THE STORY OP OUR POST OFFICE The Greatest Government Department in all its Phases BY MARSHALL GUSHING ILLUSTRATED WITH OVER FOUR HUNDRED AND FIFTY FINE ENGRAVINGS BOSTON, flASS. A. M. THAYER & CO., PUBLISHERS 1893 Copyright, 1892, BY MARSHALL GUSHING. -All rights reserved. Typography and Presswork by L. Barta & Co. , The Barta Press, 148 High St., Boston, Mass. NOTE. WASHINGTON, Oct. 12, 1892. DEAR MR. THAYER: I send you the last of the copy to-day. At least, you shall not deny that you have been favored in one respect : I have had it all typewritten. I congratulate myself, too, that the photographs were mostly taken by my friend here, Mr. Prince ; and both of us ought also to feel happy that personal friends of ours had the mechanical work, so important in any publication, in charge, Mr. Gill of the engraving and Mr. Barta of the printing. You had a long head when you engaged these men and it was a compliment to me. As to the matter, it ought to speak for itself. For one, I rather like it. At any rate, I shall not apologize for it, though that is the fashion, it seems. I only hope that the book will be read and en- joyed by some of the 230,000 people who are so honorably employed in the postal service, and by some of their friends ; and even by some of the millions who use the mails and want to have them made quicker, safer, and more frequent. May a good number enjoy read- ing the book as much as I have enjoyed writing it ! That is enough to wish for. Accept my cordial regards, and hurry the proofs ; they must be read with the greatest care, and that takes time. As ever, yours most truly, MARSHALL GUSHING. MR. A. M. THAYEE, 6 Mt. Vernon St., Boston, Mass. 224364 THE CITY AND THE DEPARTMENT. [HE visitor to Washington City descries the pure, constant, beautiful monument and the dome of the majestic Capitol as he rides into town. He goes to his hotel, or visits his more or less hospitable relations. Then he begins the task of seeing the sights. He has allotted to him so many days in which to see such a number of sights, and that makes it a mathematical certainty that he must see such a number of sights per day. He visits the vaults of the Treasury Department, where the mil- lions and millions of gold and silver coin are piled in great sacks; spends an hour or two at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, where the revenue stamps and the greenbacks are manufactured; rides to the top of the Monument and looks down upon a city of a quarter of a million people nestling in a hundred thousand trees and breathing easier in the shade of three or four hundred parks, big and little. He almost certainly wanders over to the White House, is taken through the parlors and the East Room, and formally, and with as much dignity and self-possession as possible, shakes the President by the hand; or, if he knows his Member or his Senator and appreciates his own importance to that patriotic representative of his locality, secures a personal introduction to the Chief Execu- tive in his library upstairs, and finds better occasion for passing the time of day and better excuse for boasting to his neighbors of the tremendous successes of his latest journey away from home. The visitor no doubt spends a good part of a day at the Capitol, gazing upon more unique and stately things and familiarizing him- OUR POST OFFICE. SACRED MOUNT VERNON. self with more statesmen than he can describe in a year's time. He looks in at the Pension Office, where, under the massive pillars and the barn-like roof, they dance at the great inauguration balls. He rides behind the lazy, loquacious African dri- ver, unless, of course, his very hospitable re- lations put their pri- vate carriages at his disposal, or his patriot- ic representatives simi- larly favor him. He glories in the view from Fort Myer, the view of Washington City, lying on the bank of the sluggish river, surrounded by woods and hills, feels the pathos of the national burial place at Arlington, lingers by the porch of Lee or the grave of Sheridan. He drives to the Soldiers' Home, per- haps, and wonders whether that beautiful reach of field and lawn or the shades of Arlington satisfy him most. He surely devotes a day to sailing down the river, to sit and muse at the venerated home of Wash- ington and stand reverently by the great man's grave. The visitor sometimes finds occasion to leave this beaten track of sentiment and historic beauty for things more present and practical. He misses quaint old News- THE ROBERT E. LEE HOUSE AT ARLINGTON. THE CITY AND THE DEPARTMENT. 3 paper Row, misses, perhaps, the delicious fried chicken at Han- cock's. But he studies the objects in the museums, tires himself out in the libraries, in the Patent Office, in the Smithsonian Insti- tution. He goes to the Navy Yard and examines the enormous gun plant, and, if fortune favors, finds a proud, new cruiser, lying, sleepy but relentless, in the lap of the Eastern Branch. Then, if the visitor has time, he wants to see the Dead Letter Office in the Post Office Depart- ment, a thing which he has read about, and "just to catch a glimpse " of the Postmaster Gen- eral, a man whom he has read about. The Department and the man are more of inter- est than the stranger has imagined. The De- partment touches every several person of all the millions in this whole country. It touches millions, indeed, in other countries. The man inspirits all this boundless public service. The building of the Post Office Department occupies a square bounded by Seventh and Eighth, and E and F Streets, northwest; that is, it is in the seventh square west of the Capitol, and in the fifth one north of the reservation extending westward from the Capitol to the Monument. The structure has a basement and two principal stories, adorned, as an architect would say, with monolithic columns and pilasters with Corinthian capitals. The material is white marble from Maryland and New York. The building was begun in 1839 from designs by Robert Mills, and it was finished in 1855 by Thomas U. Walter. No doubt it would have cost less than 12,150,000 if it had not been so many years in progress. Most of the offices of the Department are quartered in this building. Five important offices in addition, however, are required to be rented: the Busch building, directly opposite the Department building, on E Street, at 111,000 a year; the structure at the corner of Eighth THE TOMB OF WASHINGTON. 4 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. and E Streets, which is occupied by the Money Order Division and by other bureaus, at $8,000 a year; the Mail Bag Repair Shop, on C Street, a fine, partly new brick structure opposite the rear of the National Hotel, at $5,000 a year; the old skating rink on E Street, between Sixth and Seventh, which is occupied by the Division of Supplies, at $4,000 a year; and the Topographer's Office, at 418 and 420 Ninth Street, at $1,500 per year. These outside quarters have been rented from time to time, according as particular post- masters general have been persuasive enough, and particular Con- AT THE SOLDIERS' HOME. gresses have been generous and falsely economical enough, for the forced accommodation of some of the hundreds of workers in the departmental service. Successive Congresses have been sufficiently importuned to enlarge the present Department building, or to pro- vide a new building and turn the present General Post Office over to the uses of the Interior Department, which is even more cramped in its present quarters; or, in short, to provide in some logical, public-spirited, and prudent way for the growth of this enormous postal service which cannot be prevented from becoming every THE CITY AND THE DEPARTMENT. 5 year more and more enormous, simply because the country cannot be prevented from growing. But the preference has been to pay this $ 30, 000 per year in true hand-to-mouth fashion. One finds most easily the duties of the Postmaster General and his various assistants outlined in the Congressional Directory. This prosaic but very useful publication says substantially : The Postmaster General has the direction and management of the Post Office Department. He appoints all officers and employes of the Department, except the four Assistant Postmasters General, who are appointed by the President, by NEWSPAPER EOW. and with the advice and consent of the Senate ; appoints all postmasters whose compensation does not exceed one thousand dollars; makes postal treaties with foreign governments, by and with the advice and consent of the President, awards and executes contracts, and directs the management of the domestic and foreign mail service. The First Assistant Postmaster General has charge of the following divisions : Salary and Allowance Division : the duty of readjusting the salaries of post- masters and the consideration of allowances for rent, fuel, lights, clerk hire, and other expenditures. Free Delivery : the duty of preparing cases for the inauguration of the system in cities, the appointment of letter carriers, and a general supervision. THE STOKY OF OUR POST OFFICE. Talbott Division of Post Office Supplies: the duty of sending out the blanks, wrapping- paper, twine, letter-balances, and cancelling-stamps to offices entitled to them. Money Order Division: the supervis- ion of the domestic money order and postal note business, the superintend- ence of the international money order correspondence, and the preparation of postal conventions for the exchange of money orders. Dead Letter Office : the treatment of all unmailable and undelivered mail matter which is sent to it for disposi- tion; the enforcement of the prompt sending of this matter; the duty of not- ing and correcting errors of postmasters connected with the delivery or with- holding of mail matter; the examination and forwarding or return of all letters which have failed of delivery; the in- spection and return to country of origin of undelivered foreign matter; the recording and restoration to own- ers of letters and parcels which con- tain valuable inclosures; and the disposition of all money, other ne- gotiable paper, and valuable articles found in undelivered matter and correspondence. Correspondence Division: the reference of all inquiries received from post- masters concerning the discharge of their duties, of disputes regarding the delivery of mail matter, and of inquiries relative to the construction of postal laws and regulations. The Second Assist- ant Postmaster Gen- eral has charge of the transportation of all mails. His office em- braces four divisions and two offices, viz : Contract Division : prepares all advertise- ments inviting pro- posals for star steam- boat, and mail-messen- ger service, receives the proposals, pre- pares orders for the award of contracts, and attends to the ex- ecution of these. THE WHITE HOUSE FROM THE SOUTHWEST. WASHINGTON," NEWSBOY. THE CITY AND THE DEPARTMENT. THE PEACE MONUMENT. Division of Inspection: charged with the examination of monthly and special reports of postmasters as to the performance of mail service by contractors and r carriers, and the preparation of cases and orders for deductions for the non- performance of service, and for tire impo- sition of fines. Railway Adjustment Division: prepares cases authorizing the transportation of mails by railroads, the establishment of railway postal-car service and changes in existing service; prepares orders and instructions for the weighing of mails, and receives the returns and computes the basis of pay. Mail Equipment Division: charged with the preparation of advertisements invit- ing proposals for furnishing mail-bags, mail locks and keys, label cases, mail-bag cord fasteners, and mail-bag catchers; the receipt of proposals and the prepar- ation of contracts, the issuing of these articles for the service, and the repair of them. Railway Mail Service: has charge of the railway mail service arid the railway post office clerks, prepares for the Second Assistant Postmaster General cases for the appointment, removal, promotion, and reduction of clerks, orders the mov- ing of mails on railroad trains; has charge of the dispatch, distribution, and separation of mail matter in railway post office cars and the principal post offices, and conducts the weighing of mails. Foreign Mail Service: has charge of all foreign postal arrangements (except those relating to the money order sys- tem), conducts correspondence with foreign governments and private citi- zens, and has supervision of the ocean mail steamship service. The Third Assistant Postmaster Gen- eral has charge of the Finance Office, and the Stamp Division, thus : Division of Finance: issues drafts and warrants in payment of balances re- ported by the Auditor to be due to mail contractors, and superintends the col- lection of revenue at depository and depositing offices. THE CAPITOL VISTA IN WINTER. 8 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. Division of Postage Stamps and Stamped Envelopes: issues postage stamps, stamped envelopes, newspaper wrappers, and postal cards; and supplies post- masters with envelopes for their official use. Division of Eegistered Letters: prepares instructions for the guidance of postmasters relative to registered letters. Division of Files, Mails, etc. : receives, distributes, and indexes all papers com- ing to the office; dispatches and records all papers sent, and keeps the office files. Special Delivery System : and all business relating to the rates of postage, the classification of mail matter, and the entry of periodicals. The Fourth Assistant Postmaster General has charge of the Divisions of Appointments, Bonds and Commissions, and Post Office Inspectors and Mail Depredations: 1 -< _ IN LAFAYETTE SQUARE. Division of Appointments: prepares all cases for establishment, discontinuance, and change of name or site of post offices, and for the appointment of all postmasters. Division of Bonds and Commissions: receives and records appointments; sends out papers for postmasters and their assistants to qualify; files their bonds and oaths, and issues commissions. Division of Post Office Inspectors and Mail Depredations: the general super- vision of the work of inspection, and of all complaints of losses, irregularities in the mails, or violations of the postal laws. Almost seventy thousand postmasters, two hundred and thirty thousand persons connected in one way and another with the Post Office Department, hundreds of thousands of persons using the mails extensively, and millions having remotely to do with the Post Office, find it of value to know what the duties of the Postmaster General and of his assistants are. Hundreds of persons every month THE CITY AND THE DEPARTMENT. 9 From Photographs by Abocit Centre Miss Frances Benjamin Johnston. 10 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. are sure they want to see the Postmaster General or to write to him, who really want to see or address somebody else; and hundreds every month are sure they want to see or address somebody else who really want to reach still others. Thousands send letters to the Department that have to be referred from the officers to whom they are addressed to other officers. All this causes delay. To under- stand the fact that the business of the Post Office Department is almost limitless, and that it requires to transact it the efforts not of one person, or of ten, but of thou- sands, is to expedite everybody's letter. No machinery is so complicated as that of the Post Office De- partment, yet none is so simple and reg- ular when all of its affairs, great and small, take their natural, proper, and quick courses. One may hear every day of the red tape of the Government service. One may hear twice every day of the red tape of the postal service. But rules are necessary in every business; and surely they are necessary in the greatest business in the world. In the Post Office Depart- ment are some tens of thousands of persons who are trying to do their work, with as much dispatch and reliability as possible, for millions of persons in billions of cases. And the figures of the Dead Letter Office show that five sixths of the causes of the miscarriage of mail matter are due to the ignorance or carelessness of the great, royal, complaining public; and the experience of any person em- ployed in the postal service for no matter how short a period also shows that the unreliability of the service is due most often to the inability of the people themselves to do business with the public service from their side of the transaction. And worse yet, they will not complain to any representative of the Department, but to some dozen persons who have nothing to do with it. SEEN AT FOKT FOOTE. THE CITY AND THE DEPARTMENT. 11 The Blue Book, a compilation made by Dr. John G. Ames, Superintendent of Documents of the Interior Department, gives an idea, as much as any compilation may, of the magnitude of the postal system. The second of the two volumes of the Blue Book is devoted exclusively to the postal service. It contains 1,425 royal octavo pages, and discloses the names and salaries of persons engaged in the service in Washington City and elsewhere. The number of postal people may be summarized as follows : Post Office Department in Washington 681 Mail bag repair shop in Washington 231 Post Office inspectors 103 Post Office inspectors' clerks 27 Postage stamp agency 8 Stamped envelope agency 15 Postal card agency 5 Postal agency at Shanghai 5 Postmasters 67,368 Assistant postmasters 138 Chief clerks in post offices 658 Clerks in post offices (estimated) 111,875 Letter carriers 10,892 Sea post office clerks 12 Star and steamboat service : Professional contractors 274 Local contractors 4,013 Sub-contractors 11,478 Carriers, other than contractors or sub-contractors, estimated . . 2.789 Special office carriers 2,549 Regulation wagon service: Contractors 22 Sub-contractors 15 Carriers, other than contractors or sub-contractors, estimated . . 300 Railroad service : Contractors 2,415 Railway postal clerks 6,440 Mail messenger service 7,122 Total 229,435 These are the bulk of the army of public servants in this country. Of course there are regiments of the army, collectors of customs and of internal revenue and all their deputies and clerks, and the various officers and employees of the Departments of State, Agri- culture, and Justice, and the officers and sailors of the Navy, and the hundreds employed by the Pension and Land Offices and the 12 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. other bureaus of the Interior Department. But the officers and employees of the postal system embrace the major part of all ; and they always will. The increase of the army of Federal employees is necessarily great and constant. It is a great and constantly growing country. The increase in numbers, however, does not imply a similar increase in expense, for by far the largest item of increase is in the number of postmasters ; and here offices are established and officers appointed upon the demand of new communities which add, without appreciable outlay, much new revenue to the Depart- ment. A writer for the Indianapolis News not long ago examined the Blue Book, greatly to the interest of the readers of that paper. He found that among the number of Government employees are 2,000 people of the name of Smith; and some 400 of them bear the name of John Smith. There are over 11,000 Browns, 1,000 Johnsons, and 900 Joneses. There are hun- dreds of them who spell their names with but three letters each, as Box, Bee, Dew, Dox, Gee; and IN THE AGRICULTURAL GROUNDS. some o f fa G names that go to the other extreme are Calvacoresses, Waffenschmid, Vonbruddenbrock, Matagonsky, Stoutenborough, Schenckenberger, Scharringhausen, Petegomenne, Brannerstenther, and Dzierzanowaki. Among the names are Huggs, one Hugger, one Huggins, and twenty-five or thirty Loves. The various nationalities appear to be pretty well represented, by names as well as by individuals, for there are fifteen people who bear the name of English, seventy-five with the name of French, six of the name of Irish, three of German, and one of America. Uncle Sam's large family evidently has its proper proportion of people able to make their way through the world by whatever way seems most convenient, for two of them sail under the cognomen Gall, and three of them carry off the equally suggestive name of Cheek. THE CITY AND THE DEPARTMENT. 18 They are a patriotic lot evidently, for there is one Red, half a dozen Blues, and Whites by the hundreds. There are several Flags and material for more, for there are two Calicos and one Silk. And Uncle Sam would have no difficulty in finding material to set his table. There are six Rusks, one Bread, fifty Fishes, ten Custards, eleven Coffees, two Teas, three Butters, one Milk, two Sourwines, one Sourbeer, and two Apples. There are some names that would seem to be burdensome to carry about through life. For instance, there are three by the name of Coward, one Lie, one Awkward, one Damschroeder, one Goldammer, and one Damall. The months of the year are pretty well represented, one January, one February, one August, and half a dozen of the name of March, and Mays in still greater numbers. Scriptural names are numerous. Adam and Adams can be counted by the hundred. To go with all of them there is but one Eve. There are forty Cains, thirteen Abels, one Job, seven Abrahams, four Isaacs, three Jacobs, two Matthews, four Marks, one Luke, twelve Johns, and twenty-five Pauls. The list contains one Doctor, two Akes, and twelve Pains. People of the names of the various Presidents seem to be pretty well represented. There are 40 Washingtons, of whom five are George Washingtons; 300 Adamses, 16 Jeffersons, 325 Jacksons, 20 Munroes, 10 Madisons, 200 Harrisons, 10 Van Burens, 50 Tylers, 12 Polks, 75 Pierces, 30 Buchanans, 14 Lincolns, 1,000 Johnsons, 100 Grants, 20 Hayeses, 6 Garfields, 20 Arthurs, and 20 Clevelands. The royal and the titled are represented, for there are 40 Kings, 3 Queens, 6 Czars, 2 Marquises, and Princes, Lords, Earls, and Dukes in great numbers. There is enough in the clothing line to fit out the most fastidious, 8 Coats, 2 Shirts, a pair of Shoes, 2 Stockings, 2 Socks, and 1 Boots. The fish family is represented with 38 Fishes, 15 Pikes, 7 Salmon, 2 Shadd, 6 Trout, 8 Oysters, 1 Mackerel, 6 Rock, 2 Crabbs, 1 Pickerell, and 2 Bullfish. To catch them with are 2 Poles, 5 Lines, and 6 Hooks. The animal family is well represented, for among the names are 1 Lion, 1 Tiger, 10 Hoggs, 4 Coons, 50 with the name of Wolf, 4 Deer, 7 Bears, and 4 Monkeys. The human family is represented by 1 Boy, 1 Man, and 2 of the name of Baby; while the provisions for their care consist of 1 Cradle and 1 Cribb. History is slow, but a few recorded facts show how wonderfully 14 THE CITY AND THE DEPARTMENT. 1& big the postal service is. In the war-time there were a third as many post offices as now, and the revenue of the Department was but little more than a sixth of what it is to-day. Then the total number of registered letters was insignificant. In 1866 there were 275,103 pieces of mail matter registered. Last year the Government increased the security of the mails by registering over 15,000,000 pieces. The money order system had just been inaugurated and its benefits had only been extended to 766 post offices, which handled about $4,000,000 per annum. To-day there are 30,000 money order offices, whose combined monetary transactions aggregate nearly $140,000,000 per annum. The registry system was a farce and accomplished anything but the object in view. To-day the regis- tered mail is so secure that only one in every 12,227 pieces of matter is lost. Probably there will be one hundred thousand post offices in the year 1900, that will earn, perhaps, 100,000,000 annu- ally. A hundred years ago the post office carried but 2,000 pieces of mail per day. Now more than 8,000 letters and packages are dropped into the mails every minute of the year. Then not a daily mail existed anywhere. There were only 100 post offices in the entire country. The length of all mail routes did not exceed 2,000 miles. The entire annual revenue of the service fell far short of $50,000. Every working day now the mails travel a distance equal to forty-one times the circumference of the globe, and more than one half of all the post offices in the country are supplied with daily mails. In 1860, 27,000 miles of railroad were used for carrying mails, at an annual expense of little more than $3,000,000, with only 600 employees. Now the railway mail service traverses 160, 000 miles of road, spends $21, 000, 000 a year, and employs, in 2,800 cars, over 6,000 men; and in a year they travel 113,000,000 miles in crews. They distribute in transit the inconceivable volume of 7,900,000,000 pieces of mail matter, besides receipting for, record- ing, protecting, and distributing nearly 16,000,000 registered pack- ages, and more than 1,000,000 through registered pouches. This task is performed with such care that less than two letters in 10,000 are sent wrong. This does not mean that two letters in 10,000 are lost, but that in distributing 10,000 an average of less than two is made by which the transmission and delivery of those two missives may be delayed; and every railway postal clerk must carry in his 16 THE CITY AND THE DEPARTMENT. 17 mind the most direct route to hundreds, perhaps thousands, of post offices, and these conditions are constantly changing with the changes of railway schedules and the times of day at which distribu- tions are made. The growth of the postal service with every year is enormous, resistless, inconceivable. The present Postmaster General called to the Department last March some fifty of the leading post- masters of the country for conference with him. To these men he made a little speech. It had been exactly three years since he had been appointed Postmaster General, and Mr. Wanamaker illustrated, by quoting a few figures, what the growth of the postal service had been in that short period. A few paragraphs were : " From March 4, 1889, to March 5, 1898, we have established 10,549 new post offices, more than one sixth of the whole number in existence. To the 2,654 presidential offices of 1889 we have added in three years 467 about 18 per cent, of the entire number of such offices, which is now 3,121. In the matter of revenue, the three years prior to the present administration increased postal receipts $24,000,000, or from 130 to 154 million, being more than 18 per cent. The three years of this administration carried the revenue from 154 to over 195 million dollars, an increase of more than 26 per cent. ; in other words, we main- tained the $24,000,000 gained by the last administration, and added over 40 and a half millions to it. -"We have added in the past three years to the miles travelled with mails exactly 54,816,192 miles, by railroad, steamboat, and star service. The rate of pay in star and steamboat service has been decreased. There have been 2,129 new routes opened, 255 new railway post offices and compartment cars put on, and 1,016 additional clerks employed in the railway mails, mainly on account of new service. The increase in the annual number of miles of service by railway postal clerks for the past three years was about 70,000,000, or a little more than 21 per cent. In the number of pieces of mail matter distributed by railway postal clerks for the same time, there was an increase of 5,730,000,000, or nearly 33 per cent. In the number of letters separated by railway postal clerks for city delivery, there was an increase of nearly 227,000,000, or about 54 per cent. Test examinations to ascertain the efficiency of the permanent force of postal clerks were made in nearly 25,000 cases, involving a handling of nearly 30,000,000 pieces, the result showing an average of correctness of more than 93 per cent. " Free delivery has been established in the past three years at 150 offices, and the entire service has been strengthened and extended by the addition of 2,409 carriers. The last report of the last administration showed a total of 358 letter- carrier offices; up to date there are 551. "An unerring indication of the increased efficiency of the service is to be found in the records of the Dead Letter Office. The total number of pieces of dead mail matter received at that office in 1886, was about 4,800,000. Three years later it was about 6,200,000; and for the present year it will be- about 6,800,000. In other words, for the three years prior to 1889, there was an increase of 18 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. 1,400,000 pieces, of 29.2 per cent. ; while for the last three years the increase has been only 600,000, or 9.6 per cent. That is to say, while there was an increase during the three years of fully 35 per cent, in the number of pieces of mail matter handled, the increase in the number of pieces sent to the Dead Letter Office was less than 10 per cent., a difference of 25 per cent, in favor of increased efficiency of service." Not only do the actual figures, in the recent as well as the earlier history of the postal service, illustrate its remarkable development, but the United States may challenge, fearlessly, comparison with any other nation. We beat the world. Neither Germany nor Great Britain has more than 25,000 post offices, and France has less than 10,000 facts not so notable because of the limited area of these countries, though more notable, perhaps, because the United States has almost as many post offices as all of the countries of Europe, Germany excepted. The rates of postage in this country are the lowest, considering the total of miles traveled to perform the ser- vice, in the world. England, with her compact population and short distances, is no better off for postage rates. In length of mail routes the United States is far ahead of any other country. Great Britain, Germany, and France all together do not half equal the United States in this respect; and even in the mileage of mail service annually performed the United States is ahead of these three foreign countries all combined. An average American sends more letters than anybody else ; for upon the basis of the last census the average number of pieces of mail matter to every inhabitant of the countries named is now: United States, pieces per capita 71 Great Britain ,,,,,, 61 Germany ,, ,, ,, . 41 France ,,,,,, 37 No, there is no doubt the American postal system is the greatest in the world. It cannot be prevented from growing, and any American citizen is proud to have it the greatest in the world, and likes to see it grow. Yet this immense machine, this stupendous, delicate, all-pervading business, is everywhere impecunious and restive. The Post Office Department never has money enough to work with. Not one person in a hundred insists that the postal service should be self-sustaining. He reflects that the army and the navy are not, and he freely pays for them because of the public THE CITY AND THE DEPARTMENT. 19 spirit which they help him to express. He rarety understands that the real reason why the postal service is not better is because he himself does not insist that money should be voted for it in order to make it better. He does not realize that there is hardly a person among the 230,000 who are employed within its branches who is not underpaid and overworked. He does not realize that impossibilities are expected of human beings. He does not stop to think that he POST OFFICE BUILDINGS OF FOKKION COUNTRIES. himself might relieve the stress somewhat by conforming without variation to the ordinary requirements of the service. He has for- gotten that the postal service earns back every dollar that it spends. The fact is that the American postal service, while to-day the greatest business in the world, is to-day the worst conducted the best conducted under the circumstances, but the worst conducted, under the lack of means to work with. Everywhere the post offices are overcrowded. Everywhere, almost, the postmasters, the clerks, the contractors, are underpaid. The Department force is crowded and hampered almost beyond belief. Four hundred clerks have been 20 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. moved into, the five branch offices outside the Department building, and yet a larger number than ever crowd the present structure. The hallways of the Post Office building are made not only uncomfort- able but unhealthy by the great heaps of files. 240,000 quarterly reports are received annually from postmasters and 480,000 weekly statements come in each year from money order and postal note offices. Money orders and postal notes to the number of 16,000,000 have to be handled annually. These files and records are always THE POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT. (From the top of the Washington Loan and Trust Company's Building.) in the way. The work of the postal service in Washington and out of it is always in the way. It can never be caught up with until indignant public protests, expressing themselves in the votes of Con- gressmen, provide the means with which this vast, necessary labor may be performed. The present Postmaster General had not studied the service a month before he was heard to declare that, if the money really required to run the postal service could really be granted, he would guarantee to make $1 0,000, 000 annually with it. Nobody at all familiar with the system doubts that this real business man would do that; and besides, with a difference on the credit side would come increased and improved facilities, cheapened postage rates, and improved service again, again, and again. THE CITY AND THE DEPARTMENT. 21 A good way to understand about the postal service, about the intricate machinery of it, the multitude of impossible things expected of it, the fidelity and dangers necessary to be practised or to be encountered in connection with it, the modes by which money is appropriated for it, the labors, satisfactory and unsatisfactory, of the man whom the President appoints to direct it, to know what the postal clerk, the letter carrier, and the other brave and steady fellows on the inspector force, in the postal cars, and on the star routes through the wildernesses perform and don't perform, to know about all this is to study it all a little. It is impossible to know which man and which work is most important. Every man and every duty is essential and every duty and every man is worth inquiring about, even if only hurriedly one sees the actors passing to and fro from day to day, out and in among the scenes, sees the parts played well or badly, sees the efforts and successes, and the no less worthy failures. THE TKANSPORTATION OF THE MAILS. 'HE Second Assistant Postmaster General's Office, which has charge of the transportation of all the mails, disburses annually some $25,000,000 for the pay of railroads alone, and its total of disbursements to all classes of contractors is over $40,000,000. The pay of postmasters and clerks and of mail contractors is regulated by the laws of Congress. A dissatisfied agent of the Post Office Department, no matter how much or how justly he may be dissatisfied, finds himself confronted, if he visits the Department or writes to some officer of the Department to complain, with certain laws and regulations which cannot be overridden. In numerous cases, no doubt, these laws and regulations work injustice, but generally they are good and necessary. A common trouble with them is that they do not provide enough for the employment and pay, from time to time, of new agents. Changes in the laws and regulations that would be wise, are repeatedly brought to the attention of Congress by postmasters general or by members of one of the branches of Congress; and unwise and impossible changes are much more numerously presented to the law-making body by demagogues (who are not unpatriotic enough to expect the measures to go forward into actual legislation) and by unspeakable cranks and lobbyists who know nothing about their subject, or who make it their invisible business to grind axes for others. But the $40,000,000 annually appropriated for the transportation of mails is used by the officers of the Department with an honesty and exactness which is superb when it is considered how many conflicting, irreconcila- ble special interests are involved, how much personal or political pressure is supposed to make weight in the balance, and how heavily the real demands of the intensely active letter- writing 22 THE TRANSPORTATION OF THE MAILS. 