SACKS ON THE MILL.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXI, Issue 51, 2 March 1911, Page 6

SACKS ON THE MILL.

A CONGESTED PARCELS OFFICE. COMPLAINTS OF DAMACVk. A clerk was at. a desk with soarcelj; room enough to move an elbow fxcoly for the wielding of hie pen. A raaipart of miscellaneous goods, pilec up on thai floor in a formidable shape, threatened' to topple on him and others. Now andj then an athletic official had to vaulti over the barrier. This was t-he seen«( at the Lambton Station Parcels Offices when a representative of The Post hap., pened to Jook in ufc nooii to-day. T)w, little place, baa-ely 60lt by 18ft, fan>l« overflowed with bags, trunks, boxes' portmanteaux, dress-oaskets, packiw^, rifles, bicycles, and other goods. Justf when movement in the room became 4 matter of delicate skill a large washing ' copper was wafted into the narrow gan*°l [ way to threaten the shins of aJI and' ! sundry. The glutted shelves had loitg, since declined to take further parcels, and the overloaded floor was groaning under its burdens. Hence a truck stowed in a corner, had to be preset into service, and it was stacked with about forty articles, mostly large. Thi» was confusion enough, but the fuu» proper did not begin till the Wairaraua tram plunged in with another lot 'off luggage and good?. How the mm managed to work among the stacks and, answer people's questions civilly must* ,£? been a mvßter y to any bystander.. Ihese cramped quarters have long been a serious nuisance to the staff, a* The Post has frequently indicated, amfc they are an intense irritation to the public. There is no space for tho proper, classifying of the parcels. A caller maw discover that his particular article ia at the bottom of a stack, and its releasa involves the demolition of the pyramid!. Then the rebuilding process begms, sooii to be disturbed once more. This pell-i mell system, unavoidable in. the present premises, necessarily subjects goods to «ome knocking about. Complaints o£damage are numerous. Riflemen, on tha way to Trentham, are specially agt grieved. Their pleas, for a tender handL mg of their firearms have been respectecj as far as possible, but the "pelli melling" has had to go on, and sonid weapons have suffered. AN EASY REMEDY. Over two years ago, Tho Post, rea* lisnig that a new railway station was ia the dim future, pointed to an ©aaw method of enlarging the accommodation for parcels. Tha extension can be got in) one of two simple ways. The room can! be widened by taking in a skip of thei very wide footpath outeidc^-or length-, ened by taking in the adjacent ladiee* waiting-room, and building another room* for the ladies further down. CompeteatJ authorities have estimated the cost of; such an extension at a figure not exceedt ing £100. By present appearances, th© LamMoMk Station will be used for several yeaxi(, yet. The Railway Department is making! alterations at the Thorndon end on line* which indicate that the present system^ of stations will not be superseded for aJ long time yet. The department k gomgi to the expense of the interlocking sys-, tern for the Thorndon end, and is build* ing a signal box. It seems that tha Lambton Parcels Office is destined to be) used for a sufficient period to warrant; the spending of £100 on an enlargement^!