By far the largest object ever moved through the Parcel Post System was a bank. Not all at once, of course, but practically brick by brick.
When W. H. Coltharp, in charge of building the Bank of Vernal, Utah was confronted with the task of getting bricks for the bank, he turned to the Parcel Post Service. The bricks which Coltharp wanted were produced by the Salt Lake Pressed Brick Company, located 127 miles from Vernal.
Instead of paying four times the cost of the bricks for them to be shipped by wagon freight, Coltharp arranged for the bricks to be shipped in 50-pound packages, through the Parcel Post Service, a ton at a time.
The Salt Lake City and Vernal postmasters as well as the Uintah Railroad, all responsible for hauling the bricks became frantic as tons of bricks piled up. Memos flew between postmasters and finally to Postmaster General Burleson.
Although it was too late to stem the tide of bricks which threatened to overwhelm the tiny post office, Burleson and his staff rewrote the affecting legislation to limit to 200 pounds the total weight of parcel post which one consignor could send to one consignee in a day.
In a letter announcing the amendment to the legislation, he noted that "it is not the intent of the United States Postal Service that buildings be shipped through the mail." In the end, all 40 tons of bricks were delivered for Coltharp's bank.
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