23 people call for satisfaction out of an appropriation always inadequate. Look through the office of the Second Assistant Postmaster Gen- eral. See the almost immeasurable diversity and magnitude of the affairs with which it has to deal. Mail routes are arranged in these classes: railroad mail routes, which extend over lines of rail- roads ; steamboat mail routes, on which mails are carried by steam- boat; mail messenger routes, which run from railroad stations to post offices located but a short f^- distance from the station (usu- ally within two miles) but which the railroad companies are not required to supply ; regulation wagon routes which is the ser- vice performed in the larger cities between the main post offices, sub-offices, railroad stations, etc., and for which a particular style of wagon is used; special routes, which are not under contract, but are established for the tem- porary supply of new post offices that are not on existing contract routes ; and star routes, which supply post offices throughout the rural districts, that are not on the line of railroad or steam- boat routes, the mails being carried by stage, horseback, or otherwise, the contract not prescrib- ing the mode of transportation, but providing that all the mails shall be carried with "celerity, certainty, and security," the three words having been designated by three stars and having given rise to the term "star service." And in addition to the above, all of which relate to the domestic service, there are the ocean mail routes and the foreign mail service. A few figures illustrate this diversity and magnitude. In the United States are about 2,300 railroad routes, aggregating 160,000 miles in length, the annual travel over which exceeds 230,000,000 MR. J. LOWRIE BELL, Second Assistant Postmaster General. 24 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. miles. There are 17,000 star routes, aggregating 240,000 miles in length and over 100,000,000 miles in annual travel; 7,000 mail messenger routes, aggregating 6,000 miles in length and 10,000,000 miles in annual travel; 2,500 special routes, aggregating 27,000 miles in length and 5,000,000 miles annual travel; 125 steamboat routes, 10,000 miles in length and involving 3,500,000 miles of annual travel. In all classes of inland service there are about 30,000 mail routes, aggregating 450,000 miles in length and 350,- 000,000 miles in annual travel. To be familiar with the laws under which all of this business is to be distributed, to provide rules stringent enough to hold all these contractors to the faithful performance of their obliga- tions, to do the labor of hand and brain required merely for the record of these transac- tions, to inspect the service with method and dispatch, to investigate complaints, and to have the hardihood honestly to invite them all this faintly suggests the work of the trans- portation office of the Depart- ment. The Second Assistant himself is Mr. J. Lowrie Bell, of Read- ing, Pa. He has been railway clerk, train dispatcher, super- intendent, and general traffic manager. He was promoted from General Superintendent of the Railway Mail Service to be Second Assistant. His chief clerk, Mr. George F. Stone, is a Trumansburgh (N. Y.)boy, who entered the employ of the Lehigh Valley Railroad as telegraph operator at eighteen, but after about three years resigned. In the Second Assistant's office he has been promoted from the lowest to the highest clerkship. Mr. Stone is a remarkably clear-headed, energetic fellow, thoroughly up in his work. He graduated from the Columbian University Law School ME. GEO. F. STONE, Chief Clerk, Second Assistant's Office. THE TRANSPORTATION OF THE MAILS. 25 in 1884, received the post graduate degree in 1885, and was admitted to the bar of the District in 1886. See what the Contract Division, the first of the Second Assist ant's office, has to do. It prepares all advertisements, inviting proposals for star, steamboat, and mail messenger service, receives the proposals, prepares orders for the award of contracts, attends to the execution of the contracts, receives and considers appli- cations for the establishment of new routes or for changes in exist- ing routes, conducts the investigation as to the necessity of the postal service asked, determines the course of routes and the fre- quency of trips, arranges the time schedules on which the mails shall be carried on star and steamboat routes, receives, examines, and recog- nizes sub-contracts to secure to sub-contractors pay for their services, conducts all correspondence relating to these matters, prepares statistics and reports to Congress, as required by law, and notifies the Sixth Auditor of orders affecting the accounts of mail contractors. But steps have to be taken in the Second Assistant's office, in establishing and maintaining a mail route, before the route is placed under regular contract service. When the Fourth Assistant Post- master General, who has charge of the establishment of post offices, creates a new post office, he notifies the Second Assistant Post- master General of that fact, giving the name and location of it. If it is not upon some existing route, or near enough to be supplied from one, the postmaster is authorized to employ a "special carrier" to carry the mails between his office and the nearest convenient post office, as often as practicable, for a sum not exceeding two thirds of the postmaster's salary (the rate fixed by law), which depends upon the number of stamps cancelled at the new office. This, however, is considered but a temporary arrangement, and as soon as the new office shows a considerable number of people to be supplied, or a fair cancellation of stamps or of mail matter handled, a regular star route is provided. Whenever a petition is received for a new star route, an investi- gation is made to ascertain whether there is a postal necessity for it. Sometimes the petitioners state the reasons why they think the route should be established, which aids the Department in its work ; or they may give very little information. But in any event corre- spondence is opened with the postmasters on the proposed route to 26 THE STOKY OF OUR POST OFFICE. ascertain its length, what frequency of supply is needed, the time schedule upon which mails should be carried, the condition of the roads, whether there are streams, ferries, toll-roads, or mountains to be crossed, the number of people to be supplied, the amount of postal business at each post office, and so forth. All are invited to make such suggestions as they may think good, and in many cases of importance or difficulty a special agent of the Department is sent upon the ground. When the papers are all in they are carefully examined. If it is decided that the route should be established the postmasters at the termini are instructed to post for ten days in a conspicuous place in their offices and elsewhere, notices which are furnished to them, inviting proposals for carrying the mails over the proposed route from the earliest practicable date to the end of the fiscal year, June 30. A copy of this notice is also posted on a bulletin advertise- ment in the Department. This is a temporary, or "bulletin board" advertisement, under which the service is limited by law to one year, and the advertisement and proposal are less formal than those required under advertisements for longer terms. All bids received by the postmasters are in envelopes and are forwarded to the Depart- ment, where they are opened; and the service is awarded to the lowest bidder, if the bid is considered a reasonable one. Contracts are then sent out for him to execute and return, when they are signed by the Second Assistant Postmaster General. The postmas- ters at schedule points are notified as to the service required, and instructed to keep reports, upon blanks furnished to them, showing how the service is performed, which reports are sent to the Inspec- tion Division at the close of each month, where they are carefully examined ; and if they show that the service is performed in com- pliance with the contract, a certificate to that effect is issued to the Sixth Auditor at the close of the quarter, who has a copy of the contract, and who states the contractor's account, showing the amount due him. A warrant or draft is drawn in his favor, whichc, after pass- ing through a number of offices under a system of checks which effect- ually guards against mistakes or frauds, is mailed to the contractor. After this contract has expired the service is continued under a general or miscellaneous advertisement for longer periods. For the purposes of the general advertisement the country is divided into THE TRANSPORTATION OF THE MAILS. 2T four contract sections, and all the star and steamboat routes in each section are re-let once in four years for a term of four years, the sec- tions being in regular order, so that there is a general letting every year. The Second Assistant's office begins to prepare the general advertisement nearly a year before the new contracts are to go into effect. The advertisements are prepared in pamphlet form, one for each state, describing in detail all the star and steamboat routes in the state, and containing extracts from the Postal Laws and Regu- lations applicable to that service, with full instructions to bidders, and forms of proposals and bonds. This pamphlet advertisement is displayed in every post office in the state for at least two months before the letting takes place. All propo- sals must be sent to the Second Assistant Post- master General by a fixed date. The proposals are placed unopened, as they are re- ceived, in a vault until the day for opening arrives, when, under the supervi- sion of a committee ap- pointed by the Postmaster General, they are opened by a large force of clerks, stamped, folded, arranged, examined, and recorded with the utmost system. Accompanying each proposal and as a part of it, there must be as provided by law the oath of the bidder that he has the pecuniary ability to perform the service, a bond executed by the bidder and at least two sureties in a sum fixed in the advertisement, the oaths of the sureties as to the location, description, and value of their real estate over and above all incumbrances (which value must be at least double the amount of the bond), and finally, a certificate from a postmaster that, after informing himself, he believes the sureties to be good and sufficient. When this work is completed the result appears in great books ON A STAR ROUTE IN THE SOUTH. 28 THE STOKY OF OUR POST OFFICE. showing a complete statement of each route, the service required, etc., with the names of all bidders for that route and the amounts of the bids. The awards are then made to the lowest bidders whose bids are in proper form. Then contracts are drawn and sent to be executed by the accepted bidders. Under the annual general adver- tisement and the annual miscellaneous advertisement there are received about 120,000 proposals and bonds, and about 5,000 con- tracts in duplicate are drawn. This does not include the bulletin, or temporary advertisements, which are issued almost daily. This is the method of letting star and steamboat routes. Contracts for regulation wagon service are made similarly. In the last general advertisement for proposals for mail service, issued now almost a year ago, the number of routes in the several states advertised for was as follows: North Carolina, 638, South Carolina, 263, Georgia, 519, Florida, 206, Alabama, 576, Mis- sissippi, 387, Tennessee, 719, and Kentucky, 717; or a total of 4,025 routes representing an annual travel of 22,646,694 miles. Propo- sals were also invited in this same advertisement for performing mail messenger, transfer, and mail station service in the chief cities of these Southern states. For this service wagons have to be built in accordance with plans and specifications furnished by the Department. On the llth of last March the Second Assistant's office announced that it was about to begin the preparation of advertisements inviting proposals for carrying the mails on all star and steamboat routes in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia, and all postmasters and others were invited to submit suggestions along the trend of the following questions: Has any post office more frequent mail supply than it needs ? Is the service on any route unnecessary in whole or in part ? Could any post office be better or more expeditiously supplied from some point other than its present base of supply ? Does any post office need more frequent mail supply ; if so, does the postal business at that office warrant the probable increase in cost ? Could the mail be advanced or better connections made by a change in any existing time schedules ? If a new route should be established, what existing service could be dispensed with ? The advertisements for the above contract section went to press in THE TRANSPORTATION OF THE MAILS. 29 August. The advertisement for the Southern contract section, referred to as having been issued late in the fall of 1891, was again referred to in an order of the Second Assistant Postmaster General, dated April 4, 1892. He announced that he had awarded contracts on four thousand star and steamboat routes, and would soon make awards for 1,600 miscellaneous routes. This order gives certain directions to sub-contractors, and quotes a section of the Postal Laws and Regulations, as follows : "No postmaster, assistant postmaster, or clerk, employed in any post office shall be a contractor or concerned in any contract for carrying the mail. Post- masters are also liable to dismissal from office for acting as agents of contractors or bidders, with or without compensation, in any business, matter, or thing relating to the mail service. They are the agents of the Department and cannot act in both capacities." In accordance with the spirit of the statute the order adds : " The wife or husband of a postmaster should not become a sub-contractor; neither should a minor child of a postmaster when such an arrangement would result in the postmaster being pecuniarily interested." In such and in almost numberless other ways are the Argus eyes of the Second Assistant Postmaster General's office required to watch the contractor and the postmaster, not so much that they need watching, but that they might need watching if they were not watched. In another order of the Second Assistant Postmaster General, issued on the day after the date of the one last mentioned, it is directed that mails must never be dispatched in advance of the time named. The postmasters must see that all pouches are securely locked. Mail carriers have the right to transport merchandise out- side the mails, but all communications relating to it must be verbal (the carrier must not carry outside the mail any written communi- cation relating to merchandise); and the registers of the arrivals and departures of the mails must be actually and not mechanically kept. The order mentions that several postmasters have recently been removed on account of a persistent neglect to keep these regis- ters properly reasonably enough, for the postmasters are evidently the only check on the contractors. Now and then a mail contractor has been found to submit offers to postmasters to secure, upon the payment of money considerations, the services of persons to act as sub-contractors, and though there is a postal regulation against this, 30 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. it needs frequent reiteration. It is the contractor, the "star router," and not the sub-contractor, who usually needs the special kind of watching. The derelictions of the contractor are usually the things he won't do if he can help it. Those of the sub-contractor are the things he can't do, no matter how hard he tries. Up to a year or more ago mail contractors (many of whom are professionals and contract for thousands of routes) were accustomed to drop the unprofitable routes and retain the profitable if they could. Under the old method no bidder for carrying the mails was released from the obligation implied in his proposal, notwithstanding a lower bidder secured the contract, until that lower bidder actually began the performance of the service ; so that, if an accepted bidder failed to begin the service, the Department was compelled to award the route to the next lowest bidder. Taking advantage of this, pro- fessional bidders who had submitted proposals with little knowledge of the cost of operating the routes, and who found that the routes could be sub-let only at a great loss, refused to begin the service, hoping to have the routes re-let. To check this the Department has refused to compromise in the re-letting of routes upon the basis of pecuniary damages resulting from re-letting the service, taking the ground that such pecuniary damage does not compensate for the annoyance to the people interested in the route, and that what the Department wanted was not damages, but a performance of all con- tracts. To make its position clear the Department prosecuted one contractor and secured his conviction. This resulted uniformly in bona fide bids made by those only who intend to perform the service. It is true that frauds are sometimes attempted by contractors, but the Government espionage is so close and comprehensive that such efforts are sure to result in failure and punishment. Not long since the general manager of a Western railroad, a millionnaire and a man of supposed character, tried to swindle the Government by sending over his road, during the period when the mails are weighed for the purpose of ascertaining the average amount carried by the road and fixing compensation proportionately, a large amount of " dead " matter, such as old newspapers. The Government would have over- paid this road perhaps $10,000 a year, but the attempted fraud was promptly discovered, and the millionnaire manager was duly indicted by the grand jury. THE TRANSPORTATION OF THE MAILS. 31 To hold the transportation service up to the standard required and paid for the Division of Inspection of the Second Assistant Post- master General's office examines the performance of all classes of domestic service. It receives and examines each month thousands of reports from postmasters at offices at schedule points, showing the day and hour of arrival and departure of mails, and the irregulari- ties and failures on the part of contractors and carriers ; prepares orders making deductions from pay of contractors for non-perform- ance of service, or imposing fines for delinquencies of contractors or carriers; issues certificates to the Sixth Auditor as to the perform- ance of service, which authorize that officer to make the quarterly settlements with contractors; authorizes the payment of railway postal clerks; considers applications for remissions of fines and deductions ; and conducts all correspondence relating to these mat- ters. In an average year the gross amount of fines and deductions from postal contractors and others is over $1, 000 a day, though from this sum is deducted in the course of a year about $90,000 for satis- factory explanations. The deductions from railroad service amount to about $300,000 annually, and the deductions from the star ser- vice to over 150,000. The remainder is distributed in small sums among the steamboat contractors, and mail messengers, and the postal clerks. Generally explanations are satisfactory where acts of Provi- dence intervene to prevent a contractor from performing his work acceptably. The Johnstown flood, for example, affected several of the largest trunk lines of railroad. The contractors in this case used every possible endeavor to make connections and put the mails through as nearly on time as possible, and the Department, in pur- suance of its liberal but just policy, accordingly remitted the usual fines. Mail messenger service is not performed under formal contracts. There are, of course, the same features of advertising at the office where the service is to be performed and competitive bidding and awards to the lowest bidder; but there is less formality as to the bid, and no bond and no contract. The lowest bidder is designated for an indefinite period to perform all service that may be required. He has the right to resign at any time upon giving thirty days' notice, and the Department may re-advertise the service whenever it may be thought advisable to do so. 32 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. Star contracts are made for a specific number of trips per week, by a schedule of a certain number of hours running time for each trip, and provide that the Department may order the number of trips increased with pro rata allowance of pay to the contractor. In years past there was also a provision in the contracts to the effect that if the Department ordered the trip made with greater speed, requiring the contractor to employ additional stock and carriers, he should be allowed additional pay, which should bear no greater pro- portion to the original pay than the additional stock and carriers required for the faster schedule bore to the stock and carriers required for the original schedule. Increase in frequency of trips was, and is, known as " increased service, " and reduction of running time, that is, greater speed, is known as "expedited service." It was the action of the Department under these two provisions, and particularly under the latter, that led to the so-called star route frauds of 1878, 1879, and 1880. A contract would be made, say, for once a week service on a slow schedule ; after it was in opera- tion a petition, instigated by the contractor, would be presented asking for faster time ; the contractor would make affidavit that to perform service on the fast schedule would require him to double his stock and carriers. The Department, without examining into the correctness of his affidavit, would order the faster schedule adopted and would double the contractor's pay. Then, perhaps, an application would be presented for twice-a-week service which, if granted, would again double the contractor's pay, and so on. In this way a contract which originally paid the contractor a few hun- dred dollars could be made to yield him many thousands. Hun- dreds of thousands of dollars were thus paid out of the Treasury. This lead to charges of corruption, investigation, and criminal pro- ceedings against Departmental officers, contractors, and others. Since then no allowances are made to contractors for expedited service. If it becomes necessary to adopt a faster schedule on a route, and the contractor is unwilling to perform such service with- out additional pay, his contract is terminated and the faster service is opened to competitive bidding. Thus, any possibility of fraud is done away with. The Railway Adjustment Division of the Second Assistant's office considers applications for the establishment of mail service THE TRANSPORTATION OF THE MAILS. 33 upon railroads, prepares orders authorizing such service and the establishment of railway post-office car service and changes in exist- ing service, prepares the orders and instructions for the weighing of mails, receives the returns and computes the basis of pay, prepares the orders adjusting the pay of railroad companies for carrying the mails, and for postal car service, and attends to all correspondence relating to this branch of the service. The mail service performed by the railroad companies is not under any formal written contract. In 1873 Congress enacted a law providing that railroad companies should be paid for carrying the mails on the basis of the weights carried, and fixed a scale of maximum rates that could be allowed. These rates were reduced ten per cent, in 1876 and five per cent, additional in 1878. Railroad companies cannot be compelled by the Department to carry the mails, but as a general rule they gladly avail themselves of the privilege when permitted. When a new railroad is completed and the company makes application for the establishment of mail service over its line, the Department makes an investigation as to the necessity for the service. If the result is favorable, and the amount of postal business is thought to be suffi- cient to warrant the payment of the maximum rates allowed by law, an order is issued authorizing the transportation of mails over the line ; after the service is fully in operation a weighing is had of the mail actually carried, for a period of thirty consecutive working days, to ascertain the average weight of mail per mile that is carried each day, and upon this weight the pay is computed. If the benefit to the postal service to be derived from the transportation of mails on a line will not warrant the payment of the maximum rates for the weight carried, a rate less than the maximum is allowed by agreement with the railroad company, or the service is not estab- lished. The pay thus fixed continues to the end of the four years term for the state in which it is operated. Then another weigh- ing is had. Under this arrangement the railroad company must carry the mails at least six times a week each way, and the De- partment may place mails on any additional trains which the company may run. Where the amount of mails carried makes it necessary for the company to provide railway post-office cars over forty feet in length, for the exclusive use of the Department in handling the mails, additional pay is allowed for each line of 34 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. cars ordered by the Department, according to the length of the cars. The Post Office Department takes the view that the cooperation, and not the antagonism, of the railroads of the country is desired in providing mail facilities, and consequently great liberality towards them liberality as great as possible under the laws of Congress, and the business requirements of the service is pursued. The interests of the Department and of the railroads are allied, for often the Department is able to put on mails where the enterprise of a railroad company is pushing its transportation business with faster and more frequent trains, and sometimes a railroad company, lack- ing by only a little enough transportation business to enable it to put on a newer or a faster train, is enabled to do so with the assist- ance furnished by the Department in consideration of its transporta- tion of the mails. The maximum rates of pay allowable to railroads at the present time are, on routes carrying their whole length an average weight per day of 200 pounds $42.75 2,000 pounds $128.25 500 ,, 64.12 3,500 149.62 1000 85.50 5,000 ,, 171.00 1500 106.87 And for every additional 2000 pounds $21.37. The chief item of expense in conducting the postal service is, as has doubtless been imagined already, the transportation of the mails, though it is not to be forgotten that there are the items of millions for the pay of postmasters and clerks. Almost everywhere the earnings of the service this, too, must already have been imagined are used again for the extension and improvement of the service for the general improvement of it, that is to say, as fast as the acts of Congress permit. Only ten states and one terri- tory produce more postal revenue than is spent within their borders. New York leads, Massachusetts is next, Illinois is third, and Penn- sylvania is fourth. Oklahoma is the one territory. Grouping the states in regions, the New England States produce $1,636,091.29 more than is spent for them; the Middle States produce $3,857,- 181.23 more. No state on the Pacific slope produces as much as is required for the maintenance of its postal service. The same is true THE TRANSPORTATION OF THE MAILS. 35 of the Southern States. Two of the Western States and one terri- tory supply more than they use. The Southern States use $3,888,- 973.23 more than is collected; the Western States $6,143,677,18- more; the Pacific States $1,871,806.04 more. Without taking into account the amounts expended last year for transportation, all the increase of receipts (nearly half a million dollars) in the New Eng- land States, except $107,000, went back into improved service. In the Middle States, out of over one and a half million dollars increase all but $10,000 went back to improve the service. In the Southern States the increase was nearly eight hundred thousand dollars, and all but $15,000 went back to improve the service. In the Western States all the increased receipts and $677,591 in addition were spent for the benefit of the service ; and in the states on the Pacific Slope the additional receipts of $474,644, and $278,539 more, were spent to better the postal facilities. It is well known that many of the large city offices yield a net revenue to the postal service. It is frequently stated that the New York office alone receives above $4,000,000 annually more than it costs to operate it; and while there is no sure basis for making a calculation of this sort (inasmuch as the item of transportation of mails to and from a place like New York cannot be charged against that city in any definite and right proportion), it is of course true that the New York office and many others yield millions of dollars of net revenue to the Department. This fact has been the reason why propositions have been numerously made to reduce the postage on letters in large cities, (which are intended for de- livery within the limits of those cities,) and to have pneumatic tube service, and other new additions to the postal facilities. The reason why these claims are somewhat illogical is that the letter writers of the large cities pay not merely for the postage of letters intended for delivery within their own towns, but for the privilege of sending letters to the farthest o L uarter of the country, and receiving answers back. It would not be maintained that no post route and no mail facilities should be extended to localities where the service is not expected to be self-sustaining; for in hundreds of cases it costs fifty cents and more to send letters to their destinations, where the charge is only the ordinary two-cent stamp. It is not simply the postage on the letter which travels a mile that the letter writer 36 THE STOKY OF OUR POST OFFICE. pays. It is the privilege of sending a letter three thousand, or even six thousand miles, for two cents, that he pays for. Major George L. Seybolt, Post Office Inspector in Charge at San Francisco, lately returned from an examination of the postal service of Alaska. Alaska is as far west of San Francisco as San Francisco is west of the Atlantic Ocean. The remotest office belonging to the United States is at Mitchell, far up in the interior of Alaska. The spot is a little mining camp near where the waters of Forty Mile Creek flow into the Yukon River. The people are not quite certain whether the United States or Canada owns the land, for the bound- ary line is quite near; but at any rate the United States has the office. The mail is carried irregularly by any one who chances to be going that way. Of course, nearly all the small merchandise IN THE UPPER PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN. for points in Alaska goes by mail boots, shoes, silver ware, pictures, clothing, millinery, groceries, and in fact anything not liquid or alive that can be made up into a four-pound package. The Government charges are much lower than any express or freight company could afford to make ; and hence the additional loss on this far-away business, which is not merely the transportation of letters. A year or more ago numerous complaints were received from Texas that the star service there was irregular and generally ineffi- cient, and public attention was again drawn to the evils incident to the sub-letting of star route contracts. It is well known that the bulk of the star route contracting is done by professional bidders, or "star routers," as they are called. These men make hundreds, THE TRANSPORTATION OF THE MAILS. 37 or even thousands, of contracts. They of course sub-let them, sometimes at ruinously low figures, as the disposition of many a sub-contractor to give up his work testifies. As has recently been stated by the Department, a great diversity of opinion has existed respecting the advisability of enacting new laws or the creation of additional regulations, the outcome of which would be to discourage competition, thereby largely increasing the cost of the star service without substantial assurance that there would arise from the new conditions a marked change in the performance of the service itself. Two methods have been recommended by those advocating a change; first, to prohibit sub-letting altogether; second, to require the approval of bidders' sureties by postmasters at post offices upon or contiguous to the routes to which the proposals relate. It has been claimed for the first proposition that it would prevent specula- tion in mail contracts, because no person would bid for service on a large number of routes knowing that he could not sub-let them. In opposition, it is asserted that while sub-letting directly would be prevented, the contractors could still hire carriers who, after per- forming the service, might have no means to secure their earnings by evidences of agreements that could be recognized by the Depart- ment. The purpose of the second change would be to exclude sub- letting bidders and to cause contracts to be let to persons residing upon the various routes or near to them. For it is argued that com- petition among speculators is so great that they in turn must sub-let at figures below which inferior equipment is necessary and good service impossible. But under the present system pay is not awarded unless the registers of the postmasters show that the service has actually been performed; and an objection easy enough to be thought of is that, under the proposed change, intending local con- tractors might form combinations and increase prices inordinately. The Department is rather inclined, in choosing between these evils, to a more rigorous supervision of all the work; and this is one of the reasons why it is more important now than ever before that all complaints should be submitted specifically and without delay, as cause for them arises.- An increase of ten per cent, in the cost of the star service would necessitate an additional annual appropria- tion by Congress of over half a million dollars for this service alone. The Department, insisting upon a sharper supervision, and 38 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. taking advantage, too, of the closeness of competition among bidders, has been able to prove the wisdom of its position by pointing out that under the letting of the star service in the fourth contract sec- tion, which took effect July 1, 1890, there was an annual saving of over $213,000, which would be for the contract term of four years a saving of over 8850,000 ; and that under the letting of the third contract section, which took effect July 1, 1891, the reduction per annum was over $100,000, or a reduction for the contract term of four years of over $400,000. The competition was sharp enough. The number of routes embraced in this last contract section was over 4,000, and the total number of sealed proposals almost 100,000, so that the average number of bids per route was from twenty to twenty-five. Not the least significant development of Postmaster General Wanamaker's desire to facilitate the delivery of mail in country districts is the possibility of a large and important addition, but not an addition at all onerous, to the duties of the mail contractor. It is believed that if letter boxes for the collection of mail were put up at central points in farming, lumbering, or mining communities, the mail could be collected from them and properly disposed of by the contractor without trouble, greatly to the accommodation of these far-off letter writers ; and not the least of the benefits likely to be derived from this proposed departure would be, as Congressman Nelson Dingley of Maine has pointed out, as in the case of the extension of the free delivery by carrier to villages and rural com- munities, the freer interchange of letters and newspapers, and of general intelligence, and hence a less marked tendency on the part of country people towards life in the city. The " regulation wagon service " is performed in some forty of the chief cities of the country. It provides for the transportation of mails from railroad stations to post offices, and every city dweller has seen the lumbering red, white, and blue express wagons trudg- ing backward and forth. Every intending contractor must per- sonally investigate the extent of the service to be required. There is no diminution of compensation for partial discontinuance of the service, nor is there any increase of compensation for any increase of service that may be required. Bidders know this, and make allowance. The regulation wagon is expensive. It requires con- THE TRANSPORTATION OF THE MAILS. 