends of tho Jackson family had It removed. They found that tho root pf the sapling had entwined Itself about his' Hkelnton. It was token up and a cano was mado of a part otTt. This cano was artistically carved and given to Dr. I-at-ferty. . N.''0 made from historic woods and ex U1.1'",0.1 'U. fno Woman's building nt tho .So.I!lJ.'1 Columblnn oxposltion In Chlcugo Jn ibW, as the gift of tho women of Dau phin county, Pennsylvania, has Just been presented to tho Keyutonn mate; and will l,o placed In the rooms of Governor Stone at 'ha executive bulldliiK in HarrlsburR until the stato's museum Is opened In tho now cnpltoi. Tho hand-cnrvlng on tho tablo Is skillfully done and tho mosaic de sign of the top Is Inlaid In woods from many historic places. To Cure n Couch Btop coughing, as it irritates the lungs and gives them no chance to heal. Foley's Honey and Tar cures without causing a strain In throwing off the phlegm like com mon cough expectorants. inH Vw Special Thanksgiving Sale of Suits, Skirts, Coats, Furs, etc Foresight in placing orders, with the appreciation of shrewd buyers, has enabled us to sell more " Women's Ready-to-Wear Clothes than we anticipated, but our Cloak and Suit man is a lucky chap this season and his foresight in selection and paying the right price has won him a great season's success. The growth ,of this Women's Depart ment is conclusive evidence that we have been successful in our -met hods of doing business. ' Your attention is first called to our great sale of the Favorite Rglrvs Fifty of them (choice ones too) arrived too late for Saturday's sale,' will be placed on 3ale tomorrow. We told you of them Saturday, how they were made and what they were niade.of you can best judge if you come in person and see them yourself $9.75, $12.75, $14.75, $16.75, $18.75 Women's Tailor-Made Suits The showing and selling of a line suit, made of Venetians and cheviots, made in the latest style and best workmanship, ought to be of interest to anyone who in tends buying a, suit for Thanksgiving- they are exceptional values our price only 812 Women's Tailor-Made .Suits Made of imported Venetian, in blue, black and brown, new blouse effect, satin lined and trimmed with stitched velvet; or cloth bands, new bias llounce skirt this suit is perfectly tailored regular $20.00'v.Vlue, ' for . . . Kill. HUM nuit, 14 5 WOMEN'S AUTOMOBILES rtt A ff g Mado of tho very best quality Washington mills kersey; In black, tan, castor aud red, beaver fur Jfc I L collar and reveres, heavy satin lined, finished with tailor stitching handsomely -f A fay f TT finished a stylish and usoful garment regular $20.00 value iT"X 15 for Women's Box Couts Mado of oxcellcnt qurtlity of korsoy, lined with guaranteed Sklnuor satin, high storm collar, lapel pockota, 10 rows of tailor's Btltchtncr around bottom of coat regular $15.00 quality, at 9.75 Women's Box CoutsMndo of all wool koreoy, 127-lu. long, lined with u good batin tergo a woll iutido, or feet fitting coat, samo style and quality A ff coat brings $8.00 clsowboro our L 9W Thanksgiving price . Women's Walking Skirts Walking skirts are the hardest kind of a skirt to mako set rifiht Thcy'ro "Just right" whon they are right, abouilnnblo when thoy'ro not rU;ht having them' "right" has brought us a great skirt business tho ones offered for tbl Thanksgiving sale nro nindo of excellent f-v -v material, in black, gray and oxford, new llarlng effect, finished with ton rows of tailor stitching J vJ 1 I regular J5.00 nualtty, for m S V-r Women's Flannel Waists Made of best Pacific mills flannel, new long dip front trimmed with rows of tucking, buttons on b.uk, new collar and sleovo they como In black, red and a rose regular prlco elsewhere Jli.GO our Thanksgiving price, 1 only AaT Women's Flannel Waists Made of beBt Botany flannel, some of thoin with talota fronts, others handsomely trimmed with velvet ribbon theso waists aro all high grade, aud tho regular values are 1 and C dollars for Thanksgiving salo they J yj Thanksgiving Fur Sale 3QA For a genuine near seal storm collar, best o AA Vvf selected skins , 0"vl 9T7 EZ Oenulne Marten collarette, heavy satin A O ilcd. real $18.00 value V X O 2f French .Marten scarf with cluster of six ff yu tans -&.yu 3 00 I,,or genuine Mink scarfs with cluster of 6 " ff"V zrf talis, a gcnulno beauty 4AA Genuine Marten scarf, full size, with A Cf f3 cluster of six tails 4 "U Oenulno loug Marten boa with largo tails, A JL O very latest In furs, 718.00 value 7'iO 9 pm Genuine "Isabella" fox Fcarf, 62 Inches a wg J.KJ long with Jarge tulls, worth $15.00 V' X C5 illllllllllllllllllllilllllllllllllllllllHillllKilllllirVWSilllllllllllMillllllllllll mKMm rrrm i in in r r ft wrtitmim a m.M iilsuh 6 Healthy Mind in a Healthy Body Stomach anil brain affect each other. A sick stomach sours tho disposition and pro vents sleep and brain rest, and a sick brain sours the stomach and clous tho bo'wols, Men of sedentary habits, brain workers who don't get much exercise, have sick stom achs and bowels, and wear out their brains and nerves. "Som Jlm mo, whll I In Mllliribnri, Pi., Mr. Kreek, the Undlord. wm IUIctM wlfh iiiu in ins mnrricn. i ifiililca UPQ4 Mia ..iiik - .vmiv. iJSitfH ID Bll ivii. uiorniuK ji va.veii id, oi ii iftfe.warra. lit bouitht box ot Uiitanu n UpMiina II feat lone Cftint (ruin liliu bod and fl." -Uh. E. Condon, Mlslluburr. "I work In tba offlea and don't g a much aiarclia ai 1 ihould, and whan I faol bad 1 Jul! tak a Caicarat wblcU alwaya makea ma (aal ' J', n. Hohan, Q. A O. Itoula, Crtt eant, Ky. "1 had a torpid liter for inontba, I bought a box of Oaicarala In waihlnrton and bara not onlr been nut In iiarfeet . health, but Liva laluad coaildrrabla In waUbt." "Caacarati aored ma radleallr of drtsepala Harry llodfion, liockrllla, Md. and headaeh and nr welthl wbleli belora wa 'Caieareti war the onlr raedlf lna I had with ,M n,,w lM li."'!-B. Nat.rro, Blloil, Mill, me when 1 beat th world'a record ai "Oham. "I And Caieareti beneflelal Iftar a atiall of ion ram nuiiir oi Auarica," nuining III hard work, eiaarlot tha kraln aa wall at tha nabala In II hour.," fcowola. and alio warktoc aff ralda la ad -t. E. Klmbcfiln, La Harpe, 111, ihape."-E. O. Btokaa, rhlladalahla, Fa, A man who keeps his bowels regular with Cascarets Candy Cathartic, that is without strain or violence, can keep strong and healthy without much exercise, a laraous professor in jeuerson Medical College used to advise his students: "Trust in God and keep your boweld openl " That's God's own wisdom, for when the bowels are regular and the digestion strong and healthy, then the system is safe nd the brain and nerves will have inexhaustible elasticity and life. Beat for the Bowele. All dnif (lata, loc, 3sc soc. Ntvtr sold In bulk. The stnulr.e tablet atampedC C C. Guar antead to cure or yaur money back. Sample and booklet free. Addreie Sterling Remedy Co,, Chicago or N, Y.