INVENTION AND DISCOVERY.


An interesting advance in the postal system of our country was made
recently when the first of the pneumatic tubes which are to carry mail
underground from one office to another was declared ready for use.

Some three hundred prominent men were present to see the first package
of mail matter sent.

[Illustration: Self-Registering Mail Box]

This tube extends from the Produce Exchange to the Post-Office Building,
and the trip can be made from one office to the other in one minute and
a quarter.

Mr. Chauncey Depew was present at the opening ceremonies, and having
made an appropriate speech, sent off the first carrier of mail matter
that passed through the tube.

In less time than it takes to tell the story the carrier returned,
bringing a receipt for the mail that had been sent, and a pretty little
kitten which arrived breathless from its spin through the tube.

The carriers are two feet long and seven inches round, and are made to
fit the tube closely.