39 stant care and frequent painting to make its appearance creditable, and it is the more expensive because, after the contract term is over, it cannot be made of service to the owner without being radically changed; for its subsequent use is forbidden by the Government until after the removal of all the insignia of the Government ser- vice. In about forty cities of secondary importance the screen- wagon service, as it is called, is provided. The ordinary mail messenger service did not afford sufficient protection for the mails, and in the number of cases above mentioned the messengers were required to furnish covered wagons, protected by screens, and pro- FOR THE REGULATION WAGON SERVICE. vided with waterproof curtains. The regulation wagon service costs perhaps half a million dollars annually. The sub-contractor does not complain much of the hardships which the professional "star router" puts upon him. He has taken the work to do at the given figure and knows that he must perform it or lose his pay. Nor does he complain much of the difficulties and dangers of wind and water. He provides himself with the kind of clothes required to protect him, and in the wilder regions, of course, goes armed. There is nothing timid nor particularly gentle about the mail carrier. No doubt he is provided in the first place with ample store of brawn and courage, and he almost always feels an additional determination not to be interfered with, especially with his added importance as an agent of the Government. 40 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. One hears thrilling stories of the bravery of these hardy fellows. In Johnson County, Wyoming, the seat of the Rustler cattle war, Contractor Stringer had been unable during the winter to carry the mail across the Big Horn Mountains from Buffalo to Ten Sleep. In the belief that the summer season was sufficiently advanced to allow the trip to be made, he started from Buffalo on a strong saddle horse and with four mules packed with mail pouches. Twenty-five miles of hard travelling brought him to an emer- gency cabin with his stock completely played out. Here he placed some mail on a toboggan, and, strapping on a pair of snow shoes, made another start for Ten Sleep. In about fifteen miles one of the snow shoes was broken. The nearest haven was Stringer's own- ranch, twelve miles distant. He was five days getting to it. Most of the way he crawled on his hands and knees. With hun- ger and exhaustion he was all but dead. Resting three days at his ranch and making a new shoe, Stringer returned to the station for the abandoned stock and mail, and in a week put the mail through to Ten Sleep. The women are self-reliant and determined also. Mrs. Clara Carter, of West Ellsworth, Maine, drives the mail coach from that place to Ellsworth, seven miles away. A Lewiston Journal cor- respondent, who recently made the trip with her, saw her deliver twelve packages and as many letters, besides several papers, along the route, attend to errands and look after two passengers, all in an hour and twenty minutes. This energetic woman rises early in the morning, does the cooking for five in the family, starts at 7 for the city with the mail and numerous errands that are THE SCREEN WAGON. THE TRANSPORTATION OF THE MAILS. 41 given to her without memoranda. She returns at noon, gets dinner, goes to the blueberry fields and picks ten quarts of berries or more in the afternoon, and in the cool of evening does the family washing and ironing and other household tasks. This amount of work she performs six days in the week, varying the routine in the afternoon, out of berry season, by sewing for the family. She finds time, too, to play on the parlor organ an hour or more in the evening, or to enter- tain visitors. There is a brave little woman mail carrier in Oregon. She travels from the head of navigation on Siuslaw's River over the Coast Range Mountains, and then follows the river through Hale's post office within fifteen miles of Eugene City. Her route is twenty miles long, and right in the heart of the mountains. She carries the mail night and day, and fears nothing. She rides horse- back and carries a revolver. Miss Westman is a plump brunette, twenty -two years old. Her father and uncle operate a stage line. At Hale's station the young woman meets her father and takes the mail from Eugene City. Miss Westman has never met with a mis- hap. On one of her trips last year she found three good-sized bears in the road, right in front of her. The horse became frightened, threw his rider to the ground, and ran back. Miss Westman started after the runaway, remounted, and rode right through the savage line, and, strange to say, she was not attacked. Some friends later went to the place and killed the bears. On another occasion Miss Westman met two bears, but they did not molest her. Another brave woman carries the mails in the gold mining coun- try of Okanogan County, Washington. A recent visitor to that neighborhood, Mr. John F. Plummer of New York, rode in stages and wagons, and tramped three hundred and fifty miles away from the railroad and back, over stage routes and trails, near the Cana- dian border line. At a station, called Malott after the first settler in the locality, the party stopped for food, and were entertained by Mrs. Malott, and especially by her very interesting daughter, who carries the mail on horseback sixteen miles a day. Not so very long ago (but it is a rare thing now) the mail carrier had to fight the Indian. The story of Danny Redmond, the rider on the Sunset Trail, is told by a writer for the Chicago Inter Ocean. The Sunset Trail wound its way over the dreary plains of Kansas, 42 THE STOKY OF OUR POST OFFICE. across the Cimmarron, and on and on into the great State of the Lone Star. But Danny's route only extended to Crooked Creek, a. town consisting of a grocery store. At this time the population of Ford County could have been easily corralled on a quarter section^ and had comfortable standing-room at that. Danny was an apostle to these lone settlers, and only one who has experienced the appalling loneliness of existence in those thinly peopled plains, where you can MISS MALOTT, Who carries the mail sixteen miles a day in Northern Washington. see your next door neighbor's shanty on clearways only, can realize the joy with which they heralded this blue-eyed, brown-haired bunch of turbulence. "Two o'clock," would comment some unkempt denizen, consult- ing the sun. "Danny' 11 be here in ten minutes." They would look till their eyes ached afar to where the Sunset THE TRANSPORTATION OF THE MAILS. 43 Trail tipped over the roll of prairie at the horizon. Soon their watching would be rewarded, and steadily and swiftly would the bay mare Dolly bear her rider down the trail in that swinging, inde- fatigable gallop of the mustang. Perchance some settler coming into the post-office would jog in the path that Danny chose. "Git out o' the way of the United States mail ! " would come the warning, and he would prudently "git" to the other side of the road, for Danny could and would shoot, and, besides, didn't he have every one of those fellows down at the office to stand at his back to the last shot? How longingly and expectantly those eager pioneers would watch the letters distributed! Though, perhaps they had no grounds for expecting a letter, yet their hope did not sink until the last one was put away. Then the return mail would be made up and at the exact minute Danny would vault into the big Mexican saddle almost as big as he and Dolly and with the all-potent mail he would recommence his long ride, never stopping as he tried a shot at some unwieldy rattlesnake that had dragged its mottled form out on the trail to loll in the sun, who would not be able to wiggle into the tall grass ere the United States mail was upon him. Along the route the settlers would come out of their shanties half bent and wave their sombreros and cheer the buoyant rider. Wabash was the only stop. It was of the same importance as Crooked Creek only there were two houses instead of one, or rather a double house ; for the owners of the claims that joined up there occupied a shanty of two compartments, one on each claim. Some- how or other the scamp would sit straighter in the saddle and pull Dolly's head up higher when they approached Wabash and a pretty little peach of a girl would come out and chat with the carrier while her spectacled father's attention was riveted on the letter packages. Dolly would probably think that Danny was getting rather weighty on one side as he bent low in the saddle danger- ously close to that pink sun bonnet. And the scoffing gopher that sat up conveniently close to his burro would wonder for what reason a fellow would want to bite a pretty girl like her. But Rosie didn't seem to mind the punishment a bit. And I fear' Danny would fain have lingered longer at the unprepos- 44 THE STORY OF OUK POST OFFICE. sessing post of Wabash but the United States mail must be carried on. Night would fall ere he crossed the dark Cimmarron and on the auspicious nights the moon was well up in the sky when he rode with a whoop and halloo, that stilled the howling of the coyotes, into Fort Dodge the journey done. One day a cowboy came into the fort with a jaded mustang and a slash across his cheek, and reported that he had been chased by a band of Arapahoes. Those children of nature had grown insolent with well feeding and little work. They often became thus at irregular intervals, and, breaking from the reservation, swept north upon the scattered settlers of the plains. Danny was pre- paring to start upon his route when the news came. "You oughtn't to go, Dan, " they said, " for they'll strike right up the Cimmarron like they allays do, and more'n likely fall afoul o' you. If you do your scalp'll dangle from some red nigger's belt before mornun'." "I'm not skeert," replied he, settling himself in the saddle, "and besides, the folks at Wabash and the Crick ought to be warned. And you know the mail has to go as long as it's anyways possible." The spur touched Dolly's flanks more often than usual, but she kept up bravely, and Danny clattered into Wabash, ahead of time. Imparting the alarming intelligence to old man Beck, the post- master, and cautioning him to get the family ready and start for the post without further delay, he rode on toward Crooked Creek. Danny clinched the saddle tighter and looked to his weapons ere he mounted for the home spurt. He was not afraid. Had he been FOB THE STAGE LINES OF THE FAR WEST. THE TRANSPORTATION OF THE MAILS. 45 a coward he would have remained safely at the fort. But an ominous dread fell upon him as he thought of the dark Cimmarron. He arrived at Wabash and looked in at the open door of the Beck and Lartan households. Everything was topsy-turvey as left in the hurry of departure. " Well, Rosie is safe anyway, " he confided to Dolly with a sigh. Their flying shadows grew longer and longer, and finally night dropped on the plains. Before him loomed the Cimmarron. He could see the misty vapor rolling up like smoke. "If they're anywhere they'll be down there," he mused. "They'll want to lay along the trail, and catch some of the settlers making for Dodge. Wonder if I hadn't better cross further down ? " It was a good idea, and he turned Dolly from the trail and directed his course further down the river. The reins changed from right to left as he entered the mist, and his right fell upon the protruding butt of a revolver in his belt. A twig cracked under the horse's feet and gave the rider a start. Down into the Cimmarron they splashed. Dolly pulled at the rein. "No, no, Doll; can't drink this time," he murmured. He climbed the bank on the opposite side and rode out on the plain, breathing easier. "Spang!" Dolly bolted forward and a flame of light flashed in the darkness up the river. "Yip-yip-yip!" It was the war-cry of the Arapahoe. With a yell of defiance he fired at the dark mass tearing after him, and bending low over the saddle horn spoke encouragingly to the horse : " Dolly, if you ever run, do it now. You're faster thun any of them. Dolly, if you'll only try look out for the gopher hills that's a good horse. Whew! that one was close. Now you're get- tin' down to it, Dolly. We'll beat the red devils yit. On, Doll. Remember, we've got the mail, and it must be saved. Here's the trail. Now see how fast you can run. Ouch! O God, I'm hit, and hit home at that. It's all with you, Dolly! it's all with you." And he clung to the saddle horn and gave the mustang free rein. She ran like a frightened antelope, hardly seeming to touch the ground, while Danny with closed eyes and clenched teeth clung to the saddle horn with the desperation of death. 46 THE STOKY OF OUR POST OFFICE. " Halt ! Who comes there ? " challenged the guard, as a horse and rider came into the fort. "The United States mail," came the faint reply, and Dolly galloped up with blood in her nostrils and blood on her flanks, quivering like an aspen. "Dan, are you hurt?" asked the soldier, lifting him from the saddle. "I'm hit dead," he replied, with a moan. They carried him into the barrack room, and the surgeon was summoned, but there was no hope, he said. Soon the news spread to the camp, and the rough soldiers and fugitive settlers gathered around him, watching with breathless interest for the end to come. A girl came pushing her way through the crowd, wringing her hands in agony. She bent down and took the sufferer's hand. "Rosie," he said, with a pained smile. "I'm a goner, I guess. Good by, Rosie ; you can have Dolly, and take care of her, for she did all she could to save me. Good by, boys, Tender's the Cimmarron. That's a good horse, Dolly." "Delirium," said the surgeon gravely. " Get out of the way of the United States mail That was the end. The mail was safe, but the carrier was dead. HOW A LETTER TRAVELS. HE Bureau of the Railway Mail Service, the largest and most important in the office of the Second Assistant Postmaster General, has charge of the movement of mails over all railroad routes, deter- mines what trains shall carry the mails, directs the dispatch, distribution, and separation of mail matter in railway post offices and the principal post offices, conducts the weighing of mails when ordered, prepares the orders for appointment, removal, promotion and reduction of postal clerks, has supervision of the discipline of the employees of that "branch of the service, and conducts the correspondence relating to these matters. This branch of the Department has a general super- intendent in immediate charge who, with the assistant general superintendent, has his headquarters in the Department ; but in order to supervise the innumerable details of such an extended service, it is necessary to have division superintendents, each in charge of a certain quarter of the country. At present there are eleven division superintendents with headquarters respectively in Boston, New York, Washington, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Chi- cago, St. Louis, San Francisco, Cleveland, St. Paul, and Fort Worth; and these have chief clerks, stationed in other important cities. The travelling postal car, " said Postmaster General Wanamaker mce, "though a familiar sight, has but few real acquaintances among the people. It thunders on day and night, over every rail- road, full of bustling clerks, taking up sacks of mail, sorting them between stations, and laying them down at proper destinations. Over six thousand men, full of intelligence and pluck, are on their feet swinging to the motion of the train, exposed to danger, deprived of their homes, making ready tons of letters and news- 47 48 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. papers for quick deliveries. The railway mail is the spinal column of the service." "Railway postal clerks," writes Mr. George B. Armstrong of the Chicago Evening Post, son of the George B. Armstrong whose persistent genius caused the railway post office system to be estab- lished, "are the most intelligent men in the Department. Theirs is no perfunctory labor. It is intellectual effort, if not of the highest, then of a high order. There is no creative talent required, but a memory whose tenacity shall equal the jaws of a sturdy bull dog." THE PONY EXPRESS THE RELAY. Yet the general public knows almost nothing of the railway postal car. One sees the post office clerk, lives a neighbor to him, quar- rels with him, perhaps, because he cannot do everything in no time. But the railway postal clerks are travelling almost always, except when they are sleeping. They are separated from their families, they work at night cooped up in cars ; yet they handle everybody's mail, expedite it hours and days with singular quickness, accuracy, and honesty. They perform, in short, the most arduous as well as the most important part of the postal work. The inspectors are the eyes and ears of the service ; the railway postal clerks the deft, brain- trained hands. HOW A LETTER TRAVELS. 49 Even the largest figures that can be quoted out of the records of the Department fail to give a notion of the magnitude of the railway mail service. The 6,400 postal clerks traverse 160,000 miles of railroad. They actually distribute mails on over 140,000 miles (the service on the rest is performed by means of closed pouches, carried by lines upon which no distributions are made). The roll- ing stock of the railway post office lines consists of over 500 whole cars in use and over 100 kept in reserve. 1,800 apartment cars are in use and over 500 are kept in reserve. So that the total number of cars under the control of the Department is almost 2,000. The number of cars in use or in reserve increases at the rate of over a hundred yearly. The departmental report for 1891 recorded that nearly 8,000 miles of additional railway post office service had been established, 1,300 miles in the Pacific Coast States, 3,500 in the other Western States, 2,400 in the Southern States, and about 1,000 in the Northeastern States. At Chicago 145 mail trains arrived and 144 departed daily ; at Cincinnati the numbers were 70 and 73 ; at St. Louis 65 and 72, and at St. Paul 75 and 74. The increase in the number of pieces of mail distributed by railway postal clerks is constant, and the decrease in the number of errors is equally marked, as the following brief tables show : For the fiscal year ended June 30, 1890: Number of pieces distributed 7,865,438,101 Number of errors 2,812,574 (Or one error for 2,797 correct distributions.) For the fiscal year ended June 30, 1891 : Number of pieces distributed 8,564,252,563 Number of errors 2,042,049 (Or one error for 4,194 correct distributions.) The fiscal year ended June 30, 1892, also showed a remarkable improvement. The number of pieces handled was 9,245,994,775, and the number of errors 1,691,389, or one error in 5,466 pieces handled ! It shows how hard the men try and how well they succeed. They are obliged to try and to succeed, for during an average year 15,000 "case examinations " are held, at which 15,000,000 cards are distrib- uted; and the average per cent, correct is 93 or higher. And the railway postal clerks correct the errors, supply the watchfulness and brains, even, of the great public. For they withdraw from railway 50 THE STORY OF OUK POST OFFICE. post offices in a year and forward to designated post offices for treat- ment perhaps 8,000,000 pieces of matter imperfectly addressed; and under this treatment more than 2,500,000 pieces are returned to LOADING FOB THE FAST MAIL AT NEW YORK. writers, and two millions and a quarter are corrected and for- warded to addressees. This keeps out of the Dead Letter Office almost 5,000,000 pieces of mail matter. And the number of errors made by the public, as shown by the record, exceeds HOW A LETTER TRAVELS. 51 those made by the railway post offices by over 5,000,000 annually ! At the head of the Railway Mail Service is Capt. James E. White of Chicago, a gallant Iowa soldier, a clerk under Armstrong as early as 1866, and for a long time division superintendent of the Rail- way Mail Service at Chicago. The assistant general superintendent, Mr. William P. Campbell, is also a Chicago man. He entered the service in 1868, and was for a long time General Superintendent Armstrong's secretary. Hardly a man in the service is more accom- plished than he. The chief clerk of the service is Mr. Alexander Grant, a Michigan man. He was a clerk in the service for a long time. He is now accounted one of the most popular fellows in Washington, as he is surely one of the most efficient of the postal officers. Cap- tain White's room is on the second floor at the Seventh Street side of the Department building. Mr. Campbell spends much of his time in the very important work of examining personally the rail- way service in various parts of the country. In the room next to Captain White is Mr. Grant. Routine exactions keep him in Washington most of the time. Take a letter mailed in the post office at Exeter, New Hampshire, and addressed to some person at Elk Lawn, Siskiyou County, Cali- fornia. It is to go from the foot of the White Mountains to the shadow of Mount Shasta. The mailing clerk in the post-office at Exeter places this letter in a package marked "Western States. " The package is enclosed in a pouch sent from the Exeter office to the mail car running from Portland to Boston. The clerks upon the line, upon opening this pouch, take the package in which the letter for Elk Lawn has been placed and distribute it in what is called the " Western Case, " which contains the separations for the Western States and Territories. This is for the purpose of getting together all mail for Oregon, Washington, California, and Nevada. These packages, when "tied out," are placed in a pouch at Boston, and sent to the postal car at the Boston and Albany Railroad station. The pouch is taken direct from one depot to another by a messenger who contracts to transport the mails between the depots and the post office in Boston. Sometimes the time is so short between the arrival of one train and the departure of another that if the pouches had to go to the post office they would miss the train and be delayed HOW A LETTER TRAVELS. 53 from six to twelve hours. This is where the mail messenger ser- vice comes in. The package marked "Western States" has been "stated," as they say. The clerks take these packages to a case where each box is designated by a state, and they separate all that mail. This separation is completed on the Boston and Albany line before the train reaches Albany, and the mail is put in a pouch marked "No. 2 West." It is marked "No. 2," because it is the last matter that the clerks have to handle. "No. 1" is the immediate mail to New York and is worked first. "No. 3 West" (for sometimes they have a "No. 3 ") would be mail for Michigan and the intermediate states. The Boston and Albany usually has enough mail to make up one pouch for Ohio, one for Michigan, and one for Indiana. At Albany the Boston and Albany car is run up alongside the postal car of the New York and Chicago line, and the mails are transferred from one line to the other in short order by the postal clerks and railway men. This connection at Albany is made four times a day. After the mail train has left Albany, the clerks in the New York and Chicago railway post office open this pouch that we have followed, and separate the packages. California, Oregon, and Nevada are put in different sacks, a sack for each state. There is matter enough for that. The mail for California on this particular line between New York and Chicago is distributed between Albany and Syracuse. The mail for the southern part of the state, as for Los Angeles and San Diego, is separated from that for the balance of the state in order that it may be forwarded from Cleveland or Toledo, by St. Louis, Kansas City, and Albuquerque. The mail for the main portion of the State of California continues on the New York and Chicago line and beyond to Sacramento, and our particular letter for Elk Lawn would be put by the clerk running between Albany and Syracuse in the package marked " Ogden and San Fran- cisco, Cal."; and this package is not opened until it reaches the clerks running between these two points. The mail for the southern part of California is put up in packages as indicated above. The mail for upper California is not handled between Syracuse and Ogden, except as it crosses Chicago in a pouch. The pouch is transferred at Chicago, of course, from the New York and Chicago postal car to the Chicago and Omaha. Seven or eight two-horse loads are carted 54 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. across the city in this way at each transfer. The New York and Chicago train, indeed, is made up of six postal cars, each sixty feet long, all jammed full. But to take up our Exeter letter again. At Ogden the pouch J POUCHING THE MAIL. which was made up on the New York and Chicago line between Albany and Syracuse is opened and the mail is distributed again. The letter for Elk Lawn is placed in a package marked "Portland and San Francisco, No. 2." The package mailed for the first sta- tions on this line, those, say, between Sacramento and Red Bluff, are marked "No. 1." This specialization of the work is to enable the HOW A LETTER TRAVELS. 55 clerks to complete their distributions before passing the first impor- tant stations. In making the distributions of mails (a simple sepa- ration, such as is made of California mail between Albany-ami Syracuse), the clerk is required to make direct packages for all cities for which he finds sufficient mail to make it an object : for instance, DISTRIBUTING THE MAIL BY STATES AND ROUTES. for San Francisco, Sacramento, Stockton, San Jose, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and San Diego; for where there are five or more letters for one office they are tied up separately. Elk Lawn is a very small office, and ordinarily there would not be enough mail for it to require it to be made up separately. Consequently our letter is put in what is called the "road package." The clerks of 56 THE STOKY OF OUR POST OFFICE. the Sacramento and Portland line put the letter to Elk Lawn in a special package marked "Sisson Dis." and this package is put off at Sisson station. "Dis." means distribution, and the Sisson post- master is to dispatch, -by side or star routes, the letters embraced in the package which he has received, to their various destinations. He makes up the letters for Elk Lawn and puts them in a pouch THE INTERIOR OF A POSTAL CAR. with packages for other stations along the stage route, and sends them out three times a week. The pouch is overhauled at every post office on the stage route, and the letters that are left go on in turn to their destinations. The stage drivers used to complain that it delayed them at many of the post offices to wait for postmasters to pick out from the general batch the letters intended for their offices, and hence the recent order of the Department that the postmasters at distributing points like Sisson should "tie out" the little packages of letters intended for offices on the radiating routes. So the Exeter letter reaches Elk Lawn. It has been handled in all these postal cars by all these clerks, and has travelled all these three thousand miles and more. But the time has not been so very good. The connection is not close at Boston, nor is it possible to have it always close at a place like Sisson. But the division superinten- dents and the chief clerks of the Railway Mail Service, under the direction of the General Superintendent and the Second Assistant Postmaster General, are always studying how these connections HOW A LETTER TRAVELS. 57 may be made better, and contractors in almost innumerable instances, and railroads even, have rearranged their schedules in order that all the boundless, intricate network of transportation lines of -all sorts may be made a regularly, closely interwoven warp and woof, and not mere shreds and patches. With the unvarying increase in routes and post offices, the tasks for the railway postal clerks to learn become harder and more numerous. But probably more than a thousand of these sharp fellows could sit down and recite the detailed travels of a letter, flying as if with wings from any edge of the country to any other over dozens of different post routes. " The New York and Chicago Fast Mail " has been passed over in the above description with scanty notice. The finest train leaves New York at nine at night. " It must not be supposed, " writes ex-Postmaster Gen- eral James, in one of his graphic articles in Scrib- ner*s, "that everything has been left until the last mo- ment and that the mail- matter has been tumbled into the cars on the eve of departure, to be handled as best it may in the short run to Albany; for under such conditions the task would be an impossibility even to an army of trained hands. Work has been in progress since four o'clock in the afternoon, and it has been steady, hard labor every minute of the time. The five cars have been backed down to the tracks opposite Forty-Fifth Street, and have been so placed that they are convenient of access to the big lumbering mail wagons which are familiar sights in the streets of the metropolis. The crew of nineteen men, skilled in the handling of mail matter, and thorough experts in the geography of the country, reported to the chief clerk CASES IN A POSTAL CAR. 58 THE STORY OF OUK POST OFFICE. A VERY DIFFICULT ADDKESS KNOWN AS "A STICKER." and took up their stations in the various cars at the hour named. At the same time the wagons began arriving from the general post office with their tons of matter which had 'originated' in New York, and were soon trans- ferring their loads to the cars, where agile hands were in waiting to receive them. " Before we deal with the mail matter, let us look at the cars and the men who occupy them. The train, as it leaves New York, is made up of six, and sometimes seven cars which are placed immedi- ately behind the engine, and are followed by express and baggage HOW A LETTER TRAVELS. 59 cars and one passenger coach. The car next to the engine is devoted entirely to letter mail, and the four following it to papers and pack- ages. The letter car is fifty feet in length, while those for -the newspaper mail are ten feet longer. All are uniform in width, nine feet eight inches, and are six feet nine inches in the clear. When newly built, before long and hard service had told on their appear- ance, their outsides were white in color with cream tinted border- ings and gilt ornamentations, and were highly varnished. Midway on the outside, and below the windows of each car, is a large oval gilt finished frame within which is painted the name of the car with the words, l United States Post Office ' above and below. The cars used by the New York Central are named for the governors of the State, and the members of President Garfield's cabinet. Along the upper edge and centre are painted in large gilt letters the words, 'The Fast Mail Train,' while on a line with these letters at the other end, in a square, are the words in like lettering, *New York Cen- tral ' and c Lake Shore.' The frieze and minute trimmings around the windows are of gilt finish. The body of the car also contains other ornamentation, including the coat-of-arms of the United States. The running gear is of the most approved pattern. The platforms are enclosed by swinging doors which when opened afford a protected passage between the cars. This arrangement, no doubt, suggested the modern improvement now known as the vestibule train. The letter car is provided with a *mail catcher,' which is placed at a small door through which mail pouches are snatched from conveniently placed posts at wayside stations where stops are not made. Each car is divided into three sections, all fitted up alike with conveniences for the service to be performed. The letter car, however, is somewhat differently arranged from the others, to meet the requirements of that particular branch of the work. " In the first section of the letter car are received the pouches from the general post office, which when opened are found to contain letters done up in packages of about one hundred marked for Michi- gan, Indiana, New York, Ohio, Western Pennsylvania, Montana, Dakota, and California. When this mass of matter has been emptied out of the pouches, and, in the vernacular of the service, 4 dumped up ' preparatory to distribution, the section is clear for the registered mail which is worked in it. Before this is accom- 60 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. plished, however, much work is done ; in fact, a sort of rough dis- tribution is made. All packages which are directed to one office are distributed into pouches, which are afterward stored away until the towns are reached. The other packages are carried into the letter department for distribution, where a rack, similar to those seen in almost every post office, although space is thoroughly econ- omized, is used for the purpose. To give a slight idea of the work done in this section it may be mentioned that the dis- tribution for New York State alone requires 325 boxes. Still there is plenty of space, otherwise the third section of the car would not be used, as it is, for the dis- tribution of Montana and Dakota newspapers. How closely everything is packed and all available space util- ized may be imagined when it is stated that for this newspaper mail ninety-five pouches are hung in the sec- tion, and that there is still sufficient room for the storage of pouches locked up and ready for delivery, and also for the sealed registered mail. A separa- tion of the California mail is also made in this car, so that when it reaches Chicago the pouches into which the matter is placed are transferred without delay, thus saving twenty-four hours on the time to the Pacific Coast, not by any means an unimportant accomplishment. " There have been received in this car before it moves out of the Grand Central station, between 1,000 and 1,500 packages of letters, and in addition forty or fifty sacks of Dakota and Montana papers. To handle this mass of correspondence there are six men in addition POUCHING NEWSPAPERS FOB CALIFORNIA IN CAR NO. 5. HOW A LETTER TRAVELS. 