Havre of the part: Post office woes

In this week’s issue of The Havre Advertiser dated Aug. 1, 1893, we find that problems with the U.S. Postal Service are nothing new, complete with spelling punctuation errors:

OUR MAIL SERVICE

Although averse to assuming the role of kicker so early in our career, it has become necessary to expostulate with the authority, wherever it lays, responsible for the satisfactory administration of the postal service. If it were not that inconvenience becomes more marked every day, that we have been pressed repeatedly to touch upon the matter, we might not perhaps have been disposed, on our own account, to resort to the extremity of a public complaint.

We are not concerned as to where individually the evident neglect may lay, we have simply to intimate that a change in the direction of promptitude is essential.

We would indicate, that a store is in mischievous connection with postal arrangements when attempting to exercise in arbitrary jurisdiction over the closing of a postoffice; that we require our mail arriving here at 8:10 p.m., distributed within a reasonable time and not because a store has to be closed, put off until next morning; that we have no intention of putting up with the delay repeatedly experience in the transmission of letters, (an important business communication from Fort Benton taking four days to reach us here, and occasioning us considerable annoyance and expense).

It is entirely necessary in the first place that the Great Northern should immediately turn over a new leaf in the particular of delivering the mail at the postoffice in Havre. At the postoffice in Fort Benton — where the station is nearly two miles away-the mail is distributed within the time it takes the mailbags from the station here to reach our postoffice, a few hundred yards away. It is perhaps the promptitude elsewhere, that brings out the inefficiency here, in such relief. We are not to be understood, as reflecting upon the obliging clerk, who cannot be blamed for the dilatoriness of the railway company, or for the closing of the postoffice before the mail is distributed.

No individual. firm, or company, connected in any way with the mail service of Uncle Sam, can afford to indulge in this sort of thing. Obstacles, in the way of ensuring a satisfactory postal service, are not difficult to remove.

In 1893, the post office was located on the south side of the 200 Block of 1st Street, about a block closer to the railroad than it is currently.

We leave the trials and tribulations of the problems at the “postoffice” to other parts of Havre in the city and state social pages, complete with errors:

L. M. Gribble, night car inspector, on his round Wednesday morning came across a lad only 13 years old, w+ho had a rather remarkable story to tell. It appears, that on account of a step-father, the boy decided to run away from his home in Chicago, and started out with only 66 cents in his pocket upon his travels. Within a period of two months, during which he had not apparently wanted for food, he had roamed over an astonishing area, including Salt Lake, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle and Spokane. He expressed himself as having had more than enough of it, as as being desirous of reaching home again in a hurry. Experience teaches many of us that there are worse places than home.

The trustees of the Roman catholic church building fund, Messrs. Gorman & Gussenhoven, have awarded the contract to Paul Decelles. It has not yet been decided, whether the project is to run to $1,169 which would mean a substantial brick edifice, or whether the contract will be confined to the less ambitious sum of $770, which would provide for a wooden structure similar to the M. E. church, which although perhaps not so desirable would equally well answer all practical purposes for some time to come.

On Thursday morning the explosion of a lamp in the freight warehouse at the depot started a conflagration, which instantaneously assuming alarming proportions would soon have got beyond control and have resulted in destruction of property; if the presence of the superintendent, Mr. Newman and Mr. Atkins, immediately on the spot had not been cool, intelligent, rapid effort, promptly averted what would with the least delay have developed into a serious disaster. It is fortunate that the gentlemen mentioned were at home, that the accident happened in the day time, otherwise there might have been a very different story to tell.

There were four classified ads in this week’s paper in 1893. A ranch cook was wanted “by man of long experience and good references.” If you wanted the job, you could send your information to J. M. McDonald at the Windsor Hotel. One could rent “a nicely furnished room in a quiet neighborhood,” just go to the Advertiser office. Or: “Wanted. By a lady of refinement and culture a position as amanuensis in an office, teacher in a private family or country school. For further particulars enquire at ADVERTISER office.” Or, if you wanted to engage in the saloon business “For Rent: A bar room with complete set of bar fixtures. Will be rented on reasonable terms. For further particulars enquire at Sam Wah restaurant.”