DIVISION THREE — BRAINS. 237 



the emergency. Bristol was a man of good grit ; and he held on till he was 

 completely snowed under with accumulations of mail impossible to be dis- 

 tributed, even with the extra help he had hired out of his own pocket ; and 

 his requests and bills for extra help were rejected at Washington. Then he 

 quit — resigned suddenly by telegraph, and got out with a big fund of "ex- 

 perience ' ' in his head but some hundreds of dollars less funds in his pocket. 

 The Washington authorities telegraped back, October 25, 1886, that Bayard 

 T. Smith had been appointed postmaster, vice Bristol, resigned ; so Smith 

 took hold to win his spurs as a democratic official. But criticism and com- 

 plaints filled the air, and there was a clamor lor better mail service — many 

 persons, as I often heard them myself, foolishly claiming that the trouble 

 was all because the democrats had got into power again. Mr. Smith soon 

 got tired of the "honors of ofiice"; and in self-defense he published in the 

 Union of February 5, 1887, an official statement, from which I make a few 

 extracts : 



' ' Funds available Monthly 



Salary at $1,400 per annurc $116 67 



Private contributions toward rent of office 40 00 



Money order commissions (available about six months after 



earned ) 22 50 



Total $179 17 



AVERAGE EXPENSES. 



Clerks' hire $176 23 



Rent for December and January 50 00 



Lights and fuel 18 00 



Sundry expenses 6 33 $250 58 



Monthly deficit $71.41. The public can hardly expect the postmaster 

 to do more, under the circumstances." 



But alas, the unfeeling public did expect more, and continued to up- 

 braid the postmaster until the sweets of of&ce soured and palled upon his 

 taste; and on February 29, 1887 — only three weeks after publishing his 

 financial dilemma and personal defense, as above, he resigned in favor of 

 Frank H. Oxner, who had served as his deputy. So Oxner was appointed 

 to fill the vacancy March 25, 1887 — but he died before his commission ar- 

 rived. 



Next, Willis U. Masters was appointed June 20, 1887 — the fourth 

 democratic postmaster within two years. The new man went in with reso- 

 lute zeal to redeem the credit of his party and administration, and give 

 Pasadena such a mail service as her necessities and amount of business 

 would justify. With Jacksonian grit he took the responsibility, and hired 

 enough help to keep the office in good running order for a few months. 

 ^^But when the winter tide of tourist business rolled in, he too was swamped, 

 ^Hknd the breakers of mail matter rolled over him as ruthlessly as they had 

 ^Fover his predecessors. And the Daily Star of December 13, 1887, gave a re- 