61 to the clerk in charge. The second clerk handles letters for Ohio, Dakota, and Montana; the third clerk takes charge of those for New York State ; the fourth, Illinois ; the fifth opens all pouches labelled, l New York and Chicago Railway Post Office, ' distributes their contents, and afterward works on Dakota and Montana papers ; the sixth, Michigan State letters, and the seventh, California letter mail. "The second, or 'Illinois Car,' is devoted, as are the others which follow it, to the newspaper and periodical mail. In it are handled papers for Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, New York, Oregon, and Wyo- ming. Two clerks and two assistants man this car. The first assist- ant, who 'faces up' papers ready to be distributed, draws mails from stalls to case, and removes boxes as fast as they are filled, has gained the soubriquet of the 'Illinois derrick,' owing to the heavy nature of his duties. The second, who lends what aid he can in the heav}^ work on the run between New York and Albany, has become known on the train as the 'short stop.' The third section of the car is used for storing the bags of assorted matter. "The third car is used for storing through mail for San Francisco, Omaha, and points west of Chicago. In it are also carried stamped envelopes from the manufacturer at Hartford, Conn., to postmasters in the West. This car is frequently fully loaded with matter from the New York office when the journey is begun. The Michigan paper car is the fourth. In it are handled papers for Michigan, Iowa, and the mixed Western States. In the first section are piled the Iowa pouches and those for points out of Utica, which have been distributed in the centre section, and in the third section the distribution for Michigan, Nebraska, and Minnesota, as well as for points reached from Buffalo, is made. Two men perform the work of the car, one of whom has already handled all registered mail and Indiana letters in the first car. "The fifth, or California paper car, is the last mail coach on the train, as it is made up when leaving the Grand Central Station. Besides the papers for the Golden State the car carries through registered pouches to Chicago and the West, which have been made up in New York office, and, as a usual thing, a large lot of stamped envelopes for postmasters in the West. The California letter man from the first car looks after the papers for the same state, and has 62 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. an eye to the safety of the car. On reaching Albany another car is added to the train, making six in all from that point. This last addition comes from Boston, brings the morning mail from Bangor, Me., arid is manned by four men. " The run to Chicago for post office purposes is divided into three MAILING A LETTEB AT THE LAST MOMENT. divisions; from New York to Syracuse, from Syracuse to Cleveland, and from Cleveland to Chicago. Each division has its own crew, so that the men leaving New York are relieved at Syracuse by others, and these in turn at Cleveland. The New York crew go to work, as has been said, at 4 P. M., and if the train is on time at Syracuse, as it usually is, they arrive there at 5.35 A. M., after thirteen and a half hours of as hard work as men are called upon to do. The same evening at 8.40 they relieve the east bound crew, HOW A LETTER TRAVELS. 63 and are in New York again at six o'clock on the following morning. Half an hour later they are to be found on the top floor of the general post office building, comfortably ensconced in bunks in a large and airy room, provided as a dormitory for their use by the postmaster of New York at the time of the inauguration of the fast mail service. Each crew makes three round trips and is then laid off for six days, but its members are all this time subject to extra duty which they are called upon to perform with unpleasant fre- quency, particularly in holiday times." A Chicago Tribune man travelled to the Pacific Coast and back not long ago in mail trains. He covered 6,110 miles in fifteen days; and this with a stop-over of a day and a half in San Francisco, a day in Portland, two days and a half on Puget Sound, and a ,day at the Great Shoshone Falls. The actual time spent on the mail trains was nine days, or, by exact calculation, 214 hours, which gives an average run, including all stops but those mentioned, of 650 miles a day. If Nellie Bly or Elizabeth B island had kept up such a pace they would have made the circuit of the globe in thirty-seven days. If they had gone as swiftly as the mail does between Chicago and San Francisco, and Chicago and Portland, they would have made the circuit in thirty-four days. To make such time and make it daily, as is continually done, the speed must be continuously high. No loss of time can be allowed in ascending the Rockies and Sierras on the way to San Francisco or the Rockies and Cascades to Portland. Two engines are there- fore provided on the steeper up-grades, and the light mail trains are carried up the long acclivities at a rate rarely under thirty miles an hour. In descending the mountains the fastest possible time con- sistent with safety is necessary. A mile a minute is commonplace, and fifty-eight seconds is enough on straight stretches of track. The mail trains between Portland and Green River, a distance of 957 miles, make better time, in spite of the mountains, than any limited express or mail train running in or out of New York a like distance. In travelling the immense distances covered by the trans- continental roads delays are, of course, unavoidable on almost every trip. But the mails must arrive at the great distributing points along the lines in time to meet the mail trains of connecting roads. Not to do so may make the mail of a whole state or even 64 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. several states twenty-four hours late. Such de- lays as occur must, accordingly, be made up. So passengers on the fast mail learn what rapid travelling is. A delay of half an hour has been caused by a hot journal at some point in the alkali desert of Nevada. The traveller's first sensation on getting off at a clipping pace is one of joyous relief. In a few minutes he finds himself holding with both hands to his seat and longing for rest even in the midst of the biting dust of the plateau. He learns that the time lost must be regained in the one hundred CATCHING THE POUCH FROM THE CKANE. HOW A LETTER TRAVELS. 65 miles, and unless he has the resignation of a philosopher he will discover that his nerves are badly unstrung at the end of the run. One remarkable run was made on the Oregon Short Line from Soda Springs, Idaho, to Grainger, Wyoming. Owing to a freight wreck the fast mail was fifty minutes late at Soda Springs. It was neces- sary to make up every minute of the loss before reaching Grainger in order to connect at Green River, fifteen miles further on, with the east bound fast mail from San Francisco. Division Superin- tendent Green stepped aboard at Soda Springs to see that the engineer did his duty. The run began at once in earnest. A winding track of 146 miles had to be ridden over in fifty minutes less than the new schedule time, and the new schedule time was lightning. The track lay at first along Ham's Fork. The valley was broad, the curves moderate, and the imposing snowy mountain scenery on either side diverted the attention of the passengers from the speed. But the indicator kept a register of what was going on, and the record showed that each of the first fifteen miles was made in fifty-seven seconds. In forty-four minutes forty-six miles had been travelled, and the curves had kept getting sharper. When the track struck the Black Fork and began to follow its writhing course, the passengers realized that they were making a phenomenal run. Not one dared move from his seat. He was moved about in it enough. The wonderful sphinx-like buttes which rose from the cliffs of the Black Fork, as it passed into the Green River, the unrolled scroll of mountain tablelands in the distance, the soft touch of the setting sun on the snow-covered peaks scenery had no interest for the passengers. But when the train drew up at Grainger a minute ahead of time the passengers went forward and gave three hysterical cheers for the engineer. A letter sometimes wanders all over this country, wanders around the world, in fact, eagerly searching for its destination. It is some- times maintained that the Post Office Department practises too much care and patience in such cases. Mr. Robert J. Burdette tells a story about a draft that he enclosed in a letter and sent to Bryn Mawr, Penn. He himself left for California. He says : " The letter went to Bryn Mawr, a distance of 850 miles, and found that my cor- respondent also had gone to California on a wedding journey. The letter was 66 THE STOBY OF OTJK POST OFFICE. forwarded to Los Angeles, 3,000 miles, on January 10. The bridegroom had left the city of Our Lady of the Angles and drifted into the Yosemite region, and after vainly advertising for him, the letter went, on the 19th of January, to the Dead Letter Office in Washington, 2,879 miles. The final obsequies were deferred by the Government coroner and the dead letter was sent to Champaign, in search of its father, on the 26th of January, 800 miles. On the 24th of February it winged its weary way back to the Dead Letter Office and asked for Christian burial. But the young lady who reads all the languages that were ever written, and a great many that can't possibly be spoken, who has a way of finding where a letter wants to go, when the man who wrote it hasn't the remotest idea where his correspondent lives, sent it to Brooklyn on the 13th of March, if haply it might find me. Two hundred and twenty-eight miles for nothing; the letter deadheaded back to Washington, same distance both ways, and again knocked at the cemetery gate. But the fair prophetess believed there was life in the wanderer yet, and she sent it to Bryn Mawr May 10, 148 miles. Finding no rest for the sole of its stamp, which is usually connected with a foot, it returned into the ark of the Dead Letter Office May 11, 148 miles again. From there it once more sped away to Los Angeles, 2,879 miles; back again after a while, it went to the Dead Letter Office for the fifth time. But the Department was satisfied that it could yet call back the departed message to life, and sent it to the writer in Bryn Mawr, where, after journeying across the continent four times and going to the Dead Letter Office and demanding burial five times, travelling in all 14,987 miles, it was finally delivered into my hands on the 13th of September. All this, fellow- citizens, for two cents, two cents! For eight months this letter had been chasing after its owner all over the United States, and never thought of getting lost." Now and then, in spite of the regulations to the contrary, a letter goes around the world. Some time ago a citizen of Bloomington, 111., sent a missive on this long journey, with the request written on the outside that postmasters would please hurry it along. It got as far as San Francisco. The postmaster there, being aware of the prohibitory clause in the regulations, forwarded the letter to Wash- ington. The Superintendent of Foreign Mails promptly had the letter returned to the sender, and he informed the postmaster at San Francisco, as he has told hundreds of others, that in conse- quence of objections raised by the British and Hong Kong postal departments, through whose hands this class of correspondence would necessarily pass, it had been found necessary to intercept such mail matter. Under the rules of the Postal Union such matter can go around the world for one postage ; and these governments con- cluded that the pay was not large enough for the work done to per- mit idle experiments for the gratification of the curious. Before this regulation was put in force, several around-the-world letters were received at the Foreign Mails office which had made the HOW A LETTER TRAVELS. 67 trip in eighty days. Once a Philadelphian was anxious to see how ] \/ long it would take a postal card to girdle the world and what would / be the route taken. An international postal card was purchased, and mailed in that city, addressed to the sender at his residence in Philadelphia, via New York, Liverpool, Paris, Marseilles, and Naples, with the information on the back of it that the card had been started around the world. After an absence of exactly four months, the missive reached the sender. Every post office through which the card passed had its postmark stamped upon it, and it bore evidence that every post office official throughout its entire course who handled the card took as much interest in the affair as the sender did. After leaving Naples, the card started across Italy to Brindisi, thence up the Archipelago to Venice, thence across to Constantinople, Alexandria, Cairo, and Suez, through the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Arabian Sea to Bombay, thence to Calcutta, from there down the Bay of Bengal, up through the China Sea to Hong Kong, over to Honolulu, and thence across to the Pacific to San Francisco, to Denver, and to Philadelphia. The entire dis- tance travelled by the card was between 27,000 and 28,000 miles. The Philadelphian had many imitators, and such a number of post cards crept into the British mails that protest was made ; and so the practice had to be stopped. THE WONDERFUL RAILWAY MAIL SERYICE. >HERE are about 6,400 railwa} r postal clerks in the country all told. This number includes the men who do the actual distributing in the cars, and also men detailed at important points throughout the country, as division clerks, etc. ' Of the total num- ber there are 240 detailed to offices and 260 detailed to transfer duty; and almost 5,900 are actually employed in distributions on railway lines. The fifty employed similarly on steamboat lines have regular quarters and distribute mails just as on the railroad cars. These last are peculiar in construction. A railroad company, when it contracts to carry mails, contracts also for suitable room with proper equipment such as letter cases, paper cases, storage room, etc., for the proper treatment of the mails. When, however, the Department requires an entire car the company is entitled to additional compensation above the regular pay for transportation. The Department pays for forty foot railway postal cars at the rate of ^25 per mile per annum ; that is, if the line over which the car runs is 200 miles long, the company would be entitled to $5,000 a year. A fifty foot car is paid for at the rate of $40 per mile per annum, and a sixty foot car at the rate of $50 per mile per annum . These cars are built in accordance with plans and specifica- tions furnished by the Post Office Department, and are equipped thoroughly to fit the needs of the service upon the lines over which they are to run. The full cars are built with reference to special lines. Some of the requirements demanded on a line, say from Washington to New York, are that the car shall be fitted up with letter cases and with cases for paper distribution. Space for hun- dreds of separations is required. On the New York and Chicago 68 THE WONDERFUL RAILWAY MAIL SERVICE. 69 and other fast mail lines, the number of separations of mail run into the thousands. For all of these cars certain requirements for the safety of the men are necessary. The postal cars must be well built and extra strong. The railroad company takes care of the cars ; sees that the lamps are lighted and the fires attended to ; in fact, the company takes the entire charge. They supply the cleaner. They put on a lamp man at Syracuse, for instance, who takes care of the lamps on the Central train at the necessary time. Conductors and train men are always entitled to access to the postal car if engaged in the performance of their duties. The first duty of the railway postal clerk is, of course, to dis- tribute the mail on the cars ; and these duties naturally vary accord- ing to the line. If the clerk has a small run, on which he has to handle nothing but the mail for the offices on his own line, he has that distribution to learn first; and first he has to learn where his stations are ; how far they are apart; what mail goes off at each sta- tion for each office, and whether it has to be sent into the country by stage routes. He has to make himself familiar with the rules and regulations. So far as the instructions are concerned his local dis- tribution is in almost all cases covered during his probationary term of six months. He is examined at intervals of thirty days during these first six months. On the main lines in most of the divisions the clerk is required by the end of his probationary term to dis- tribute accurately 1,500 offices. When the clerk is first appointed, he reports to the chief clerk of a division superintendent; and he undergoes an examination in reading addresses on about one hundred envelopes especially pre- pared for that purpose. These addresses are not in any sense obscure ; they are all fairly well written, much better written, in fact, than the average of letters which the clerks must handle daily. This examination gives the chief clerk or the superintendent an idea of the new man's capacity. Ordinarily a good man will read the addresses on one hundred envelopes in from seven to twelve minutes, and he will probably make from five to ten errors ; that would be considered an average record. If he takes the entire time allowed, or if he makes more errors, he is below the average. If he reads the addresses on one hundred envelopes within five or six minutes, he is 70 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. above the average. In a number of cases men have failed on the reading test simply because they could not read ; and a man who cannot read, and read quickly and correctly, is of no use in the Railway Mail Service. The new clerk, having passed his first test, has a copy of the book of instructions handed to him. It is a small book com- prising that part of the postal laws and regulations which is especially applicable to the Rail- way Mail Service ; and he is also supplied with what is called a scheme of distribution. He usu- ally has what is called "a local scheme " of his .line, then a printed sheet showing the sta- tions on his line and the offices supplied from them; or he may have a scheme of a state, as, for instance, Ohio. This scheme shows just how mail for the state of Ohio is distributed, and from what lines the offices are supplied and whether they are v*rr. ,^ * "*"*> stations on given lines or not. General Superintendent, Railway Mail Service. Of course, a man working in California would not have an Ohio scheme, but a clerk on a trunk line in Ohio needs a California scheme and has to make three separations of mail for that state. Before the novitiate has entered the service at all, even for trial, he has been examined by the Civil Service Commission (and for these purposes examinations are held in various parts of the country), has been certified to the central office of the Railway Mail Service in Washington as one of the three men, examined for a given locality, who have taken the highest stand in the examination, and has been called for by the General Superintendent, through one of his clerks, of course, to fill a vacancy or to take an entirely new place. The classified Railway Mail Service, according to the rules of the Civil CAPT. JAMES E. WHITE, THE WONDERFUL RAILWAY MAIL SERVICE. 71 Service Commission, embraces all superintendents, assistant superin- tendents, chief clerks, railway postal clerks, transfer clerks, and other employees of the Railway Mail Service. One general superintend- ent, one assistant general superintendent, printers employed as such, clerks employed exclusively as porters in handling mail matter in bulk, in sacks, or pouches, and not otherwise, clerks employed exclu- sively on steamboats, and transfer clerks at junction points where not more than two such clerks are employed, are exempt from exami- nation. All other places can be filled only by promotion, transfer, reinstatement, or examination, as described in the civil service rules. Superintendents of mails at classified post offices (offices at which there are fifty or more employees) must be selected from among the employees of the Railway Mail Service. These are the absolute rules, and to try to get into the classified Railway Mail Ser- vice without these examinations and these formalities, or to procure or countenance such a thing, is to break a law. It is worth while to explain the examinations a little. The fol- lowing table gives the relative weights attached to the different sub- jects upon which questions are asked in the railway mail clerks' examination, and the time allowed for this examination is six con- secutive hours : RELATIVE SUBJECTS. WEIGHTS. First. Orthography 1 Second. Penmanship 1 Third. Copying 2 Fourth. Letter-writing 1 Fifth. Arithmetic 2 Sixth. Geography of the United States 4 Seventh. Railway and other systems of transportation in the United States 5 Eighth. Reading addresses 4 Total of weights 20 The following are samples of papers : FIFTH SUBJECT. Arithmetic. Question 1. Add the following, placing the total at the bottom : 742,155.74 429.39 6,873.68 397.49 1,956,374.20 72 THE STOKY OF OUR POST OFFICE. Question 2. Express in figures one thousand eight hundred and eighty-nine. Question 3. In the fiscal year ended June 30, 1888, the postal clerks employed on railroads travelled 122,031,104 miles, and those employed on steamboats 1,767,- 649 miles. How many more were travelled by railroad than by steamboat ? Give work in full. Question 4. If a railway mail clerk earn $800 in a year, how much will he have left after paying his board at the rate of $16 a month ? Give work in full. Question 5. If a railway mail clerk spend ten cents a day for street-car fare, how much will he spend in six months of 30 days each ? Give work in full. SIXTH SUBJECT. Geography. Question 1. Name two States crossed or in part bounded by each of the fol- lowing named rivers, and give the capital of each of the States named River. State. Capital. State. Capital. Connecticut Delaware Ohio . . . Mississippi Missouri. . Question 2. Name the State in which you live and the States or foreign coun- tries or bodies of water which form the boundaries on two sides of that State. Question 3. Name two important cities on each of the following named rivers and lakes, and give the name of the State in which each of these cities is situated: Hudson River, Ohio River, Mississippi River, Lake Erie, Lake Michigan. Question 4. Name three cities on or near the Atlantic Ocean, one on or near the Gulf of Mexico, and one on or near the Pacific Ocean. Question 5. Name the State of the Union that extends farthest east and the State that extends farthest west, and name the capital of each. SEVENTH SUBJECT. Railway and other systems of transportation in the United States. Question 1. Name the three principal cities of your State and the principal railway lines (three if there be that many) centering in each of them. Question 2. Name the principal railways (not less than two) passing through or terminating in your State, and give five of the principal connections (roads which are crossed by them or terminate in the same city with them), made by either or both of them. Question 3. Name the roads which together form the most direct line from your nearest railway station (give the name of that station) to the largest city in any adjoining State. (Give the name of the city and of the adjoining State.) Question 4. Name the road or roads connecting two of the most important cities in your State and name ten of the largest cities (or important towns, if there be not ten cities) situated on those roads. Question 5. Name the two most important railway centres in each of the States of your railway mail division (omitting your own State) and the road or roads or steamboat lines connecting each of those centres with the capital of your State. THE WONDERFUL RAILWAY MAIL SERVICE. 73 The eighth subject comprises reading addresses. Two samples given in the last annual report of the Civil Service Commission are worth observing; and a table, also given in this report, shows the number examined for the Railway Mail Service, the number who passed or failed (and their legal residence, average age, and educa- tion) during the year ended June 30, 1891 : Legal residence. Passed. Failed. I 1 | 1 r] 4-~[~t a o>..-ol>e wuh mail, the other empty. Lancaster & Montpelier, due at 1 1.50 a. m.- Retnm with, mail at 12.55 11161 IV. AllO.!!^ p. m. . Boston. Springfield & New York and Woodsville 4 Boston, due at 8.35 p. .ra. Return "the Woodsville & Boston empty at 10.25 p. m. and the Boston, Springfield & New York euipt.y at 7.45 a.m.; properly labeled. 1 , f -1 1 , 1 Portland _4Swanton. West, dije at li.48pj,. Return ah ma^at^ p^ n^ ^Portland^* Swan^m, ^a.t. DCaUty Ol all tlllS Return with mail Snndaya at 10.25 p. ro.. labeled "St. AIbaW& BO.IOOI South of Concord." . -, . 44. ProHle House, N. H.-Will receive and Send u:ail as follows: Newport & Springfield. Night, due at H 42 a. m IS tiiat TUSt SO Retnrn with mail at 7.20 n. m. Lancaster A Moutitelier. dne at 11.50 a. m Return with mail st 1-2.50 li. m. * many more mails Lancaster & Montpelier. dne at 11.50 . m Return with mail t 12.50 p. m. Lancaster & Boston, due at 4.35 and 6 p. in. Rt-turn nt 7 35 a..,m.. one with mail, the other empty Boston, Springfield A Nrw York and Wmnlsville & Boston, due at 8.30 p. ra. Ueturti empty at 7.35 a., m., labeled to the R. P. O. received from. Portland & -Swanton. West, due at 2.04 p. m. Return with mail at 3.25 p. m. Portland A Swnnton, East, and Portland & Swanton, Short Run, due at 6 p. m. Return one with mail at 10*' ..a,., the other ercptv. Mondays. .St. Alb.n. & Boston, Night, doe at 8.42 a. *. Return empty at 7 - ftfQ WOrKC HI . TVlD Mountain. N. H.-Will receive and send mail as follows: Newport & Springfield. Night, due Night. due at B.27 a. m. Return with mail Sundays at IU.42 p. in.. Itf. fieneral- patched to all points in dozens of cases one business Maplewood, N. H. . ALL offices South of Concord. N. H^ger-" 1 1 offices in Vermont U> said R. P QiQ, V Q Q,Y 1 1 6 1" . pelier, Grotoo, Grotoo P- v BW* " Terrible floods occurred this year along the MAILS for O- / B. * Mississippi. The interruptions to the regular move- ment of mails into St. Louis began with the trains of the C. C. C. & St. Louis, Wabash East, and Chicago & Alton lines from both Chicago and Kansas City, and the C. B. & Q. lines east of the river first shut out from entrance into East St. Louis, and the approach to the bridge even, and necessarily run- ing these trains into Alton. Division Superintendent Lindsey went to Alton and made temporary arrangements with the Eagle Packet Company to carry the mails and the clerk accompanying them, on their steamer, "Spread Eagle," one round trip daily, between Alton and St. Louis. This relieved the blockade at Alton. But after trains were unable to get in and out of St. Louis from the east side of the river, the situation gradually grew worse until at one time there was but one track from the east affording entrance to and from THE WONDERFUL RAILWAY MAIL SERVICE. 95 the Eads Bridge, namely, the Ohio & Mississippi. The trains of as many contiguous lines as practicable ran over this line from con- venient junction points; and the Vandalia lines also accommodated the trains of some of the neighboring roads. The movement of the mails was provided for, as was practicable from day to day, by tele- graphing officers of the service at Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Chigago, and elsewhere, in order to divert the mails to such lines as could best keep it moving. A free accommodation was secured from the Merchants Bridge terminal officers at St. Louis to use their line in places where no mail service was regularly authorized; and for two or three days mails were taken over the new bridge to the viaduct crossing of the tracks of certain lines, and there these mails inward were carried up some improvised steps, arranged for accommodating passengers, by laborers of the railroad companies. Many of the railway post office men were on duty all of the twenty-four hours. A great many changes in distributions on the cars and in the St. Louis post office were of course necessary. But the railroad officials were alert, and the complaints very few. The yellow fever plague at Jacksonville was a far more momentous interruption of the mails than this. On the eighth day of August, 1888, Mr. H. W. Clark, then postmaster of Jacksonville, who had just arrived in New York on leave of absence for a month, saw in the morning papers the news that the yellow fever was breaking out in Jacksonville, and a day later that it was assuming epidemic form. He at once left New York for home. The city was terror stricken. All had fled except those whose sense of duty caused them to remain. The first matter which Postmaster Clark found to arrest his atten- tion was the condition of the free delivery. The secretary of the local board of health had instructed the superintendent of mails to prevent the carriers from making their daily rounds, as their pas- sage through the city would spread the disease. Proclamations had been issued stopping services in the churches and the congregation of people in large crowds. But about twenty mails a day were received at Jacksonville, and the lobby of the post office was jammed daily with an indiscriminate crowd. The postmaster's first action was to reverse this condition. He sent the carriers out on their routes as usual. The next few weeks were devoted to getting the mails out of the 96 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. city. Nearly every part of Florida was quarantined against Jack- sonville. Mr. Clark obtained permission from the Department to establish a station at La Villa Junction for the fumigation of all mail matter. The Jacksonville people were thus enabled to send letters to every part of the Union ; before this few towns in Florida would consent to receive Jacksonville letters or newspapers. Only one clerk of the twenty-five or twenty-six in the office resigned through fear, and though many were stricken with the sickness there were fortunately but two deaths, Mrs. Fannie B. Hopkins, the stamp clerk, and Capt. W. J. Merritt, who had charge of the fumi- gating station. Thorough discipline was kept up throughout the entire term of the epidemic of between four and five months. The postmaster, as a member of the Sanitary Association, was chairman of a special committee for the establishment of a baggage fumigating station, which was erected near the other. The fumigation at La Villa Junction was done in a box car of the Florida Central & Peninsula Railroad, which had been loaned. With Captain Merritt was a railway postal clerk. All of the mails for Florida were fumigated here, and all for other states were sent direct to another fumigating station at Waycross, Georgia, which was in charge of Major R. E. Mansfield, then and now chief clerk in the Railway Mail Service at Charleston. The different railroads made arrangements by which an engine and a baggage car, under certain precautions, were run into the city as far as the fumigating station, and the Jacksonville mails were put off and the fumigated mails taken on at that point. All mail matter accumulating in the letter boxes or post office at night was sent early in the morning to the station for perforation and a six hours smoke. At noon another load was sent. All had previously been made up to routes, and afterwards so arranged in the fumigating car that as little time as possible would be lost in re-routing it after the smoking. Notwithstanding all this, tl bundles of The Daily Times- Union, published in Jacksonville, were occasionally burned alongside the track at some station where they were thrown off. But the desire for yellow fever news generally overcame the fear of contagion and the bulk of the papers went through. The amount of newspapers utterly refused by some of the offices and returned to Jacksonville filled up a room originally used THE WONDERFUL RAILWAY MAIL SERVICE. 97 by railway postal clerks. All these refused papers were sent out when the epidemic was declared over, and it took several days to work them off. No ill effects were ever reported from them. In the office proper the regular routine was followed, except that each morning it was necessary to have an inspection of the force ; and the work was given out as best it might be among the well. As a preventive against the fever, the floors of the office were sprinkled twice each day with a solution of carbolic acid, kept in a large cask, and furnished by the board of health. Every clerk and car- rier in the office also used medicine either externally or internally, and generally both, as a preventive ; but liquor as a beverage in any form was refused to all. One of the clerks had a handful of sulphur in each shoe ; but that this did not make him proof against the fever was evident, for Captain Merritt, in charge of the fumigating car, who was breathing sulphur fumes for several hours each day, died bravely at his post. The employees never complained at the known dangers which they encountered daily, or were liable to encounter, except once. It was when several prominent citizens vigorously urged that the large hall in the third story over the post office be turned into a yellow fever hospital, as more room was needed. The postmaster interfered with this plan, arguing that it would not do to have a hospital so near the mails that were to be sent out through the country. For Mr. A. E. Sawyer, the superintendent of mails, the greatest admiration was expressed on all hands. He had never had the fever, but he served faithfully; and when the postmaster insisted that he take a vacation, which he did, he returned promptly to the scene of the pestilence. Major Mansfield volunteered to take charge of the fumigating station at Waycross. All mails from Florida had been stopped at that point since the 8th of August. When Major Mansfield arrived there on the 12th, some eight or ten tons of matter had accumulated, stored in a freight car on a siding. Four postal clerks had freely volunteered to do service as assistants. They all went to work at once, assorting and perforating each piece separately except the papers, until the fumigating cars, which were still in the railroad shops at Waycross, should be ready. Two freight cars were brought into use, each partitioned off into two air-tight compartments, in which were constructed shelves of wire netting to spread the mail 98 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. on. The mail, after being perforated by means of an iron punch designed for the purpose by the chief clerk in charge, was placed on the wire shelves in the fumigators. An iron kettle containing five pounds of sulphur was placed in each compartment, ignited, and allowed to burn for four hours, when the doors were opened, and the mail taken out, re-assorted, and tied up in packages and sacks, and dispatched. For the first ten days Major Mansfield and his men had nothing to work with except what they could devise themselves, and nothing to eat except what they could buy in a sparsely settled country ; and they often travelled miles to a farm house only to be disappointed, for the country was swampy and poor. No provisions could be had at any price, and as the men were not permitted to enter Waycross on account of the quarantine established there, it began to look rather serious for them. They had nothing but warm and slimy surface water to drink, and nothing to sleep on except the bags of infected mail. It was during these trying hours that the camp was dubbed "Camp Destitution." In the midst of their woes, however, a good Samaritan appeared in the cheery person of Dr. THE WONDERFUL RAILWAY MAIL SERVICE. 99 F. M. Urquhart of the Marine Hospital Service, who, seeing the deplorable condition of the men, immediately telegraphed to Wash- ington that the Government must provide for their comfort, or death would surely result from exposure and want, if not from the plague. Immediately came a dispatch authorizing him to purchase the necessary outfit for a camp, and as quickly there came from Waycross stoves, cooking utensils, dishes, etc., and a good supply of ice, with positive orders not to drink the swamp water unless it should first be boiled. By September 1 the camp was in thorough working order and each day the trains from Jacksonville brought their deadly load and deposited them at the camp ; and they were fumigated and sent, for- ward within twenty-four hours. The train between Jacksonville and Waycross was in charge of Postal Clerk W. J. Balentine, of Waycross (who was stricken with the fever and laid up for over a month), and Substitute Clerk J. M. Doty, of Charleston, both volun- teers. "Camp Destitution" was established August 12, and closed November 30, and the following table shows the amount of mail handled during that period : Month. Pouches received. Number of letter packages. Sacks of papers received. Registers. Pouches fumigated. Canvas sacks fumigated. August . . . September . . October . . . November . . Totals . . . 564 420 235 282 13,624 12,177 11,229 11,989 1,646 1,800 1,525 1,641 3,346 3,640 4,186 4,389 894 882 809 921 6,996 6,818 6,151 8,100 1,501 49,019 6,612 15,556 3,506 28,065 The average number of letters to a package was forty and the average number of papers to a sack one hundred and fifty; so the total number of pieces fumigated was within a dozen of 3,000,000. A record was kept of all registered matter passing through the station by Clerk Allen, and not a single loss was known. A period of one hundred and eleven consecutive days of continuous duty night and day, standing between the yellow fever and the whole North, and West, and South, is the record of the resolute men who did this service. A single incident occurred to disturb the har- mony of the little camp. A notice was received from the General 100 THE STOKY OF OUR POST OFFICE. Superintendent of the Railway Mail Service by Chief Clerk Mansfield to the effect that: "The interests of the Railway Mail Service would be promoted by the tender of your resignation as chief clerk at Charleston, S. C., to take effect Sept. 1, 1888"; also at the same time a request "to remain in charge of the station, until the need of your presence at that station has passed, when you will be assigned to duty on the line, vice M. A. Davis promoted"; and also, "that an order has been issued reducing your salary as a clerk of Class 5 from $1,400 per annum to $1,300 per annum, to take effect Sept. 1^ '88." And this for politics. After the station closed each clerk applied for and was granted thirty days' leave of absence with pay. This was their only recognition. THE PUBLICATIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT. HE Railway Mail Service has a daily paper. It is the Daily Bulletin, and its circulation is almost 1,100. It is printed in the basement of the Post Office Department; and printers set over 4,000,000 ems of matter for it in a year. At this departmental printing office work for the third division of the railway mail is also done, like the semi-weekly issue of the "general orders" about changes in the service of that division, and the "facing slips," of which about 600,000 are printed yearly. Each of the other divisions has a small printing office of its own. The printers employed at headquarters in ten of the divisions, and in the Department, make up 1,500 forms in a year, set 9,000,000 ems of matter, and print over a million impres- sions. The work consists chiefly of the facing slips, bulletins, and small pieces of job work, as required for technical and immediate use. For example, Division Superintendent Jackson makes his annual report on a small circular; and Division Superintendent Ryan, at Boston, issues eight good-sized pages or more filled with announcements, for the beginning of the summer resort season, that new service has been put on in perhaps a hundred places. The printing offices, though very small, are all well equipped. Superin- tendent Troy lately issued his annual report very tastefully in colors. For several years prior to the birth of the Daily Bulletin (which occurred without mishap February 3, 1880), a synopsis of the princi- pal orders affecting the Railway Mail Service, such as the establish- ment, discontinuance, or change of site of post offices, the establishment of mail routes by star, steamboat, or railway service, and such other orders from the First and Second Assistant Postmaster General's offices as directly affected the operations of the Railway Mail Ser- 101 DAILY BULLETIN CXE 1 ORDERS AFFECTING THE POSTAL SERVICE. VOL. XIII. POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, D. C M TUESDAY, AUGtJST 2, 1892. NO. 3788 te l:i70W. WllllamsbutB to Bay Vle nicago A West Michigan Rwy., 68.79 ms. SKS . . rd to r ,Ute J t U h y daU oTbe^n'rfl'nS service as August 8. 1892. Instead of emoraT'I-- Es! C., 'on this roul and Fairfax, and burgh Co., tj. Senn. f 30 July MAIL MESSENGER SERVICE DISCONTINUED. NEBRASKA. Route 257042. Matron, Platte Co., from Omaha A Republican Valley Rwy Koute 157017. From July 30, 18D2. [28 luly2 PENNSYLVANIA. oute 210MI. Grove City. Mercer Co.. from Pittsburgh Shenango A Allegheny ' "* Fr0m AUgU " S - ffo'K- w^rTA: A From August 6, 1892. [29 July POSTMASTERS COMMISSIONED Commissioned July 28, 1892 FOURTH CLASS OFFICER. E. Orcutt ....... .................. Orcutt. Cal Henry H. Thrcemann ........ Somes Bar, Cal Altred Parker ------ ......... ... ascal Craig ....................... Moner c W. Cookson ----- ........... Kao n A. Hrtr ............... -I.innvl Rober hrlstaln L. McKlnn Edward Kleser.calboun Him. Church. Cbarcbe.'. H.tt,eL.La,rd. M .rU Wm. F Eck 1)beVlU * CO - 8C H " hl '"" >00 - V A FAC SIMILE OF THE DAILY RAILWAY MAIL BULLETIN. 102 THE PUBLICATIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT. 103 vice, were copied daily upon manifold sheets by a clerk named William H. Powell, who was detailed from the office of the First Assistant Postmaster General for the purpose. Naturally many mis- takes were made, and a mistake once made (from fourteen to sixteen manifold impressions were written at a time) it was almost impos- sible to correct it ; and moreover, whatever errors crept into these manifold sheets were, of course, repeated in the offices of the division THE PRINTING OFFICE OF THE DAILY RAILWAY MAIL BULLETIN. superintendents. The growth of the Railway Mail Service, too, called for a more expeditious system of disseminating this informa- tion; and accordingly, in February, 1880, Mr. Thomas B. Kirby, then private secretary to Postmaster General Key, consulted with the Postmaster General, with Mr. William B. Thompson, then General Superintendent of the Railway Mail Service, and with General Tyner, then First Assistant Postmaster General. All agreed that if orders could be distributed in printed form to the division superintendents, it would be a great convenience not only to the Railway Mail Service, but also to nearly every branch 104 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. r of the Department, for each would know what the other was doing. The way was cleared and immediately the Bulletin was sought by nearly every branch of the Department, and especially by the First Assistant Postmaster General and the Sixth Auditor, to obtain correct lists of new postmasters. It soon began to be used for the orders of the Postmaster General, which it was important to have in the hands of the leading postmasters, as well as the division superintendents, in advance of the publication of the Monthly Guide. February 3, 1880, the printing of envelopes and mailing lists was begun, and on March 4, 1880, the first issue of the Daily Bulletin left the press. It was intended at first to issue it every evening, so as to catch the 10 p. M. mail out of town, but that was not found satisfactory, as many newspaper correspondents desired to have it in the afternoon for clipping purposes. The Bul- letin has been of the greatest use in emergencies ; for once the De- partment was without the supple- ment to the Postal Guide, and had it not been for the Daily Bulletin, the mail service generally would have been wholly at a loss. The Bulletin is put to press at three in the afternoon. It is ready for mailing or for distribu- tion among the correspondents by four or five; and probably this lit- tle daily is more clipped from than any other Washington publication. Every day, of course, postmasters are appointed or commissioned, and orders putting on new railway and star mail service are issued, and these are all of local interest, and are consequently culled by the newspaper men and telegraphed to their papers. The Bulletin is printed only on one side of the sheet to accommodate them the better, and so that it may be the better posted in conspicuous places. This paper first had a circulation of MB. JAMES S. GEAY, Editor, the Railway Mail Bulletin. THE PUBLICATIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT. 105 SECOND DIVISION COMPRISING New York. New Jersey Pennsylvania. Delaware, and Peninsula of Maryland and Virginia ANNUAL REPORT (ABSTRACT o STATISTICS SHOWING PROGRESS in SECOND Division FBOM 188M TO 1892. > NEW YORK, JULY 16th. 18954 Appendix 200 copies daily. It has now over 1,000. Of this issue 100 or more are mailed to division superintendents, 300 to important post- masters, 50 or more to newspaper correspondents, 200 to the differ- ent bureaus of the Department, and 400 or more to various per- sons throughout the country. Mr. James S. Gray now edits the Bulletin, and Mr. A. J. Crossfield is foreman of the Bulletin office. Mr. Gray was ap- pointed a clerk in the Railway Mail Service in 1873, and soon after detailed to the office of the General Superintendent. At first one printer was em- ployed; now there RAILWAY MAIL SERVICE are five. When the Bulletin was first issued the press- work was done by foot power, but cir- culation increased so rapidly and mis- cellaneous job work for the Department was necessarily put upon the printing ^SHS^lng at, ..- room so much, that in April, 1887, a four horse-power engine had to be procured. Steam is communicated from the engine room of the Department. The machinery consists of one Gordon extra (i) medium, 11x17, and one Universal (i) medium, 10x15 press, a Dewley paper cutter, a proof press, a mailing machine, two imposing stones, one cabinet of twenty-two cases, and a full assortment of type. The topographer's office is directly attached to the office of the Postmaster General, and is chiefly of use to the Railway Mail Service and the other divisions of the Second Assistant's office. The topog- rapher, Mr. Charles Roeser, of Wisconsin, occupies with his clerks the second and third floors of a rented building on Ninth Street not far from the Department. Mr. Roeser has graduated at engineering from the Lawrence University in Wisconsin, and at law from the Columbia Law School in Washington. He entered the public ser- vice soon after his service in the war was over, under the patronage FISCAL YEAR-JULY 1ST TO .TUNt STI 1884) 1891 (Oft No of R.' P cierk" 8 *!." No of R. P Clerk who actually distribute mail. ..... No of Pout Offices M OM 677 .7M .is m Increase ID No of Clerk. ID yean. 106 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. of Senator Sawyer. He was soon chief draughtsman of the General Land Office, and in 1876 he prepared for the Interior Department the centennial map and the centennial atlas, and later the annual map of the United States which is still in use. In 1882 Postmaster General Howe called Mr. Roeser to the topographer's office to re- organize it. The new officer changed the process of reproduc- tion to photo-lithography, made the issues timely and uniform, and for half the money published four times as many maps. The work of the topographer's office consists of projecting and compiling the original drawings of post-route maps of the general edition to replace old, worn-out, and inaccurate maps, and of trac- ing and lettering them for photo- lithography, preparing special drawings of enlarged sub-maps of the evirons of the principal cities, making sample diagrams of special editions of states and territories for the Railway Mail Service to exhibit the different lines and their connecting side mail routes; and testing new photo-lithographic maps received from the con- tractors. In the preparation of the successive bi-monthly editions of sheets of the printed maps, all the recorded orders about the sites of post offices and their mode of supply are transferred to the working maps, correction sheets, and sam- ple sheets. This exhibit is also regularly transferred to the numerous maps or diagrams required for daily reference at the Department. Miscellaneous routine work consists of issuing copies of printed post-route maps to the agents of the Department, pur- chasers, Members of Congress, and others, and the correspondence connected with all this; computing and certifying post-route dis- tances for the settlement of questions of mileage required by public ME. CHARLES BOESEK, Topographer of the Department. THE PUBLICATIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT. 107 officers* furnishing lists of counties and lists of the distances of post- routes between the more important points ; mounting maps in dif- ferent forms ; keeping up to date the published editions by the map correctors; preparing color guides, which show the frequency of service, and county and state boundaries, for the contractors; and entering in duplicate the es- tablishments and changes in post offices in books classi- fied by states for the use of the draughtsmen. This bureau publishes twenty-six maps. They are found to be especially val- uable for their large scale and their accuracy without any superfluity of detail. They form, in reality, pic- torial outlines setting be- fore the eye the 'great feat- ures of the postal service for extended regions; and as a knowledge of geogra- phy and of post routes is most easily acquired by the study of authentic maps, they are a most important auxiliary for the intelligent performance of the duties of the postal employees. The maps are not only in constant and urgent demand by the dif- ferent offices of the service, but they are also in great requisition by the other departments, and by publishers, commercial agents, and others. The Department, of course, finds itself unable with the limited appropriation always allowed by Congress, to supply the post-route maps in large numbers. Each Senator or Representative is entitled to one map per session free under the law. The number distributed to the Post Office and the other departments is very limited, too. Maps are disposed of to general applicants at the EXTERIOR, TOPOGRAPHER'S OFFICE. FAC SIMILE OF TAUT OF POST-KOUTE MAP. 108 THE PUBLICATIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT. 109 cost of printing plus ten per cent. The Department issues a small sheet showing what the maps are, and what their prices. These last vary from 33 to 66 cents in sheets to $1.10 to $2 for maps backed and mounted on rollers. The topographer's office furnishes from 1,500 to 2,000 maps to postmasters annually, perhaps 2,500 annually to the Railway Mail Service, probably 1,500 annually to the offices and clerks of the INTERIOR, TOPOGRAPHER'S OFFICE. Post Office Department, and about 1,000 each to public officials and institutions and to the general public; and the topographer receives over 5,000 letters a year and writes almost 7,000. The money appropriated for the Postal Guide is, of course, insuf- ficient, and it is often with difficulty that publishers of responsi- bility are induced to bid for the publication of it at all. The Annual Guide is a book of nine hundred pages or more. It is issued each January, and contains an alphabetical list of postmasters by states and counties (and the county seats are indicated), information about the registry system, lists of life-saving stations and army posts, UNITF^ fo mi COPYRIGHTED, 1592^ ORDER No. 129. POST OFFICE DEPARTMF.N-T, WASHINGTON, D. C., September 15, 1892. During the remainder of the fiscal year ending June 30th 1893, all postmasters and railway postal clerks will be supplied monthly by this Department with the United States Official Postal Guide, the only Official Bulletin of the Post Office Department JOHN WANAMAKER, Postmaster- General SECOND SERIES. I OPTHRFR 1 ftQO r PRICE,$200. Per Annum. Vol. XIV. No. 10. J \J\s I *JDC*r\ 9 1 OCJ^. (.Including large January Guide. CONTENTS. Rulings. The President's Proclamation The Four Hundredth Anniversary of the Discovery of America. Treatment of Pensioners' Official Letters. Reward for flail Robbers. Endorsement of Private Enterprise by Postal Officials Forbidden. Orders, Circulars and Statistics. ENTERED AT THE POST OFFICE AT PHILADELPHIA PA. AS SECOND-CLASS MATTER. FAC SIMILE, FIRST PAGE, MONTHLY POSTAL GUIDE. 110 THE PUBLICATIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT. Ill other matter for the assistance of postmasters and the public, orders for all the postal people to follow, regulations about foreign mails, money orders, lotteries, mail bag repairs, exchanges of mails with Canada, and so on. Each postmaster is provided with a copy and the publisher sells them in paper covers at $2, and in cloth covers at $2.50. These prices include the monthly supplement. The annual and monthly Guide are also found to be of considerable use to business men and organizations accustomed to use the mails profusely. The monthly Postal Guide contains information supplementary to that printed in the Annual Guide. The Postmaster General and his assistants communicate to postmasters and the public rulings, orders, parcels post or money order conventions, etc., in addition to the lists of new post offices ; and now and then, some really original observa- tions dare to creep in. The Department not long ago arranged with the publisher of the Guide to supply the monthly supple- ments at one cent a copy. The former price had been five cents a copy. But this effort to popularize the publication met with small success. Matter of some real interest and value was injected, but it was out of the run of the cobwebs, and the appropriation (which has to be specific for the Postal Guide, as for every object in the Post Office Department, and in all the departments) was promptly cut down. And now the old time liver-pill advertisement has to be admitted in order to secure a publication at all. So the efforts to make the Guide a real medium between the Department and the people failed. It remains merely a medium between the Department and the postmasters, and it is a poor one at that, for postmasters, finding that it lacks interest, do not read it, or reading it, they do not understand it all. For those who try to improve the Guide, however, there is one small source of satisfac- tion. The educational methods which Postmaster General Wana- maker has so much desired to infuse into the service, the information upon postal topics which the press has of late so generously and so generally imparted, the invitation to all persons freely to criticise the service, these things, supplemented a little perhaps by the partial popularization of the Guide under the distressing circum- stances above mentioned, have perceptibly improved the service. For the letters that go wrong or slowly (which are the test of DON'TS. Don't mail any letter until you are sure that it is completely and properly ad- dressed. Don't place the address so that there will be no room for the post-mark. Don't fail, in the hurry of business, to write the name of the State you intend and not your own a very common error. Don't fail to make certain that your man- ner of writing the name of an office or State may not cause it to be mistaken for one similar in appearance. It is often better to write the name of the State in full. Don't fail, if you are in doubt as to the right name of the office for which your letter is intended, to consult the Postal Guide, which any postmaster will be pleased to show you. Don't fail to give the street and house number of the person for whom mail matter is intended in addressing it to a city or large town. Don't mail any letter until you are sure that it is properly stamped. Don't fail to place the stamp in the upper right hand corner. Don't write on the envelope " In haste," " Care of postmaster," etc. ; it does no good, and tends to confusion in the rapid handling of mail matter. Don't fail to bear in mind that it is un- lawful to enclose matter of a higher class in one that is lower ; e. f Preference will be given, all other things being equal, to the proposal which names the earliest date for the commencement of the service. Under the law the right is reserved to the Postmaster-Genera] to reject all bids not, in his opinion, reasonable for the attainment of the purposes contemplated by the act SCHEDULE OF ROUTES ON THE PACIFIC OCEAN. No. 44 "0. M. S." From San Francisco" to Panama, touching twice each monih, going and returning, at the following ports: San Diego, Cal., Mazatlan, San Bias, Manzauillo, Acapnlco, Port Angel, Salina Crnz, Tbnala, San Benito, Ocos, Champerico, San Jos6, Aca- jntla, La Libertad, La Union, Amapala; Corinto, San Juan, and x Funta Arenas. i Three times a month thirty-six trips a year, time sixteen days, in vessels 'of the fourth class for the first three years, and the remaining seven years, once a week, fifty-two trips per year, time fifteen days and a -half, the increased service to be performed in vessels of the third class, the bid to specify the/ rate for each class. Bond required with bid, $12,000. Same route. Three tiroes per month, thirty-six trips per year, in vessels of the third class for the first three years, time fourteen days, and for the remaining seven years, once a week, fifty-two trips per year, the additional service in vessels of the second class, time twelve days, the bid to specify the rate for each class. Bond required with bid, $15,000. No. 46" O. M. S." From San Francisco to Valparaiso, Chili, by San Diego, Cal., and Panama, touching at Buena Ventura, United States of Colom- bia, Guyaquil, Ecuador, Callao, Peru, and Iqnique, Chili. Once in 2 weeks twenty-six trips per year in vessels of the third class for the first 3 years, and for the remaining 7 years in vessels of the second class, the bid to specify the rate for each class. Bond required with, bid, $20,000. A FAC SIMILE PAGE OF OCEAN MAIL LETTINGS. No. 45 "O.M. 8." AMERICAN MAILS UPON THE SEA. 147 for, though the Subsidy Bill had provided for this advertising, it had not appropriated any money for the purpose contracts were made with the Pacific Mail Steamship Company dating from Febru- ary 1, 1892, with a Galveston and La Guayra line dating from April 26, 1893, and with the Red "D " line dating from March 1, 1892. As the law required that contracts for Great Britain should only be made for vessels of the first class, and as there was no vessel of that class of American build and register afloat, no bid for the trans-Atlantic was expected. The service from San Francisco to Hong Kong was to be shortened. For the first two years of the new contract it was required that vessels should sail every twenty- eight days and make the trip in sixteen days instead of eighteen, as before. During the remaining eight years of the contract the sailings were to be once a fortnight and the time was to be reduced to thirteen days. To accomplish this great change the Pacific Mail Steamship Company undertook to spend from six to seven million dollars in building new ships in American shipyards. This fort- nightly service displaced an English line. But no prospect opened up for an American line across the Atlantic. The trans- Atlantic trade had been held for so many years by foreign vessels, and the cost of building ships of the first class had been so great, that it was feared the amount of subsidy offered would not tempt American citizens to make the venture. The two fastest steel ships in the trans- Atlantic service, the " City of Paris" and the "City of New York," were owned by American citizens, though the vessels had been built in England. They were under an annual subsidy of 152,000 from Great Britain, and bound to do naval service for that country in time of war. To change their registry was to forfeit the subsidies received from England; but the owners finally determined to make the change, if the United States would accept the two vessels and give them an American register. The proposition was made to Congress that if the " City of Paris " and the " City of New York " were accepted, their owners would at once begin the construction, at a cost of $8,000,000 or 110,000,000, of four new vessels in American ship- yards that should equal these ocean racers in every respect. The United States would at once have in return two of the largest and fastest vessels afloat as an auxiliary addition to the American 148 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. Navy and insure the speedy construction of at least four more. Congress naturalized the Inman ships, new trans- Atlantic routes, as well as other new ones, were advertised for, and in September the Postmaster General had the pleasure of awarding contracts for the transportation of American mails under the American flag to Eng- land and the continent, to Brazil and the River Platte, and to Havana and Tuxpan. It is very entertaining to see, at the office of the builders, Messrs. J. and G. Thomson, Clyde Bank, Scotland, the pictures illustrating the building of the * k City of New York " and I ^^.:, THE BRAZIL S. S. CO.'S STEAMSHIP ** FINANCE. the "City of Paris." It will be still more so to see ocean palaces like these building on the banks of the Delaware. The famous Cramp shipbuilding concern of Philadelphia has received orders for new vessels that require an addition of fifteen hundred mechanics to their working force. Other yards have felt a similar impetus, and the activity extends to the manufacture of all kinds of supplies used in ship building. The London Illustrated News has expected "a revolution in the American mercantile marine," and has been of opinion that " its former depressed condition will soon be a thing to be wondered at." The following table shows the result of the Act of March 3, 1891 : AMERICAN MAILS UPON THE SEA. 149 r2 03*^ ^4 02 o 6 00 PH ft II II S-s 33 CS 03 03 o fc fc ^ ^ 03 03 g a a s o O ft 3 d o M ggd)_|g030303 CO CO CO CO O O O CO ^ CO CO , >j O 03 o 0) ^ o o r-*"j ^> O 10 150 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. For nearly half a century the boys of America had been practi- cally shut out from employment on the seas except in the coasting trade. Most of the large steam vessels were of foreign register, officered by citizens of the country under whose flag they sailed. American youths could not hope to secure an officer's berth on any one of them. The few boys who could obtain appointments to Annapolis might hope for a position in the Navy, but others were THE BKAZIL S. S. CO.'S STEAMSHIP " SEGURANCA." barred from any prospect of ever becoming anything more than able seamen. The Postal Aid Law, by providing that all vessels reaping its benefits should be officered wholly by American citizens, and should take a certain number of American boys as cadets, opened up once more the chance to follow the calling that Americans made glorious in the old-time days. The Pacific Mail Steamship Company decided to select the graduates from the school ships in the service of the States of New York and Pennsylvania, the "St. Mary's" and the "Saratoga." This company gives notice that it will be glad to know of any desirable young men who wish to follow a sailor's life. The pay is $20 per month the first year, $25 per AMERICAN MAILS UPON THE SEA. 151 month the second, and $30 per month the third, when, if com- petent, the boys will be eligible for promotion. The Red " D " line received the applications of boys from different parts of the coun- try. Usually those were selected who had served on state training ships. Each of the Red "D " steamships carries three boys, one in the engine department, and two in the deck department. Rooms are fitted up for them apart from the sailors. The relation of the Foreign Mails Bureau of the Post Office Depart- ment to the Postal Union are naturally close. Usually the super- intendent of the bureau is one of the two delegates sent by this country to represent it. Capt. N. M. Brooks, the present superin- tendent, and' Mr. William Potter, of Philadelphia, were the two United States delegates to the last Postal Union at Vienna. It is essential that one of the delegates at least should know a foreign language or two, especially French, in which the proceedings of the Union are carried on. The delegates from foreign countries are treated with eager hospitality by their hosts. A large and luxurious eating place is provided, with every personal and business con- venience. The postal officials of the visited country spend more time providing entertainment and recreation for their visitors than they do in the deliberations of the Congress, and the diplomatic corps resident in the visited city, naturally spend all their time in enter- taining the guests from home. The two most weighty subjects which came before the last Postal Congress were the postal tariff and the rates of transit; that is to say, on the one side, the charges which the post offices of the Union levy from the public ; and, on the other, the rates which one country pays to another for the conveyance of correspondence over alien terri- tory, or by alien ships. But the event which most directly marked the Congress at Vienna was the accession to the Universal Postal Union of the Australasian colonies. These comprise, under one vote, New South Wales, Victoria, Southern Australia, Western Australia, Queensland, Tasmania, New Zealand, British New Guiana and the Fiji Islands. In order to secure the adhesion of these colonies, the Congress offered to place them in the same position as to voting power with British India and Canada, and to postpone until the next meeting in Washington the consideration of the important question of reducing, or abolishing, payments for transit, and of 152 AMERICAN MAILS UPON THE SEA. 153 altering the letter rates of postage. The next Union is to be held either in 1895 or 1896, as may be hereafter decided. The represen- tatives of the postal and telegraphic authorities of almost all civi- lized countries will form this "parliament of the world," and it cannot fail to be an event at once of public and social interest, and of immense business importance to the United States. The Vienna Congress decided that every country of the Union should in future supply the public with a reply postal card. An- other decision agreed upon was that a postal card of one coun- try, posted in another country, should not, in future, be suppressed or destroyed, but should be sent to its destination, charged as an unpaid letter. The opportunity was taken of legislating on the subject of letters posted on board mail packets, on the high seas, or in foreign ports. In future, postage on letters posted on board a packet at sea should be prepayable, by means of stamps of the country to which the packet belongs, while, for letters posted on board ship in a foreign port, the sender should use the stamp of the country to which the port belongs. A concession was made to the large mass of people who use postal cards ; so that, in future, the name and address of the sender may be either written or stamped on the address side. Formerly they might stamp, but not write, the name. A very satis- factory concession to commerce was the relaxation of the rule as to the dimensions of merchandise allowed through the mails. The increased dimensions adopted were practically equivalent to one foot in length, eight inches in width, and four inches in thickness. The two United States delegates agreed to urge upon Congress legislation concerning three important questions. The first was that of indemnity for lost registered letters. The United States of America and two or three South American republics are the only countries which do not, in their domestic service, recognize responsi- bility for a lost registered letter. The second question was the uniformity of charge for registered letters. All countries in the Union (except the United States and two or three South American republics, which charge the equivalent of ten cents) charge for a registered letter the equivalent of five cents. In order to carry out the central idea of the Postal Union, to have it universal in prac- tice, as well as in name, the American representatives agreed to urge this reduction. The third question was the treatment of frauds L'UNION POSTALE Abonnements JOURNAL PUBLffi PAR Avis. L* .nouiaiit r the posting of letters. Postmasters are not required to receipt for any letters deposited for mailing, ccept such as are offered for registration. Postmasters are forbidden to deliver pension checks to merchants, either upon written or verbal order of the pensioner. A simple statement of account may be written upon a postal card, and sent in mail, when the same is unaccompanied by any scurrilous, defamatory, or threatening language. 196 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. Postmasters are required to collect one-cent postage upon all letters advertised, whether by posting or otherwise, which are subsequently delivered. It is not the business of a postmaster to attach stamps to letters and packages submitted for mailing. This may be more properly done by the person mailing such letters, or packages, but where he is unable to do so, by reason of infirmity or other cause of incapacity, the postmaster may assist him, if requested to do so. When letters are deposited at a post office for mailing after the mail pouch has been locked and sent to the train, the postmaster may cancel the stamps thereon and hand the letter to the postal clerks on the cars; but, if they are taken to the cars by any person other than himself, or his sworn assistant, the stamps thereon must not be cancelled by the postmaster. Postmasters are not authorized to make use of the penalty envelope in order- ing copies of the POSTAL GUIDE for the public. When practicable, they should transmit several orders to the publisher at one time, but if this cannot be done, the purchaser must pay the postage upon his order. Postmasters are not permitted to make public any information obtained by them in the discharge of their duties. A clerk of a court has no authority, unless when acting under orders from the court, to issue instructions concerning the delivery of mail not addressed to him- self, or that over which he has no control. Neither husband nor wife can control the delivery of letters addressed to the other, but letters addressed to the one may be delivered to the other in the absence of orders from either to the contrary. No one can lawfully be appointed postmaster who has not attained full, legal age. Postmasters are required to forward the oaths of assistant postmasters, clerks and other employees of their offices, to the office of the Fourth Assistant Post- master General (Division of Bonds and Commissions), where they are examined, and, if found to be correct, placed on file. A duly commissioned postmaster is, by virtue of his commission, authorized to administer the oath of office to any person, whether employed in the postal ser- vice, or in any other department of the Government. His authority is, however, restricted to the administration of the oath of office. He is not empowered, under the provisions of the section referred to, to take affidavits, or acknowledg- ments, or to perform such other duties as usually pertain to the office of the justice of the peace or a notary public. An assistant postmaster is not a commissioned officer of the United States, and is therefore not authorized, by virtue of his position as such assistant, to admin- ister the oath of office. When persons holding boxes in post offices refuse to pay the rent thereon, their mail must be placed in the general delivery. Mail matter upon which an indefinite address is written or printed, such as " The Leading Vegetable Dealer," or "Any Intelligent Farmer," is not deliver- able. A letter bearing the card of the sender if undelivered at the expiration of time named in the card, must not be advertised. It must be returned to the sender with the reason for Us non-delivery endorsed thereon. Postmasters at money order offices must not accept from any express company, CONUNDRUMS ANSWERED BY THE HUNDRED. 19T banking institution, or other corporation or firm, any agency for the issue and payment of money orders, drafts, bills of exchange, or similar instruments for the transmission of money; hence a postmaster at a money order office cannot serve as cashier of a bank. A post office box rented by a society or association is not available for the use of individual members of such society or association, except the officers of it when addressed in their official capacity. A postmaster whose annual compensation is less than one thousand dollars is not prohibited from accepting and holding another office under the government of the state, territory, or municipality in which he resides, provided his duties as postmaster suffer no interference in consequence. Letters addressed to "A. B.," or other initials or fictitious names, in care of a letter carrier at a free delivery office, are not deliverable and must be treated as improperly addressed mail matter. Postmasters at post offices of the fourth class are permitted to transact other business in the room in which the post office is located, when the same is kept separate and distinct from that of the post office. When a letter intended for one person is delivered to another of the same name and returned by him, the postmaster will reseal the letter in the presence of the person who opened it, and request him to write upon it the words, " opened by mistake," and sign his name. He will then replace the letter in the post office. When an erroneously delivered letter is opened, and dropped in the office through the receptacle for letters, and the postmaster is un- able to ascertain who opened the same, he must, after resealing the letter, endorse thereon the words "opened by mistake by persons unknown to the postmaster," and then replace the letter in the office. A postmaster who is also a notary public may, in his notarial capacity, take affidavits in pension cases, but he must not be concerned in the prosecution of such cases, or any other claims against the Government. There is nothing in the postal laws or regulations concerning the liability of a subscriber for the subscription price to a newspaper or periodical. Postmasters are not required to open their offices on Sunday when there is no mail arriving after the closing of the office on Saturday, and before six o'clock p. M., on Sunday. When a mail arrives between these hours, the office must be kept open for one hour or more if the public convenience require it. Matter addressed for delivery at hotels must be returned to the post office as soon as it becomes evident that it will not be delivered. The Post Office Department cannot authorize mail carriers to carry firearms. Such permission can only be obtained from the local authorities. Postmasters are prohibited from disclosing to the public the names of persons owning or renting boxes in their offices. It is not allowable,- under the regulations of the Department, to locate a post office in a bar-room or in any room directly connected with one, nor to open or deliver any mail matter in any room in which liquor is sold at retail, except the same be sold by a druggist for medicinal purposes only, and not to be drunk on the premises. It is provided by law that no box at any post office shall be assigned to the use of any person until the rent thereof has been paid for one quarter in advance. If a postmaster has a store in connection with the post office and the same is 198 THE STOKY OF OUR POST OFFICE. attached and closed for debts incurred by the postmaster, he must provide another room for his office ; as the Department will not protect him against the enforcement of state laws by allowing him to plead interference with the mails. A postmaster has no right to use the boxes or the general delivery of his office for the distribution of bills or circulars, relating to his own private business, without prepayment of postage thereon. The regulations of the Department require in the appointment of a married woman, or widow, as postmaster, that she must be appointed and commissioned under her own Christian name, and not that of her husband. If a postmaster should cause loss to a publisher because of failure to comply with a plain provision of law, his liability is determined in the courts and not by the Post Office Department. Postmasters must examine the return request upon letters not promptly delivered, so as to comply with the request, and endorse undelivered letters with the reason for their non-delivery. Frequent complaints are made of such failures by postmasters, and the answer that the "time '' was overlooked is not satisfactory. A postmaster summoned as a witness must obey the summons and go into court, but should refuse to testify in regard to the delivery of mail matter. He then abides by the order of the court, as the Department will not hold a post- master responsible for making public information obtained by him in the dis- charge of his duty, when the same is done in obedience to an order of the court. A postmaster has no right to withhold the delivery of any mail matter on the ground that the person named in the address is indebted to him. When mail matter is delayed in transit at a post office by reason of high water, so that it cannot be forwarded by the regular carrier, it may be delivered to a sworn messenger sent for it by the postmaster of the office to which it is ad- dressed. Should a postmaster and his assistant both be subpoenaed for attendance at court the postmaster must have a temporary assistant sworn in to take charge of the post office during their absence. If the owner of any copyright granted by the United States, or his authorized representative, should file an authenticated list of publications thus protected by law with any exchange office, requesting the postmaster to prevent the forward- ing of any of them in the mail, the postmaster must examine imported publica- tions, to see if any such protected list is included, and if such be the case, lie must advise the person so interested and hold the copy or copies, for a reasonable time to permit proceedings for confiscation. Postmasters cannot lawfully accept postage stamps in payment of postage remaining due on letters. The amount due must invariably be paid in cash. A postmaster may erect a box at a railroad station for the reception of mail matter, but he must not claim credit for stamps cancelled upon such matter, unless said stamps are cancelled in the post office. Distillers are not entitled to make use of penalty envelopes in transmitting the amount of their taxes to collectors of internal revenue. There is no provision under which postmasters or assistant postmasters are exempt from the requirement of state laws to perform jury duty or duty on the public highways. CONUNDRUMS ANSWERED BY THE HUNDRED. 199 The Post Office Department has no control over letters prior to their being deposited for mailing, or after they have been delivered to the addressee or according to his order. There is no law or regulation requiring postmasters to attend to the business of private individuals ; they may, however, do so as an act of courtesy, when perfectly convenient to themselves. Private individuals, when addressing post- masters on their own business, should enclose a postage stamp for reply. Postmasters are expected to extend to all persons the courtesy of a respectful reply to inquiries upon postal business, for which they may use penalty envel- opes. They may use their own discretion about replying to letters upon the private business of the writers. If order cannot be maintained at a post office, the only remedy in the hands of the Department is the discontinuance of the office. The writer of a letter may recover the same after mailing before its delivery to the addressee, it having been held that the ownership of a letter rests in the writer until the delivery thereof. Application for the return of a letter should be made to the postmaster at the mailing office. An individual member of a firm is entitled to have the mail of his family placed in the post office box rented by the firm. If the box will not accommodate all the mail, the firm should rent another. At colleges and similar institutions, where students have been placed in the charge of the principal by their parents or guardians, and where the rules of the institution provide that the principal shall have control of the mail matter addressed to such students as are minors, postmasters should make the delivery in accordance with the order of the principal. If, however, the principal has not authority from the parent or guardian to control the mail of the pupils placed under his care (which authority is understood by an acceptance of the rules that being one) the Department cannot direct the delivery to be made to the principal against the wishes of the pupil. Postmasters must deliver mail to persons calling for the same in their order, whether they be box-holders or not. A mail carrier cannot receive letters to be carried outside of the mail beyond the next post office on his route, unless the same are enclosed in Government stamped envelopes and properly sealed and marked. Stamps cut from Government stamped envelopes are not receivable for postage and letters or packages bearing the same must be held. Postmasters are not liable for the breakage or destruction of matter passing through their offices. If a postmaster through negligence or wilful neglect should cause loss to a patron of his office, his liability therefor is a question be- tween the party suffering such loss and the postmaster to be decided in the courts. The financial condition of a candidate for appointment to the office of post- master does not affect his eligibility to such office. He is required, however, to furnish a good and sufficient bond, with two or more sureties, before he can be commissioned and authorized to assume the duties of the office. If the agent of the addressee of the latter is robbed of the same after he has taken it from the post office, complaint should be made to the local authorities, as the jurisdiction of the Post Office Department ceases after the letter has been properly delivered. 200 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. It is not a violation of the postal laws to send dunning communications by mail, when the same are sent under cover of envelopes which, themselves, do not bear written or printed words or display objectionable to the law. United States senators and members of the United States House of Represen- tatives entitled to the franking privilege, have the right to exercise the privilege until the first Monday in December, following the expiration of their term of office. The Department does not consider the usual legal notices sent out by tax collectors that tax is due, or about to become due, written or printed upon postal cards, to be unmailable. It is not the practice of the Department to reply to inquiries of a hypothetical nature concerning the conduct of postmasters or the management of post offices, but when complaints of a specific and definite nature are submitted, prompt attention is given. The hours during which clerks in post offices are required to be on duty are regulated by the postmasters in whose offices they are employed, and not by the Department. A postmaster whose compensation is one thousand dollars or more per annum, is prohibited from holding the office of alderman of his city or town. The surety of a postmaster has the right to examine his accounts, but he has no right to examine mail matter awaiting delivery, or passing through the office, unless the required oath has previously been administered to him. When a minor is not dependent on a parent for maintenance and support, and does not reside with a parent or guardian, or with some one placed in charge by the parent or guardian, such minor has the right to control his or her correspon- dence. When a letter arrives at a post office addressed to one person in the care of another and the postmaster has received no instructions from the person to whom it is intended, it is his duty to deliver it to the first of the two persons named in the address who may call for it. A postmaster cannot properly refuse to sell postage stamps to a person who intends to mail his letters elsewhere than at the office where such stamps are purchased. Packages of matter mailed at less than the letter rate of postage cannot law- fully be forwarded from the office of mailing, except upon full payment of postage. When anything whatever, except an addressed label, is attached to a postal card transmitted in the mail, the same becomes subject to additional postage. No person engaged in the prosecution of claims against the Government may lawfully hold the office of postmaster, or be employed as assistant postmaster or clerk in a post office. Postmasters are expected to examine postal cards passing through their offices only for the purpose of ascertaining if they contain any matter forbidden by the law to circulate in the mails; and under no circumstances must they make public any matter written or printed thereon. When a female employee of a post office changes her name by marriage, and remains in the employ of the office, she must take the oath anew under her new name. An alien who has in due form of law declared his intention to become a citizen of the United States, is eligible to appointment as postmaster. CONUNDRUMS ANSWERED BY THE HUNDRED. 201 When a letter has been deposited in a post office for mailing, the writer may, upon identifying the same to the satisfaction of the postmaster, withdraw it from the post office ; but if the stamp thereon has been cancelled, it cannot be remailed without the prepayment of postage anew thereon. There is no provision of the Postal Laws and Regulations under which the addressee of a newspaper or magazine is made responsible for the subscription price of it. One having a lien against horses for their keep cannot enforce the same in such a manner as to stop the United States mail in a vehicle drawn by such horses; but it is not an offence to detain the horse in the stable until the keep is paid. It is highly improper for the employees of post offices to importune the attaches of travelling or local shows for tickets of admission when calling at the post office for mail or on other business. MONEY OKDERS AND SUPPLIES. HE domestic money order system went into opera- tion in 1864 in 141 post offices. 1100,000 was appropriated from the public treasury to defray the expense. Of this amount the sum of $7,047.97 only was expended. The Postmaster General was authorized by the above mentioned Act "to establish and maintain, under such rules and regulations as he may deem expedient, a uniform money order system at all suitable post offices." f He was further authorized by Act of July 27, 1868, "to con- clude arrangements with the post departments of foreign governments, with which postal conventions have been or may be concluded, for the exchange, by means of postal orders, of small sums of money at such rates of exchange and compensation to postmasters, and under such rules and regulations as he may deem expedient." The object of the money order system is "to promote public convenience and to insure greater security in the transfer of money through the mails." The Act of May 17, 1864, provided that the Postmaster General should furnish money order post offices with printed or engraved forms for money orders, and that no order should be valid unless drawn upon such form; that he should also supply money order post offices with blank forms of application for money orders, which each applicant a money order should fill up by entering the date, his name address, the name and address of the payee, and the amount; and that all such applications should be preserved by the postmaster receiving them for such time as the Postmaster General might prescribe. The advantages of the money order system over any and all other modes of transmitting money through the mails consist in its c 202 " MONEY ORDERS AND SUPPLIES. 203 ness and in its almost perfect security against fraud or loss. The cost of issuing and paying money orders for the last twenty-five years has been the subject of thoughtful investigation; and care- fully collected statistics have from time to time led to the adoption of more approved methods for reducing expenses, as well as dimin- THE MONEY ORDER BUILDING ON THE LEFT, THE INTERIOR DEPARTMENT IN THE DISTANCE, AND THE SIXTH AUDITOR'S OFFICE BEHIND THE AWNINGS. ishing frauds, errors, and losses, to the lowest possible minimum, and for increasing the efficiency and popularity of the service. From the date of the organization of the system it has been the policy of the Department to secure such a schedule of fees for the issue of money orders as should make the system self-sustaining under the most economical management. During this period seven different schedules have been adopted and adhered to for terms of two, two, four, three, eight, three, and five years respectively. The 204 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. rates of commission or fees charged for the issue of domestic orders at present are as follows : For sums not exceeding $5 5 cents Over $5 and not exceeding $10 8 cents Over $10 and not exceeding $15 10 cents Over $15 and not exceeding $30 15 cents Over $30 and not exceeding $40 20 cents Over $40 and not exceeding $50 25 cents Over $50 and not exceeding $60 30 cents Over $60 and not exceeding $70 35 cents Over $70 and not exceeding $80 40 cents Over $80 and not exceeding $100 45 cents The principal means employed to attain safety consist of an advice or notification containing full particulars of the order its number, date and amount, with the name and address of the remitter and the name and address of the payee which is transmitted by the first mail after issue by the issuing postmaster to the postmaster at the office of payment; and the latter is thus furnished with infor- mation which will prevent its payment to any person not entitled to it. From the items contained in the application, and in con- formity therewith, the issuing postmaster makes out the money order as well as the corresponding advice. The money order, when com- pleted, and upon payment of the sum expressed therein, and the fee chargeable therefor, is handed to the applicant, to be by him trans- mitted to the payee. The issuing postmaster is required to transmit the advice, by the first mail, to the postmaster at the office drawn upon, arid the latter is thereby, before the order itself can be presented, placed in possession of the information necessary to insure correct payment. When a money order is presented for payment, the paying official, to satisfy himself that the person presenting it is the one entitled thereto, and that the order is correct in all respects, compares it with the advice. If the applicant for payment is unknown to him, he questions him as to his name, and the name and address of the sender, and may require him to prove his identity by the testi- mony of another person present, who may be required to wri name and address on the back of the advice, under a statement he knows the applicant to be the person he represents himself to be. In case of a discrepancy between the order and the original advice, MONEY ORDERS AND SUPPLIES. 205 or between the advice and the statement of the holder of the order (unless the difference be evidently accidental and trifling), payment will be deferred until a second advice can be obtained from the issuing postmaster by the postmaster at the office drawn upon. A double form termed, a " letter of inquiry and second advice " is em ployed in cases of this kind. The postmaster or clerk at the paying office, setting forth the nature of the discrepancy, fills out the letter of inquiry, which occupies one side of this blank, and transmits it to the issuing postmaster, who in response furnishes a second advice on the other side of the same sheet after referring to the remitter's application and causing him to amend it if necessary. Postmasters understand that every person who applies for pay- ment of a money order ordinarily should be required to prove his identity, unless known to the postmaster to be the rightful owner of the order, and that if a money order be paid to the wrong person, through lack of necessary precaution on the part of the postmaster, the latter will be held accountable for such payment and required to make the amount good to the owner. The regulation provides, however, that the remitter of a money order may, by a written declaration across the face of his application for the issue of the order, waive the requirement as to identification of the payee, or of the endorsee, or attorney of the payee, and by such declaration assume the risk; and that he, or the payee, or his endorsee, or attor- ney, shall, in such case, be precluded from holding the postmaster responsible in the event of wrong payment, provided the latter took all the proper means, except identification by another person, to satisfy himself that the one presenting the order and claiming pay- ment was entitled to it. The remitter who desires, by such course, to relieve his correspondent from the inconvenience of pro- ducing at the post office of payment proof of his identity by the testimony of another person present, may do so by writing across the face of his application for a money order the words " Identifica- tion of payee, endorsee, or attorney waived," and by signing the same. In such case the issuing postmaster writes the same words across the face of the money order, and across the face of the cor- responding advice, and signs both statements. Money orders are frequently presented by payees who are entire strangers at the place of payment, and who are also remitters of the 3U 206 MONEY ORDERS AND SUPPLIES. 207 same orders, having purchased them for protection against the risks incident to travel. It is enjoined upon postmasters issuing orders in such cases to obtain the signatures of the remitters on the advices of the orders. Observance of this precaution, by enabling the paying postmasters to compare signatures, affords aid in identifying payees who are in the situation described. Cases of this kind, in which remitters and payees are identical, serve to illustrate the utility of the money order system as affording not only a substitute for letters of credit to persons travelling, but a secure depository. Not only is it a fact that itinerant actors, showmen, vendors, workmen and others use the money order system extensively in this manner, pur- chasing orders for the maximum amount of $100 each generally; but cases have been known, and, it is believed, are not rare, in which persons permanently abiding in localities where there are no reliable banks, have, for security, invested their savings in money orders issued upon application made by themselves in their own favor. Although money orders are often lost, and sometimes stolen, not one in a hundred thousand is paid to another than the lawful owner. One hundred and forty-one cases of alleged wrong payment investi- gated and disposed of during a recent average year were settled as follows : Post office inspectors recovered the amounts of twenty-one orders, 8329.50 in all, from the persons to whom payment had been improperly made, and paid the same over to the true payees or owners; in fifty-two cases, involving $ 1,416. 55, it was ascertained, upon investigation, that the claims were not well founded, the orders having been properly paid in the first place ; in thirty-nine cases, where the orders amounted to 951.54, the pa} T ing postmas- ters, for failure to exercise the precaution enjoined upon them by the regulations as to identification, were required to make good the amounts to the owners ; in two cases, of orders drawn for $45, it was found that the issuing postmaster was mainly at fault, and he, therefore, was required to make the amount good; in two cases where the amount was $10.21, the payee, being at fault, was made to sustain the loss ; the remitter for like reason in one case where the amount was $50 was required to bear it; and in twenty -four cases, where the aggregate amount involved was $1,627.08, the Department assumed the loss, the evidence not being sufficient to 208 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. fix the responsibility upon either the postmaster, the payee, or the remitter. The number of cases in which during that year it was ascertained that the orders had actually been paid or re-paid to the wrong persons was eighty-nine, being in the ratio of one to every 131,212 of the payments and re-payments made within the same period. Whenever a money order has been lost in transmission, or other- wise, a duplicate will be issued by the Superintendent of the Money Order System on receipt of an application therefor from either the remitter, payee, or endorsee of the original, bearing the certificate of the issuing and paying postmasters that the original has not been paid or re-paid, and will not be paid or re-paid if afterwards pre- sented. The mere loss of a money order, therefore, never involves a loss of the amount to the owner. Any money order which is not presented for payment until after the expiration of one year from the date of it is declared invalid and not pa} r able. To obtain pay- ment of the amount of such invalid order, the owner must send the same, through the issuing or the paying postmaster to the Superin- tendent of the Money Order System, with an application for the issue of a duplicate. If the duplicate be lost, a triplicate will be issued by the Department, after application for it. During the year ended June 30, 1892, nearly 27,000 duplicates were issued. The payee or the remitter of a money order may, by his written endorsement thereon, direct that it be paid to another person ; but it is provided by law that more than one endorsement on a money order shall render the same invalid and not payable. Hence the postmaster, to whom a money order thus illegally endorsed is pre- sented by a second or subsequent endorsee, must refuse payment, and such endorsee, to obtain payment of the amount, must forward the order to the Superintendent of the Money Order System with an application for renewal, and with a statement, under oath or affirma- tion, of two responsible persons, that the endorsements are genuine. But if a money order which has been endorsed twice, or oftener, is presented by the first endorsee, with the second or subsequent endorsements stricken out, it may be paid to him; or if presented by the remitter or payee, at the issuing or paying office, with all endorsements stricken off, it may be re-paid or paid, as the case may be. In all cases of lost or invalid money orders, the owner of the MONEY ORDERS AND SUPPLIES. 209 order, whether remitter, payee, or endorsee, may make application through the issuing or the paying postmaster, for a duplicate ; and it is the duty of the postmaster to fill up and dispatch the proper forms for it. The maximum amount of a single money order is limited to $ 100, and in the regulations postmasters are instructed to refuse to issue in one day to the same remitter, in favor of the same payee, more than three money orders payable at the same post office ; the primary object of the money order system being, not to furnish facilities for making remittances of large amounts, but to insure safety in the transfer of small sums of money through the mails. On the one hand it would not be practicable to provide at small and remote offices for the prompt payment on presentation of money orders amounting in the aggregate to large sums, without these restrictions ; and on the other, the accumulation of considerable sums at such offices would be unsafe. The current of the international money order business with European countries is continually in favor of those countries, the money orders issued in the United States for payment in Europe greatly exceeding in number and aggregate amount those issued in Europe for payment in the United States. This is due to the well- known fact that emigrants from those countries frequently send a portion of their earnings to their relatives at home. The balances arising from this excess against the United States are liquidated by banker's bills of exchange purchased in New York, drawn to the order of the Postmaster General of the United States, and by him endorsed to the chief of the foreign postal administration to which payment is to be made. The Money Order System is one of the heaviest purchasers of foreign exchange. It bought last year bills to the amount of about $10,000,000. Every morning in New York the bankers send proposals to the postmaster. For example, one firm offers a bill on Paris at a certain rate, and another firm offers a sim- ilar amount at a less rate ; needless to add, the order goes to the lowest bidder. In similar manner purchase is made of bills payable in London, Amsterdam, Brussels, Basle, Berlin, Stockholm, Chris- tiania, Copenhagen and Lisbon. The whole amount of money orders issued in this country for pay- Lent in the United Kingdom during a recent average year was 210 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. $5,438,926.07, and the amount issued there for payment in the United States was only 907,857.57. The amount issued in this country for payment in Italy was $ 1,206, 972. 01, and the amount sent here from the latter country by money orders was 163,575.06. The amount remitted to Sweden by money orders was $1,188,008.23, and the amount received from Sweden was $137,877.54. But in some instances these remitters, no doubt, sent their money to be deposited in Government savings banks abroad, there to remain until their return to their own country. During the year 1891 the aggregate amount of remittances by money orders to the United States from the British West Indies, Jamaica, the Hawaiian Islands, and the Australasian colonies of Great Britain was much in excess of the amount of money orders issued here for payment in those countries. For instance, the amount of money orders issued in this country for payment in the Windward Islands was $5,049.70 only, while the amount of the orders issued in the Windward Islands for payment here was $98,393.35; the amount of the orders issued in the United States for payment in Jamaica was $3,869.16, while that colony issued for payment in the United States money orders amounting to $43,320.54; and money orders amount- ing to $11,743.73 were issued in this country for payment in New South Wales, the latter country issuing for payment here money orders amounting to $24,989.16. The excess of money orders from the above-named countries paid in the United States is explained by the circumstance that these money orders were sent mainly in pay- ment for goods and miscellaneous small articles purchased in this country, there being but very few emigrants from the countries in question residing here. In the international money order business between this country and Canada the difference between the amount of orders issued in each country for payment in the other is comparatively small ; the amount of orders from the United States paid in Canada during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1891, being $1,486,428.03, and the amount of orders from Canada paid in the United States being $1,471,737.42; a difference of $14,690.61. Although there are numerous Canadians living in the United States who send remit- tances to relatives in their native country, the amount of money orders remitted to this country from Canada in payment for articles MONEY ORDERS AND SUPPLIES. 211 purchased here, and of subscriptions to newspapers, periodicals, etc., almost counterbalanced the amount of what may be termed " family remittances " sent home by Canadians residing here. Note, too, the transactions in domestic issues and payments at the larger post offices. In Chicago, for example, about 65,000 orders were sold last year, but the payments reached the enormous number of 1,200,000. In New York about 50,000 orders were sold, but the number paid was 30,000 in excess of the transactions at Chicago. At Chicago, where a great number of small offices deposit funds, about 90,000 separate remit- tances were received last year. None were of an amount less than $20, but the aggregate reached 10,000,000 of dollars. And a station, although the name implies an office of a subordinate kind, is not necessarily a small office. One of the stations in New York transacts a money order business amounting to about 1800,000 per year. The fees charged for the issue of international money orders in the United States are as follows : For sums not exceeding $10 10 cents Over $10 and not exceeding $20 20 cents Over $20 and not exceeding $30 30 cents Over $30 and not exceeding $40 40 cents Over $40 and not exceeding $50 50 cents Over $50 and not exceeding $60 60 cents Over $60 and not exceeding $70 70 cents Over $70 and not exceeding $80 80 cents Over $80 and not exceeding $90 90 cents Over $90 and not exceeding $100 1 dollar The money order, affording an almost absolute security to those who have occasion to remit money through the mails, fulfilled every reasonable requirement or expectation on the part of remitter or payee where the amount sent is considerable. But a strong demand arose, after the withdrawal of the fractional paper currency from circulation and the substitution of the subsidiary silver coinage, for some device by which amounts under $5 could be remitted at less cost and with less trouble than by money order. To satisfy this demand the Postmaster General in his annual reports for 1881 and 1882 recommended the adoption of the postal note, which had pre- viously been introduced in England, and there shared with the money order the favor of the public, becoming the favorite, even for Models Showing how Postal Notes should be issued and torn from stub. 212 MONEY OKDERS AND SUPPLIES. 213 remittances of very small sums. A bill in which Congress gave its sanction to the trial of this device was approved by the President March 3, 1883, and the issue and payment of postal notes there- under, at money order offices, commenced Sept. 3, 1883. A sub- sequent act of Congress, approved Jan. 3, 1887, authorized the Postmaster General to designate, for the issue (though not pay- ment) of postal notes, offices which are not money order offices, and thus broadened the field for their use by admitting of their issue and employment in remittances from places too small to secure the more extensive facilities of the money order system. A postal note may be drawn for any amount less than $5. In the issue of a postal note, the written application and advice, so charac- teristic of the money order, are dispensed with. There is no need or room for these in the issue of a postal note, as the note is by law payable to bearer at any money order office. There being no written application, a record of the date, number and amount of each note issued is made and kept by the issuing postmaster on a stub resem- bling the stub of a bank check. As a safeguard against alterations of amount, no advice being employed, coupons representing the number of dollars for which the note is drawn are left attached on one margin, while from two columns of figures represent- ing dimes and cents on the opposite margin the figures expressing the fractional portion of the amount, or ciphers if the note is for even dollars, are removed with a punch. Should the coupons and the punched figures in any case not agree with the amount expressed in writing in the body of the note, payment would be refused until the true amount could be ascertained by communicating with the issuing postmaster. Being payable to bearer, a postal note may be passed from hand to hand without endorsement. It is payable at any time within three calendar months from the last day of the month of its issue. If not paid within that time it becomes invalid, and the holder, to- obtain payment, must forward it to the Superintendent of the Money Order System, through the postmaster at a money order office, with an application for a duplicate, for the issue of which a fee of three cents is deducted as required by law. As a postal note is by law payable to bearer, no argument is required to show that a duplicate cannot be issued until the original is surrendered. The fee charged 214 THE STOKY OF OUR POST OFFICE. for the issue of postal notes is uniformly three cents. Last year the holders of no less than 8,279 postal notes allowed them to remain in their possession longer than three months from the date of issue. The postal note is considered safer than paper money for remit- tances, in that it must be signed by the person who receives payment, even if previously signed by another person ; and more con- venient, for the reason that it may be drawn for any odd amount or fractional part of a dollar. It is found to be of special utility in sections of the country where silver enters largely into circulation, and where bills of small denominations are scarce. It is believed that instances of payment fraudulently obtained on postal notes lost in transit through the mails are rare. Moreover reports of the loss of postal notes often turn out to be erroneous, or the loss to be temporary only. The notes are not unfrequently found subsequently, having been mislaid or overlooked by the recipient, or having been received at the Dead Letter Office in imperfectly addressed enve- lopes, and thence forwarded to the intended addressee, or returned to the sender. Money order post offices are divided into two classes, first and second. Those of the first class are depositories of the surplus funds accumulating at offices where receipts exceed payments in the transaction of money order business. The second class comprises all offices not designated as depositories for such funds. The post- master at every money order office, excepting that at New York, is required by the regulations to transmit daily to some other post office, designated as the depository therefor, his surplus money order funds, comprising all money order funds in his possession in excess of the sum of the unpaid money order advices on hand not more than two weeks, or in excess of the fixed sum which he is authorized to retain for the payment of orders drawn upon him, and of postal notes, and which is termed his "reserve." Postmasters at postal note offices (that is, offices which issue but do not pay postal notes) are likewise required to remit daily, or as often as practicable, to a designated post office in sums of $20 or more, the entire sum derived from the sale of postal notes. The offices designated as depositories, being located at paying centres, usually need more funds than they receive from the issue of money orders and postal notes. But, MONEY ORDERS AND SUPPLIES. 215 should a surplus accrue at any one of these offices from sales and deposits in excess of payments, it is transmitted to another deposi- tory designated to receive it ; and thus, by transfer from one post office . to another, the actual surplus of all the offices at which the receipts exceed the payments eventually reaches the postmaster at New York, whose office is the central depository, and upon whom drafts are drawn by postmasters at offices where the re- ceipts from sales, or from deposits and sales, are less than the amount of orders presented. The postmaster at New York has a reserve of $125,000 to meet the requirements of business, and deposits the residue daily with the Assistant Treasurer of the United States in that city. Payment of money orders and postal notes presented when the amount thereof exceeds that of the money order funds in the posses- sion of the postmaster drawn upon is provided for by means of trans- fers of funds from the postage account to the money order account, i. e., transfers, to the money order account, of funds received from the sale of stamps and stamped envelopes, as well as by drafts upon the postmaster at New York City. The postmaster who is called upon to pay money orders or postal notes exceeding in amount the funds in his hands derived from the sale of orders and notes is required to transfer such sum as may be necessary and available from his postage account to his money order account, or if the money order and postage funds together are insufficient, or the postage funds are not available for transfer in such emergency, to make application to the Superintendent of the Money Order System for a draft on the postmaster at New York for the requisite amount. If the receipts of the post office ordinarily suffice for the payment of money orders drawn thereon, the postmaster is furnished, upon such application, with a single draft only for the occasion. But if the current of business at any post office is such that the postmaster is continuously or often called upon to pay orders for amounts exceed- ing the receipts of his office, he is furnished with a book of fifteen blank drafts, and a letter of credit foi a suitable sum, upon the postmaster at New York, against which he may draw as occasion requires. The postmaster's bond, if not already large enough* when a letter of credit is granted, is increased in amount sufficient to pro- tect the Government on account of this additional trust; and the 216 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. credit is renewed from time to time, when necessary, as is also the supply of blank drafts. Postmasters are required to render to the Department, weekly, semi-monthly, or monthly, statements of all the money order busi- ness transacted by them, entering therein the particulars of every money order and postal note issued, paid or re-paid, and the date and amount of each deposit of surplus money order funds made or received during the period reported upon. These statements, after a preliminary examination in the office of the Superintendent of the Money Order System, are turned over to the accounting officer, the Auditor of the Treasury for the Post Office Department. To obtain allowance of credit claimed in any such statement for payments made or for remittances of surplus money order funds to his deposi- tory, the postmaster must in all cases forward the proper vouchers, which are the paid orders or notes, properly receipted, or the certifi- cates of deposit. These vouchers are also compared in the Auditor's office with the entries in the issuing postmaster's statements, and any error of amount in the latter or any failure to account properly for the issue of money orders or postal notes (the forms for which, numbered consecutively in separate series for each post office, are furnished by the Department) is thus detected. The total revenues from all branches of the money order and postal note business are deposited quarterly, according to law, with the Assistant Treasurer of the United States at New York, to the credit of the Treasurer of the United States, for the service of the Post- Office Department. The amount thus deposited, however, must not be regarded as net profit, but as gross revenue less the amount of such of the expenses as were paid out of the proceeds of the busi- ness, which expenses include the large item of commissions paid to postmasters at third and fourth class post offices. A large portion of the expense of conducting the system each year is paid out of appropriations made by Congress ; but the revenues deposited in the manner stated, for a like period, will usually balance, or nearly so, the expenditures met by such appropriations, and the Government is thus reimbursed. The chief items of expenditure defrayed from appropriations are, salaries of employees in the superintendent's office and in the money order division of the Auditor's office, print- ing, rent and service for the money order building, and allowances MONEY ORDERS AND SUPPLIES. 217 to postmasters at first and second class offices for clerk hire (over half a million dollars a year), all of which amount to $ 850, 000 or more annually. The Superintendent of the Money Order Division, Dr. Charles F. Macdonald, is a scholarly gentleman, bred in the shadow of Bun- ker Hill, a former school teacher, the promoter and organizer of the money order bureau at its inception in the administration of Mr. Blair. Ask him for the record of his life and he will say: "Nee male vixit, qui natus moriensque fefellit." Before December, 1891, it was the practice of the Department not to extend the postal money order system to any post office where the compensation of the postmaster was less than $ 250 per annum, and not then, unless application was made for the extension. But a year ago Postmaster General Wanamaker issued an order for the extension of money order facilities to all post offices, though appli- cation might not be made for them, where the compensation of the postmaster is $200 or more per annum; and it was not left optional with the postmaster whether or not his office should be made a money order office. There were about five thousand post offices yielding this amount of compensation, which rapidly became money order offices. To establish a money order office entails an expense of just 14.90. The blanks cost 86 cents; the bound registers 11.80; the envelopes $1.27; the postal note punch 63 cents; and the dating stamp and pad 44 cents. All these supplies are obtained under contracts, and the competition enables the Department to procure printing at rates very much below those paid by the general public. More than 500 different blanks are used, and some are ordered in quantities of 20,000,000 per year. A postmaster whose office is designated as a money order or postal note office is required by law, before he can be authorized to com- mence business of that kind, to file in the Department a new bond, with at least two sureties. This new bond is conditioned for the faithful performance of the duties and obligations imposed upon him by the laws relating to the postal as well as the money order busi- ness. It therefore takes the place of his former bond and is not in addition to it. Until lately the amount of the money order penalty of such new bond was usually $3,000, and the amount of the postal penalty was $1,000, making $4,000 in all. Postmasters at small 218 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. offices in some quarters of the country frequently encountered great difficulty in furnishing a bond of this amount, so that they might be authorized to transact money order business. Now a bond for $2,500 in all, of which the money order penalty is $ 1,500, is deemed sufficient in the case of newly designated money order offices, in view of the fact that the supply of blank money orders sent at one time to the postmaster at a small office has been reduced from one THE DIVISION OF SUPPLIES. hundred to twenty-five, a number which cannot be issued for a larger sum in the aggregate than $2,500. If a larger supply of such forms is required later, the postmaster may be called upon to give bond for a correspondingly increased amount. This extension of the money order system has meant a total num- ber of offices in operation of 20,000. The amount of money trans- mitted by money orders and postal notes is about $150,000,000 annually; and soon the total value will be at least $200,000,000. The Division of Post Office Supplies, under charge of the First Assistant Postmaster General (along with the Money Order System MONEY ORDERS AND SUPPLIES. 219 and the Divisions of Salaries and Allowances and Dead Letters) is charged with the duty of furnishing each post office throughout the country with supplies, as follows : Those of the fourth class with eight-ounce letter balances, plain facing slips (and they may procure at their own expense printed facing slips upon application to the contractors for furnishing the same), cancelling ink, stamping pads, postmarking, rating and cancelling stamps, thirty-seven forms of blanks, and, if the receipts of the office are $100 or more per annum, with twine and wrapping paper; of the third class (in addition to the articles above stated), with 72 forms of blanks, four-pound scales, and, when necessary to weigh matter of the second class, 62 and 240 pound scales ; and first and second class offices are furnished with all the above-named articles, when application is made for them, and, in addition, with test weights, 600 pound scales or larger when required to weigh newspaper and periodical matter, 110 forms of blanks, and 21 T articles of stationery, under the 92 con- tract items. All facing slips, both plain and printed, are supplied to offices of these classes at the expense of the Department. The Department proper is furnished with blanks, blank books, labels, records, and 235 articles of stationery, under the 117 contract items. Blanks and books, as well as stamps, used in the transaction of the money order business, and postal note plyer punches, are furnished on application of the Superintendent of the Money Order System. Blank postal notes are likewise furnished to that officer. There is 110 fixed rule as to the quantity of money order supplies which may be furnished, for the reason that the money order business bears sometimes but slight relation to the salary of the postmaster and the extent of the postal business. Each money order office is supplied according to its special necessities. The operations of this division are conducted in the skating rink, half a block away from the Department, on E Street. They are tremendous. The Department and the postal service require about 41,000 reams of manilla wrapping paper yearly, involving an expenditure of 158,000. 14,470 reams of 20 x 29 manilla facing slip paper, making 250,041,600 3 T 3 g x 5 slips, are furnished to the Government facing-slip printers each year for the 800 first and second class post offices, the printing of them paid for by the De- partment, upon vouchers; third and fourth class offices, as has been SUPPLY KOOM CONTAINING WRAPPING PAPER AND TWINE. SUPPLY KOOM CONTAINING EVERY BLANK USED IN EVERY POST OFFICE. 220 MONEY ORDERS AND SUPPLIES. 221 stated, are allowed printed facing slips, from the Government facing- slip printers, at their own expense. Every postmaster and railway postal clerk in the United States is required to use one of these slips on each letter or package of letters leaving his office, bearing his postmark and name, or the number of the person putting up the packages, an almost perfect safeguard in every way to prevent letters from being lost or missent in transit. 9,000 reams of 20 x 29 TONS OF PAPEE. are sent to the Railway Mail Service yearly for plain facing slips, which are equal to 155,520,000 3 T 3 g-x5 slips, printed at its own expense, when required. 7,000 reams of 20x29 are furnished to the Government printer yearly to be cut into 3 T 3 g- x 5 plain facing slips, which equal 120,960,000 slips, or about 600 reams of 20x29 every thirty days for the above purpose. Five hundred and sixty-three reams are used every year by the Division of Post Office Supplies in wrapping its packages; 9,000 reams of 20 x 24 and 967 reams of 26 x 40 are sent yearly to the 222 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. post offices whose gross receipts are 1100 and over, throughout the country, for wrapping purposes; or the weight of wrapping paper sent out and consumed by post offices equals 1,127,180 pounds, or about 564 tons, or 56 carloads yearly. This constitutes the dif- ferent sizes of wrapping paper issued, making the total number of reams issued each year 41,000, or 19,680,000 sheets, or the enormous Aveight of 1,148,432 pounds of paper; the quantity being THE STATIONERY ROOM FOR FIRST AND SECOND CLASS OFFICES. so great that it would require a 164-inch u Fourdrinier " machine running night and day the year round to keep up the supply. The division requires 1,348,000 pounds of jute, cotton, hemp, and flax twine, or about 67 cars, yearly. The jute twine is put up in one-half pound balls, and, in accordance with the specifications, the inside end of the string is to be fastened on the outside of the ball, so as to unwind from the inside. By this device employees start unwinding the ball from that end. Formerly they began from the other, so that each ball unwound with a tangle, and a quarter MONEY ORDERS AND SUPPLIES. 223 of the twine, on the average, was wasted, and the loss in the aggregate was very great. This twine costs each year $84,900, and every sixty days 25,000 pounds of jute twine are received and issued. It requires about 8,000 scales of the following capacities 8 oz., 4 Ibs., 62 Ibs., 240 Ibs., 400 Ibs., 600 Ibs. and 1,000 Ibs, to supply the 67,000 post offices yearly; and the expense is $9,506. A room with a floor space of 7,650 square feet is required for the wrapping papers, twines and scales, and owing to the vast amount of stock obliged to be carried the manilla papers, twines and scales have to be piled to a height of ten feet, in order that the room may contain what is required to be issued from day to day. The item of black cancelling ink for cancelling postage stamps, post-marking and back-stamping letters amounts to about 40,000 pounds, or 5,000 gallons, or 122 barrels yearly; and the expense is 18,000. With this cancelling ink 25,000 inking pads, 4^x5, are required, the base consisting of printers' roller composition, with a felt cloth top to retain the ink. These pads cost 17,000 a year. 39,300 steel and rubber stamps are furnished to the service yearly at an expense of $17,666.05. 80,000,000 blanks of various descrip- tions and sizes, 220,798 blank books, and 5,056,380 letter heads and envelopes are required every twelve months. The supplies furnished exclusively to the 800 first and second- class post offices are as follows: 13,000 gross, or 1,872,000, steel pens, at an expense of $5,052; 20,540 dozen, or 246,480, lead pen- cils consumed annually at an expense of $3,440; 10,500 pounds, or 50,200 gross, of rubber bands required yearly at an expense of $13,091.50; 1,140 dozen quarts of writing fluid and copying and black ink required each year, or 3,420 gallons, or 83 barrels, at an expense of $2,072; and 10,000 pounds of pins, involving an expense of $463.63. There are sent in a year by mail from the Supply Division 56,600 mail sacks and pouches filled with supplies; 10,350 cases of scales and stationery; and 230,300 packages of blanks and stationery. It requires 27,000,000 3 x 5 registry package receipts, registry return receipts, and registry bills for the 67,000 post offices, at an annual cost of $20,000. It has been estimated carefully that there are six tons and more of stationery, blanks, books, twines, wrapping papers .and scales mailed every week-day in the year. It requires ten trips 224 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. each day of large double-team mail wagons, filled to their utmost capacity with supplies, to ship the articles necessary to conduct the postal business. The supply division is now occupying, by actual measurement, a floor space containing 21,384 square feet. In 1866 three post office agencies for furnishing blanks, twine and paper were established, one in Buffalo, one in Cincinnati, and one in the Department Building in Washington. Mr. W. S. Davis. msf THE STATIONERY ROOM FOR THE DEPARTMENT PROPER. was in charge of the Washington agency. This supplied the Southern States; the other two agencies supplied the rest of the country. All purchasers of supplies had to show vouchers for them, and have them approved by the Department, in order that pay might be had. In 186T the offices at Buffalo and Cincinnati showed vouchers for supplies alleged to have been sent to the state of Alabama, which was outside their territory. Mr. Davis insisted upon a prompt investigation. It showed that the agencies in Buffalo and Cincinnati were making false vouchers. The agent MONEY ORDERS AND SUPPLIES. 225 at Cincinnati was arrested; the agent for Buffalo, in Europe at the time, was arrested on his return ; they both confessed, and the United States recovered nearly $300,000. ^ ,_, , _. ... The result was that the three agencies were combined, and the blank agency, as it was called, was established in Washington City. The present Superintendent is Major E. H. Shook of Michigan. He is a member of the Grand Army, the Union Veteran Union and the Loyal Legion. He was born in Dutchess County, N. Y. He worked five years as a printer boy. He saw thirty-one heavy en- gagements in the war. He was Assistant Adjutant General on General H. G. Berry's staff, and Assistant Inspector General of General Byron R. Pierce's bri- gade, of the Third Division of the Second Corps. He was taken prisoner in 1863, but escaped. He was wounded in the top of his head at the battle of Mine Run, was severely wounded in the Wilderness, and was knocked down by a shell at Sailor's Creek. Major Shook was handling printers' supplies and stationery for a large Detroit house up to the time of his appointment. MAJOR E. H. SHOOK, Chief, Division of Post Office Supplies. THE CAEEIERS, THE SPRIGHTLY MEN IN GRAY. HE free delivery of mail matter by carriers took effect July 1, 1863, and was put in operation at forty-nine offices with about four hundred and fifty carriers at an aggregate annual compensation of about $300,000. Postmaster General Blair, in his annual report for 1863, said: " Our own experience and that of Europe demonstrates that correspondence increases with every facility of its conduct, and free delivery in the principal towns and cities has been proved in the mother country to be a facility attended with very remarkable results. Further time will be required to prove whether it will operate in the same way here, but as far as ascertained, the results are highly satisfactory." In the city of New York, for the first quarter, there were delivered by carriers 2,069,418 letters, with 1,810,717 collected, or an increase of about twenty-five per cent, over the preceding quarter. But the growth of the service was slow until 1887 and 1888, when the num- ber of offices was nearly doubled. Previous to January 3, 1887, the requirement for free delivery was that a city should have a population of 20,000 within the delivery of its post office. The law of January 3, 1887, made any place eligible that had a popula- tion of 10,000, or a revenue from its post office for the preceding fiscal year of $10,000. There are now over six hundred free delivery offices in the country, and the letter carriers attached to this service deliver and collect mail from twenty millions of people. The annual expense is between ten and eleven millions of dollars. A law has been repeatedly proposed to Congress to extend the service to towns of five thousand population oi 1 of $5,000 receipts for the latest fiscal year. This would add one hundred and seventy-five places or more to the number served with the free delivery, and a million and THE CARRIERS, THE SPRIGHTLY MEN IN GRAY. 227 a half of people would be accommodated. The annual cost would be perhaps $400,000. When a town becomes entitled to the free delivery service, eitner by reason of population or revenue, and it is deemed advisable favorably to consider its claims, the postmaster is informed that before the service can be established the sidewalks must be paved, streets lighted, houses numbered, and names of streets placed at intersections. When this is done, an inspector is sent to look over the field, lay off the carriers' districts, locate the street letter boxes and instruct the postmaster as to details. Letter carriers are appointed by the Department, on the recommendation of the post- master, except at civil service offices, of which there are forty-five. At these offices they have to pass a competitive examination and are selected from the list of eligibles in their order. At these offices they are appointed as substitutes first, and promoted when their turn is reached. Carriers are entitled to a vacation of fifteen days in each year, without loss of pay ; they cannot be removed by the postmasters, but for serious offences may be suspended and recommended for removal to the Department. Generally the Department obliges the postmas- ter. A postmaster, for offences not involving removal, may suspend a carrier for thirty days or less. Postmasters are forbidden to to employ carriers as clerks in their offices, and if carriers work over eight hours a day, they are to be paid proportionately for the overtime. As it is impracticable to assign carriers to eight hours consecutive work, they are assigned by schedule so that the actual time of service is not more than eight hours a day. The intervals between trips are the carriers' own. Postmasters are required to furnish monthly to the Superintendent of Free Delivery a report showing the number of deliveries and collec- tions made, the total number of hours of free delivery service rendered during the month, and the average daily hours of service per carrier. At cities of 75,000 or more carriers are paid $600, $800, and $1,000. In free delivery cities having populations smaller than that, carriers are paid $600 and $850 per year. Appointments are always made to the class having the minimum rate of pay, and promotions are made from the lower to the higher grades at the expiration of THE CARRIERS, THE SPRIGHTLY MEN IN GRAY. 229 one year's service on certificates of the postmasters of efficiency and faithfulness. A bill is now before Congress to create an additional class of carriers whose compensation for the fourth year shall be $1,200. Postmasters may grant additional leaves of absence for not exceeding thirty days in cases of sickness, disability received in the service, or other urgent necessity. Substitute letter carriers are appointed like the others at a compensation of one dollar per year ; for vacation service they receive $600 per annum, and for any other leave of absence the pro-rata pay of the carrier whose route they serve. They are required to give bonds, as the regular carriers are, and must be ready to respond to the postmaster's call for service at a moment's notice. At the classified post offices substitutes are promoted in the order of their appointment; at the non-classified offices this is not compulsory. The substitutes are taken from lists of eligibles who have passed the competitive civil service examination, made by the local board of examiners, duly author- ized by the civil service commission to make it. Their first appointment is for a probationary term of six months. At non- classified offices the postmaster nominates and the Postmaster Gen- eral appoints. Carriers must be citizens of the United States, physically fitted for the service, and temperate ; they must be at least eighteen years of age and not over forty, though this limitation does not apply to honorably discharged soldiers and sailors. The carrier's bond is for $1,000, with two sureties at least, and he has to take the oath. Carriers are forbidden to solicit, in person or otherwise, contribu- tions of money, gifts, or presents, to issue addresses, complimentary cards, prints, publications, or any substitutes for them, intended to induce the public to make gifts or presents, to sell tickets on their routes to theatres, concerts, balls, fairs, picnics, excursions, or places of amusement of any kind, to borrow money on their routes, or to contract debts which they have no reasonable prospect of being able to pay. Every carrier, before entering upon his duties, is required to provide himself with a uniform (made of .cadet gray cloth), and to wear it at all times when on duty. He is held strictly to account for the keys entrusted to him, and for the loss of them he is liable to removal. He must promptly report broken boxes or defective locks or keys. 230 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. The subjects and relative weights for the carrier examinations made by the examiners of the civil service commission are as fol- lows : Subjects, Relative weights. First: Orthography 1 Second * Penmanship 1 Third' Copying .... 1 Fourth: Arithmetic . 1 Fifth: Local delivery Sixth * Reading addresses . 3 3 Total of weights 10 The following is a typical examination paper for the fourth sub- ject, arithmetic: Question 1. Express in sign and figures seventy-two millions five thousand and eighty-two dollars, ten cents and two and one half mills. Question 2. Express in words the following: 5,312,209.521. Question 3. Express in words the following: 10 mi. 8 fur. 640 rd. 760 yd. 10,560 ft. 6 in.=16 mi. 6 in. Question 4. A carrier makes 4 trips a day, carrying 64 letters and 32 papers each trip. The letters average in weight # oz. each and the papers 2 oz. each. How many pounds of mail does he deliver in a day ? (16 oz. to the pound). Give work in full. Question 5. Multiply 26.32 by 3, and to the product add 2.04. Give work in full. Question 6. Add the following, placing the sum at the bottom: 5,321,792.18 329,212,175.75 11,515,666.66 2,919,286,554.55 115.25 999,510.45 4,786,452,369.38 29,236,111,522.73 75,775,016.15 90,187,236,541.02 Question 7. A carrier delivers in one day 254 letters, 423 papers, and 27 pack- ages. Each letter has on it a two-cent stamp, each paper a one-cent stamp, and each package a four-cent stamp. How much would the Government make or lose on this mail, supposing the whole cost of transportation and delivery to be $11.42 ? Give work in full. THE CARRIERS, THE SPRIGHTLY MEN IN GRAY. 231 Question 8. A carrier walks a distance of 20 squares on each trip, each square being 400 feet in length. If he advance 20 inches each step, how many steps will he take on the trip ? Give work in full. Question 9. A carrier who makes 1,200 trips a year rides on the street cars twice every trip, the fare being five cents a ride. What is the cost of street-car fare for the year ? Give work in full. Question 10. In an office employing 35 carriers, each carrier loses 20 minutes a day in idle talk. Suppose the average salary of each to be $2.50 for ten hours work, what is the cost to the Government of the lost time each day, and what will it amount to in a year of 313 working days ? Give work in full. For the fifth subject, local delivery, the following is a typical examination paper : Question 1. Name the principal railroads (not exceeding five) which pass through or terminate in this city, and give the location (the street or streets on. which situated) of the principal depot or ticket office of each. Question 2. Name four streets which pass nearest to the building in which this examination is held, and mentipn one public building or prominent business house on each. Question 3. Name the principal hotels in this city (not exceeding five) and the location (street or streets on which situated) of each. Question 4. Name some street or streets by which one could pass from the extreme northern to the extreme southern portion of this city, and mention five prominent buildings, places, or parks which would be passed on the route given. Question 5. Name a street-car line (or connecting lines) by which one could travel nearly or quite across this city, and name the principal streets over which it or they pass. The frequency of carrier service depends upon the importance of a locality and the arrival and departure of mails, and business districts have more frequent deliveries and collections than the resident quar- ters. Regulations require that citizens supplied by letter carriers shall be requested to provide receiving boxes at their houses and places of business. This is done to a very limited extent, however, for the reason probably that householders or occupants of business offices understand that the mail will be delivered to them anyway, and it is no affair of theirs, or at least only a small affair, to save the time of letter carriers by providing a receptacle to receive mail without delay. The plan inaugurated by Postmaster General Wana- maker to provide for the collection from every house and business office of mail from letter boxes, as well as the delivery of it to boxes THE CARRIERS, THE SPRIGHTLY MEN IN GRAY. 233 in every one of them, supplies the householder with a facility which he really wanted and was willing to pay the price of a box for. In the course of a year the 11,000 or more letter carriers of -the country deliver five and one half million of registered letters, a billion and a third of ordinary letters, perhaps two hundred and seventy-five millions of postal cards and almost six hundred mil- lions of newspapers. They collect in an average year three hundred millions of local letters and three quarters of a billion of mail let- ters. They collect also perhaps one hundred and fifteen million local postal cards, one hundred and fifty million mail postal cards and nearly two hundred million newspapers ; all of which is to say, that the 11,000 letter carriers handle in a year the inconceivable number of three and three fourths billions of pieces of mail. The postmaster at Concord, New Hampshire, Mr. Henry Robin- son, once wrote of the letter carrier : " There is no discount on him; he is held up to the highest standard of excel- lence. He eats his three hearty meals a day, walks his twenty miles, and sleeps like a top. If you could see him lazily stretch out his legs and fill his old ' T. D.' after he has filled out his daily report, given up his key and hung up his leather bag that he wears hung from his shoulder when on duty, you would not imagine that he ever felt any considerable responsibility. But his is an exacting work, indeed. He has taken a solemn oath and is under bonds to do this important mission quietly, diligently and perfectly in all its imperative details. Under no circumstances is he allowed to loiter on his route. He cannot stop to converse, except in the line of his business. Trivial talk, singing, whistling and smoking are diversions that he cannot indulge in when in charge of the mail. " He has to exercise the greatest care in everything that he says and does. He is forbidden to deliver letters in the street even to the owner, unless the owner is personally known to him and the delivery can be made without reasonable delay. It is against the rules for him to throw mail into windows or hallways, unless he is instructed to do so. He is to rap or to ring the bell at the door, and wait patiently a reasonable time for an answer. Sometimes he has to go back to make a second call at your residence or place of business, because there was no one there at first to receive the mail and no place to put it. He is not to enter any house while on his trip, except in the discharge of his official work, and he cannot deliver any pieces of mail that have not first passed through the post- office. He cannot exhibit any mail entrusted to him, or give any information in regard to it or to any person other than those to whom it is addressed or who are authorized to receive it" Or again : " He will not make any unnecessary comment upon the character of the mail carried by him. He does not read postal cards nor interest himself in what is entrusted to him, except so far as it becomes his official obligation to do so. He 234 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. handles so many letters of all kinds that he becomes indifferent to their contents, except to be careful to the utmost degree of caution in the handling of every one. " It is none of his business what your letters contain, if they are properly mail- able, and he doesn't care if you get a hundred letters a day from the same person, or whether you get only one letter a month, or no letters at all it is all the same to him. He will not tell you anything about anybody's mail. He can't tell you whether Mrs. So-and-So got a letter from Mr. So-and-So this morning, or whether Sarah Jane's fellow in the West is still corresponding with her or not. He carries a straight, clear, well-regulated head on him, but is as non-committal as the Sphinx and as reticent as an Egyptian mummy on most subjects. He is not expected to discuss religion or talk politics. He lays great claim to a civil- tongue, and endeavors never to allow himself to be exasperated or annoyed in the least, however great the tax put upon his unvarying civility. " He is not allowed to put letters into his own pockets to carry them nor to throw away even the slightest piece of mail, however valueless and unimportant it may appear. He must return to the office everything that is undelivered, and after every trip must bring back his satchel and his key, and make his compre- hensive written return in detail of the number and character of all the pieces handled by him. He keeps a considerable post office of his own, having nearly two thousand patrons. He has a perfect directory of his route, free from blot and as neat as wax, with the name of every letter receiver in his district, alphabeti- cally recorded, with special instructions noted in reference to each. He has a * case,' as it is called at the office, which is divided into convenient compart- ments, and should you ask him there if he has a letter for you, he can find it in a moment if there is one. Do not imagine that when the mail clerk's signal bell strikes for him to get ready that he then jumbles all the letters into his leather bag in a confused mass. Such is not the fact. Every piece of mail entrusted to him has its particular place and all is arranged with a system and order very commendable. He is forbidden under all circumstances to return to any person whatever letters deposited by them in the street mailing boxes from which he makes collections, but if the sender of the letter wishes it back, he must report to the office, where may be found exclusive discretion to return it to the writer." Said Postmaster Anderson of Cleveland, not long ago, in address- ing his letter carriers on their semi-annual inspection day : " There are many temptations thrown around you, not only in the office but upon your routes. I want you to shun these as you would so many vipers. I know you do, but I wish you could have been in my private office the other day, and seen the mental anguish of an arrested carrier. If you could have seen his clenched hands and tear-ridden face; if you could have seen his deep humiliation as he acknowledged that he had betrayed the confidence reposed in him by me and his friends, and violated the laws he had solemnly sworn to obey, and observed how wretchedly he seemed to feel when he admitted that he had contrived a plan to steal that would seem to exculpate him and throw the suspicion upon other innocent and honest men, you would remember and fully appreciate the familiar old maxim: ' Honesty is the best policy.' This man made an appeal to me for leniency, asked that his crime should be * settled,' and appealed to my sympathies as a husband and a father. He told me about his honest, economical wife and THE CARRIERS, THE SPRIGHTLY MEN IN GRAY. 235 his three little boys whom an hour or two before he had parted from with a loving kiss. I told him I pitied his wife, but he should have thought of them before and while he was committing the crime that brought disgrace and shame upon the helpless and the innocent. As the responsible head of the office, as a sworn officer of the Government, of that department which is so near the people, to whom they entrust their money, their missives of business, society and affection, I cannot afford to be lenient to a man who wilfully and deliberately transgresses the law." To look down from the long, shutter-covered balcony that extends around the main room of a great post office, as at Chicago, is to see big leather mail sacks, with yawning mouths kept closed by snappy- looking padlocks, stacks of letters on a wide, roomy table, with the force of stampers beating with monotonous regularity a double "tump-tump " so rapidly that the ear must be acute to note that it is not a continuous sound; busy clerks, with a steady, unceasing movement of the hands and eyes, placing a letter here, another there, nine hundred and ninety-nine times out of one thousand with- out a slip, working as if their lives depended on getting through before their neighbors. Here are the men who are classifying the mail for the carriers, and here are the carriers themselves, engaged in "routing" the mail. Back and forth, in and out of the aisles they come and go, like bees hovering around a hive. To the layman all is confusion and disorder. But better harmony never existed. A clock is not more evenly and accurately adjusted. It is a system that has well-nigh reached perfection. There is never a moment's hesitation. The finger tips of the carriers and clerks seem imbued with independent minds ; the streets, the districts and the divisions, are within a call that responds as quickly as a flash of lightning. In a big city like Chicago, of course, thousands and thousands of letters are received where it is almost impossible to make out the addresses. One of the Chicago clerks has tabulated the different spellings of Chicago ; and he finds without much trouble that they numbered one hundred and ninety-seven. Only a short time ago a Finnish letter writer addressed his brother at Zizazo; and other spell- ings in the list were : Jagjago, Hipaho, Jaji jo, Schechacho, Hizago, and Chachicho. Then wrong addresses are given, and great diffi- culty is found in finding the person for whom the letter or paper was intended. Several months ago a paper was addressed to Mrs. 236 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. M. Kracky, 612 Dixon Street, but the carrier could not find her. All the people interested were Polanders, including the carrier, and they had a time of it. Here is the carrier's story in his own report: Mrs. M. Kracky does not live at 612 Dixon Street. Six hundred and twelve Dickson is a two-story house, occupied by four families, to wit: On the first floor in front lives Mr. Pafelski, an uncle of Mrs. Kracky; with him also lives his mother, or grandmother to Mrs. Kracky; above them lives Mr. Kiszewski. In the rear on the top floor lives Mrs. Kilichowski, and below her lives Mrs. Pin- kowski, a mother of Mrs. Kracky, whom the latter calls on about twice a month, more or less. Now, when this January number came to me I am positive that I asked three times in front of both families, and I am also positive that I opened Mrs. Pinkowski's door at least twice and asked there, as I had to pass her door four times in order to see Mrs. Kilichowski, who was asleep twice. The third time she was out, the fourth time I got her at home, and each time I called out the name loud enough for Mrs. Pinkowski to hear. The November number I must have delivered in October, but I can't remember it. The December number was delivered by the substitute, as I was on my annual vacation from Nov. 1 to Nov. 16. To-day as I called there Mrs. Kracky happened to be there washing for her mother, and I delivered her magazine. Mrs. M. Kracky, whose proper name is Mrs. M. Krajecki, lives at 596 Holt Street. p p Q. OLONSKI 332. Many claims for over-time service of letter carriers have been filed with the Department. They aggregate about half a million dollars, and many have been carried by the claimants to the Court of Claims for adjudication. Under the statute the carrier's day is eight hours, and work required of him beyond that period is reckoned as over- time. Official blanks are furnished to all of the free delivery offices for keeping the individual time of each carrier while on duty. Where the force is limited, there is, of course, a liability that extra time will be required of the carriers ; but when the force is sup- posed to be competent for the service the working of over-time is discountenanced. The position of the Department is that letter carriers should be required to work eight hours on week days and as many hours on Sundays as the service at the respective offices may require, and not in excess of forty-eight hours any week of six days where Sunday service is not required. A desired amendment to the postal laws provides for an additional class of carriers, so that after four years' service, carriers may, upon a certificate of their respective postmasters that they have been especially faithful and efficient, be promoted from $1,000 to $1,200 per annum, and that when letter carriers become inefficient, or unfitted for active work, they shall, THE CARRIERS, THE SPRIGHTLY MEN IN GRAY. 23 T upon the certificate of their respective postmasters to that effect, be reduced to a lower grade commensurate with their service or removed, as the equities of the case may suggest. Such an amend- ment would not only provide a just compensation to faithful and deserving carriers, but it would tend to enlist in the service more of the finest young men, and stimulate all the carriers to better efforts. It would also provide a just way of continuing in the Government employ carriers who have rendered efficient service, but who, by reason of infirmities or advancing years, are unable to perform the maximum service of a carrier. The collection service, as the First Assistant Postmaster General has observed, requires men chiefly of physical strength. $600 per annum, as it is held by many, would be adequate compensation. Now all are treated alike, and promotions of collectors are made from $600 to $800, $850, and $1,000 per annum, as with delivery carriers. The carriers become more efficient and are able to handle and deliver their mail with greater facility from year to year, while the collectors can perform, as a rule, as satisfactory service the first year as afterwards. The creation by law of a grade of collectors with a salary of $600 per annum, and not subject to promotion, would enable the Department to separate the deliveries and collections at all the large offices, and thus insure better results in both branches at a decreased cost. It has never been intended to recommend a reduction of the salaries of old carriers who may be performing col- lection service at the time the law might take effect, or prevent their promotion under existing law. Provision would be made for new men only. The proposition is a measure of tardy justice to the overworked and poorly paid carrier. But nothing like this has a chance to become law. Mr. Cummings of New York introduced in the last session a bill to fix the pay of letter carriers at $600 for the first year, $800 for the second, $1,000 for the third, and for the fourth, and thereafter, $1,200. Neither did this measure have any chance of passing, for it would cost per year perhaps a million and three quarters ; and when it is an impossible task, notwithstanding the steady and inevitable growth of the country and hence of the postal service, to secure any additions at all to many of the items of the postal appropriation bill, it is not strange that the item for car- rier service should be cut down, as recently, by $300,000. This 238 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE, MAIL, DELIVERY CART USED IX CHICAGO. reduction, if the Senate had permitted it to be made, would have left the service to get along as best it could during the next year without any additional carriers, and that, too, though it had been repeatedly stated that in Chi- cago alone two hundred new men were required for the act- ual needs of the service. In most of the large cities the carriers going out for deliv- eries are transported in cars, omnibuses, or sometimes in elevated trains, out to their routes, in order the more quickly to begin their distri- butions. Collections are ex- pedited by similar means. In Chicago they have a unique cart system for collection. The territory covered by the cart system is about forty-four square miles, and it is collected from six times daily. There are forty-five men on the cart collection force, each covering from eighteen to twenty- two miles per day. There are sixteen districts with three men as a rule attached to each. Two or four cart men meet at a central point about two miles from the central office, and the mail is trans- ferred to one of the carts and driven to the central office. The street letter boxes in use by the Post Office Department are selected after open compet- itive bidding for a contract term of four years; but during that time the contractor is obliged, if the Department sees fit to ask it, to make improvements which seem to be of value. The box at present in use is considered clumsy and expensive by many, but it was selected from one hun- dred and forty designs as the best. There is no doubt that the recent competition among some sixteen hundred designs for house letter boxes, which was in progress under Postmaster General Wanamaker's direction for two years to find the best collection and delivery box, ANOTHER MAIL, DELIVERY CART USED IN CHICAGO. THE CARRIERS, THE SPRIGHTLY MEN IN GRAY. 239 has drawn much attention to the defects of the street letter box. The old letter box used to have a slot in the end. In the newirox the mail is dropped, as is well known, through a tray which opens down at one side of the top. But persons may be seen almost any time looking for the old slot at the end and wondering whither it has disappeared. A year ago, perhaps, a clever fellow came to the Department wi th- an estimate that the present United States mail system is responsible for one half of all the lies that are told; for, said he, when a man neglects to write to his dear lady, or a husband neglects to write to his dear wife, or an impecunious young man to his dear tailor, it is the custom for him to picture himself the pink of punctuality and to lay all the blame upon the mails. The clever fellow declared that a business man with a golden opportunity wanted him to become a partner in a scheme. He wrote a letter accepting the business man's proposition. He wrote the letter on Tuesday morning. The man sailed on Wednesday morning for Europe. He should have got the letter Tuesday after- noon, but he did not get it at all until he returned from Europe. The man had made arrangements in the meantime with another partner, and they made $5,000,000 together. The delay had been in the street letter box. The nickel-in-the-slot machine came out about that time, and the "check-on-liar " machine was soon devised. It is five feet six inches in height and two feet in diameter, and is meant to stand without the aid of a lamp post. There is a clock, which is guar- anteed to keep correct time, on its face. Back of this clock is the " check-on-liar " device. It operates after the fashion of all slot machines. The letter, falling in the slot, is stamped, and one knows where the letter was posted, the number of the box in which it was posted, the date of the month and the time of day and the year. The box is cumbersome, is use- less, perhaps; but it is thought by many that the time when all CHECK-ON-LIARS BOX. LETTER 240 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. mail matter is dropped will yet be recorded mechanically, so that more and more, all through the service, the exact responsibility for delays may be laid. With the advent of the house collec- tion box the need of the " check on liars " is practically removed, of course. There are funny things always coming to light with regard to the peculiar uses to which street letter boxes are put. An Indianapolis lover who was rejected by his sweetheart set fire to the contents of a letter box to prevent his rival from receiving favorable attention to a proposal. There are circumstances just as funny illustrating the uses to which the boxes are not put. A rural visitor in New York succeeded in causing a great stir in the neighborhood of Fourth Avenue and Twenty-Fourth Street. He wished to open up com- munication with home and accordingly prepared his letter. Instead, however, of putting it in a letter box, he opened a fire alarm box. The reply was prompt, unexpected and startling. A common, and yet a curious thing, is to find pennies, sometimes in large numbers, dropped in the ordinary street letter box. Very often a person wants to mail a letter and has not a stamp at hand ; what more simple than to drop a letter, along with a couple of pennies, into the nearest box, taking it for granted that the good-natured post- man will buy a stamp and go to the trouble of sticking it on. Again, a person mails a letter and remembers afterwards that he failed to stamp it, and, feeling a little doubtful about it, he goes back and drops a couple of coppers in. That would be all right if there were twice as many pennies collected as there are letters. But this is not the case. Many forget to stamp their letters and then fail to drop the two pennies into the box afterwards. So, the letters and money are brought to the post office and the pennies are carefully preserved and eventually transmitted to the Department. A Washington car- rier once collected $6 in three months in this way. There is more praise for the reliability of the carrier. And here it is : A Western lady complained to her postmaster that when she asked her carrier to take fifty cents to the post office and buy stamps for her he refused. " There is no law to compel the carrier to bring you stamps, madam, " said the postmaster, " but I am sorry he was not obliging enough to do it without being compelled." THE CARRIERS, THE SPRIGHTLY MEN IN GRAY, 241 The incident gave the postmaster an idea. He thought: "If we get our house door collection box, why can we not have an arrange- ment whereby people can drop a certain kind of envelope in the box enclosing money for stamps, which the carrier can bring back from the office on his return trip and drop in the box like any mail matter ? " "What's to prevent the carrier from pocketing the money and saying he never got it ? " was asked. "Nothing," replied the postmaster with the idea. "But what's to prevent the carrier from opening any letter? It is possible to go on the theory that every man is a thief until he is proved honest, but isn't it better to suppose every man is honest till he is proved guilty?" It is a feature of the house collection system that stamps may be obtained in this convenient way. DEAD LETTERS AND LIVE ONES. EARS ago, in one of the leading periodicals, a highly imaginative writer depicted the Dead Let- ter Office in the most sombre shades. The clerks were described as performing their duties with the solemn deliberation of a funeral director, while gloom and silencje reigned with oppressive weight through- out the shady domain. In the good old days "befo' the wah," when the postal system was less than half as large as it is now, the work per capita in this office was doubtless less exacting. To-day the Dead Letter Office is by no means a dead-and-alive place, but the busiest bureau of the entire Department. Many of the clerks, notably those at the open- ing table, are in the habit of measuring off their work by the clock, that not a moment may be wasted. The force of the office had not for several years been large enough to do its legitimate work without extra effort and occasionally extra hours of service; but now the work is always practically up to date, with no increase in the number of clerks, the natural result of careful supervision and a high degree of individual efficiency. Certainly no more earnest and faithful body of employees can be found in the public service than the one hundred and seven clerks of this office. Three have been connected with it more than, thirty years, Mrs. A. K. Evans, the first woman appointed in this bureau, Mr. A. F. Moulden, for many years in charge of the inquiry branch, and " Brother" D. S. Christie, a veritable father in Israel. The total number of errors in the transmission of mail matter in the United States is very small compared with the correct deliveries (for letters alone in the ratio of about one to three hundred and twenty-five) ; yet so long as the blundering public make voluntary contributions daily to this office of over 20,000 letters and packages, DEAD LETTERS AND LIVE ONES. 243 just so long will it be necessary for the Government to " exercise pater- nal functions " in the correction of those blunders, nine tenths of which are made by the people themselves. If those who use the mails would only be careful to observe a few simple requirements, trifles in themselves, but in the aggregate of vast importance, the work of the Dead Letter Office would soon be greatly reduced. If all letter writers would take the simple pains to place their names and addresses upon the envelopes, there would be few undelivered let- ters. Cultivation of the habit of scanning the address of the letter after it has been written would prevent nine tenths of the mistakes due to deficient or erroneous addresses. It is purely a matter of business habit and the remedy is the simplest. This habit would at least correct one absurdity, viz., the annual receipt by the Dead Letter Office of about 33,000 letters bearing no superscription what- ever, most of which are written by business men and contain enclosures of business value. There is no law or regulation to compel affectionate relatives to put their full names and addresses at the close of every letter, but if they would do this there would be a million and a half more letters restored to their owners every year. It is a mistaken idea, though a natural one, that the Dead Letter Office deals with dead letters only. All undeliverable letters fall into two classes, unmailable and unclaimed. The former, compris- ing about ten per cent., are not dead letters at all, but thoroughly alive, having never left the office of mailing until sent to the Dead Letter Office ; that is, they were not sufficiently prepaid, or were so incorrectly, insufficiently, or illegibly addressed that their destina- tions could not be ascertained. These unmailable, or "live," letters are always sent to the Dead Letter Office with a list, which is care- fully verified as it passes from one clerk to another. When possible the addresses of misdirected letters, both foreign and domestic, are corrected by interesting processes, to be described hereafter, and for- warded to destinations unopened. The larger number, however, are opened and subjected to the same treatment that dead letters receive. In the general disposition of all opened letters, whether unmailable or unclaimed, the first care is given to letters containing matter of value, all of which are properly classified and carefully recorded, with the view of supplying the necessary data with which to respond to future inquiry. Thus, in a single year, the office receives and 244 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. disposes of letters containing money amounting to nearly $50,000, ninety per cent, of which, without unnecessary delay, reaches the hands of the owners. Postal notes and negotiable paper of various kinds aggregate nearly two millions and a half annually, while the number containing various articles of merchandise, photographs, postage stamps and miscellaneous papers is, of course, vastly greater. The second class of undeliverable letters, the unclaimed, or "dead," comprise those letters that, being properly prepaid and legibly addressed, reach the office of destination, but are not taken out by addressees, although thoroughly advertised for the usual period of fifteen or thirty days, according to the size of the office. These letters are forwarded to the Dead Letter Office with the words, " advertised" and " unclaimed " clearly stamped upon every en- velope. This broad distinction of unmailable and unclaimed applies equally to packages, and in short to every form of undeliverable matter, excepting that which bears the address of the sender with or without special request for its return. The Inquiry Division is admirably conducted by Mr. Ward Bur- lingame, who was private secretary years ago to four western Gov- ernors and two senators, and one of the prominent newspaper men in Kansas. The general purpose of the Dead Letter Office is to deliver to owners, as promptly as possible, all valuable letters and parcels received ; so this division, though the smallest in clerical force, is of the first importance to the inquiring public, for here are con- ducted the correspondence and other business relating to missing mail matter. All applications are classified and recorded by a system of double entry, so to speak, one record making especially prominent the name of the applicant, while the other record begins with the name of the addressee, both entries giving the nature of the missing matter and the general character of the application. The applicant is, of course, promptly notified that his inquiry has been received and will have the necessary attention. Fully one half of the applications fail to give all the particulars indispensable to an intelligent search. Dates are frequently omitted, the character of the enclosures is imperfectly or not at all described, sometimes even the complete address of the letter or parcel sought for is omitted, and more frequently there is a failure to state whether the DEAD LETTERS AND LIVE ONES. 245 missing letter contained anything of value or not. Accordingly, a circular with searching questions, together with a leaflet containing useful information, is sent to the applicant, who learns that only letters containing valuable enclosures can be traced. All other let- ters not forwarded are opened and returned to writer, or, where the addresses of the writers are not given, are destroyed. Whenever it is shown that the letter or parcel inquired for contained matter of obvious value, and all other necessary data are furnished, search is made in the particular division to which this matter has been prop- erly distributed. If the missing letter or parcel has already been treated and disposed of, this fact, with all necessary particulars, is communicated to the applicant. When no satisfactory information can be found, and a loss is clearly shown, the case is then referred to the Chief Post Office Inspector for final treatment, and the appli- cant advised to this effect. This, of course, closes the case in its relation to the Dead Letter Office. By far the larger portion of the extensive correspondence necessary to the transaction of this busi- ness is conducted by means of printed circulars and notices, vari- ously modified as conditions may demand. There are, however, many exceptional cases, in which no printed form is found adequate, and therefore a large number of written communications are neces- sary. In correspondence with the postal administrations of foreign countries, and generally with individuals residing abroad, written communications are frequently employed. The Opening Division, Mr. C. P. Bourne, principal clerk, has only twenty clerks; but it receives, assorts, counts, opens ,and otherwise disposes of an average of 18,000 letters and parcels every day. This immense quantity of unclaimed mail from 68,000 post- offices, in weekly or monthly returns, finds its way first to the pass- ing table, where third and fourth class and foreign matter (and occasional errors of careless postmasters) are rapidly separated, and the dead letters are counted, tied up in bundles of one hundred each, and passed to the opening table. This is a long table, sub- divided into eight sections, each amply supplied with pigeon holes and other conveniences, and always furnished every morning with a formidable pile of dead letter bundles just received from the pass- ing table. The "letter-rip" division, as it is sometimes called, attracts much attention from visitors. Here, and at the unmailable 246 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. opening table near by, are the privileged few out of 65,000,000 American people who can legally open and search into other peo- ple's letters; and yet this liberty is subject to certain restrictions for absolute safety. These clerks may not be entirely dead to the sin of undue curiosity, but the volume and exceedingly monotonous character of the work would leave little time or inclination for culti- vating any closer familiarity with these letters than is absolutely necessary to the proper discharge of duty. THE DEAD LETTER OFFICE MUSEUM. The activity required of each clerk to open, examine, record valuable enclosures, and otherwise dispose of over 2,000 letters in about six hours, though not particularly obtrusive, is sufficient to attract much interest. Most people in opening a letter hold the envelope face down and sever the end with knife, finger, or scissors. This slow process is discarded the first day at the opening table. By one stroke of a keen blade the envelope is cut open lengthwise, under the flap, and, the knife still in hand, the letter is taken out, every fold carefully examined for possible enclosures and treated DEAD LETTEKS AND LIVE ONES. 247 accordingly. Thus, if any enclosure of obvious value is found in a letter, it is carefully recorded and separated from the ordinary letters for special treatment. If money is found, the amount is endorsed on the envelope, together with the date, name of opener, etc., and the same sum also entered, with name of addressee, in a small account book. The money itself, with the letter, is replaced within the envelope and turned in to the clerk in charge, who in turn, after having made proper record, transfers it to the Money Division for return to owner where possible. When nothing is found of suffi- cient value for record the envelope is placed within the sheet for possible aid to the address, and piled up with others of like charac- ter, to be carefully tied into a bundle labelled with the date of open- ing, name of opener, and number of letters, which is, of course, the original one hundred, less the eight or ten valuable letters taken out. These bundles are sent to the Returning Division for final treatment. Enclosures of obvious value, besides money, are money orders, postal notes, drafts, deeds, wills, mortgages, photographs, receipts, certificates, legal papers, postage stamps (if of the value of more than one two-cent stamp), small articles of property, etc., all of which are carefully recorded and returned to senders or delivered to parties addressed, as far as practicable without application. The general character of these enclosures remains about the same from year to year except in what used to be a very conspicuous item, namely, lottery tickets, the receipts of which have decreased in the past three years from over a thousand a month to a monthly average of fifteen. So much has been done in the past few years towards improving the general efficiency of the postal service that as a natural result actually less undeliverable matter was received at the Dead Letter Office during the year ending June 30, 1892, than for the previous year, although the volume of postal business had increased eight per cent., and the blundering public sent in its usual increased percentage of errors. Three years ago the increase of mail matter received at the Dead Letter Office was five per cent., two years ago four and three fourths per cent. Six, five and four years ago, respectively, the increased receipts were five, eleven and sixteen per cent. This gratifying exhibit is largely due to a very successful campaign of education. Two years ago a circular of suggestions to the public 248 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. was carefully prepared by the Dead Letter Office and sent to all the postmasters, through whose personal efforts it was published generally (and very generously) by the local press of the country. As aids to better delivery postmasters were encouraged in the work of compiling supple- mentary directo- ries. One post- master prepared a delivery directory of 18,000 names in a town where the latest gen- eral directory con- tained the names of 4,000 persons only. About a year ago the Dead Letter Office is- sued an enlarged edition of a very useful street di- rectory, containing nearly 800 pages of valuable infor- mation, systemati- cally arranged,con- cerning the names and extent of num- bering of all the avenues, streets, alleys, etc., in all the 474 towns where the free delivery was in operation when the book was published. Every postmaster of a free delivery office is supplied with a copy of this work for use in correcting the addresses of such letters and parcels as may reach his office, though evidently intended for delivery elsewhere, and the practical utility of this directory has been repeatedly demonstrated in the largely increased number of the deliveries. VALENTINES AND OTHER PRESENTS. DEAD LETTERS AND LIVE ONES. 249 There is something about whdt is technically known in the postal service as a " dead " letter that impresses an observer with a sense of duty well performed. Such a letter has been forwarded to its desti- nation fully addressed, the postmaster has used every effort to find the addressee, it has been properly advertised, marked " unclaimed, " as required by the regulations, and, failing of delivery, is sent to the Dead Letter Office ready for the knife of the opener. No such feel- ing of resignation can surround the letters handled in the Unmaila- ble and Property Division. Hither the carelessness of letter writers sends thousands of letters lacking in address or postage, and before the deadly opening knife is brought into requisition all known devices are used to deliver them unopened to their owners. For convenience all advertised dead letters are sent to the Open- ing Division for disposition, and all that are not advertised at the post offices to which they are directed, except registered letters, are sent to the Unmailable and Property Division, Mr. Charles N. Dalzell, principal clerk. The last-mentioned letters comprise, in addition to " held for postage, " " foreign short paid, " " misdirected, " " unaddressed" and " fictitious " letters, those which have been addressed to the care of hotels, colleges, or public institutions ; and being unclaimed by the addressees they are returned to the post offices of origin for restoration to the senders. These so-called hotel letters are not advertised because the unclaimed ones are usually addressed to persons only temporarily stopping at the places of destination and an advertisement would not, therefore, assist in delivery. Postmasters are required to send all letters not advertised to the Dead Letter Office, accompanied by lists giving a description of each and the reason of its non-delivery. These lists are carefully verified and are used as records of the contents or disposition of the matter which is enclosed with them. Take unadvertised letters in the order named. It is of interest to note the many causes of failure to deliver them and the careful treatment accorded them before an attempt is made to deliver them to the senders. If a letter is deposited in the mails, addressed to a post office in the United States, and no stamp has been affixed thereto, the postmaster at the mailing office is required to stamp it "held for postage," and to notify the person to whom it is addressed that on receipt of the necessary stamps it will be forwarded. It is 250 THE STOKY OF OUB POST OFFICE. then placed on file for a length of fime, limited by the regulations, to await a reply. If no remittance is received, the letter is listed and sent to the Department stamped "unclaimed." Many of these let- ters are addressed to well-known business concerns that practically refuse to receive mail matter on which postage is due, while some persons engaged in a fraudulent business, such as the "green goods " swindlers, resort to the practice of depositing unpaid letters, hoping THE OLD OFFICIAL RECORD OF VALUABLES RECEIVED FROM 1*7*76 TO 1787; MEDALS, MINIATURES AND MEDICINES. their victims will pay the postage due. Nevertheless, there is some- thing about a letter properly addressed, lacking only one thing essential to its delivery a stamp which may well cause some feeling of hesitancy before it is subjected to the knife. It will be observed that unpaid letters, addressed for delivery in the United States, are called "held for postage." If, however, an unpaid letter is mailed, addressed to a foreign country embraced in the Universal Postal Union, it is not detained, but forwarded to the country addressed, charged with double the deficient postage. DEAD LETTERS AND LIVE ONES. 251 If the country addressed is not in the Postal Union, and no stamp has been affixed, it is called a " foreign short paid " and sent-to the Dead Letter Office at once to be opened. The exceptions to this rule are letters directed to Canada, for, although letters addressed to that country are assimilated generally with letters in the domestic mails, yet if the persons addressed were notified by the postmasters throughout the country, the reply would in most instances be accom- panied by a foreign postage stamp, not available by the postmasters in payment of postage. To assist in the delivery of unpaid Canadian addressed letters the Dead Letter Office classifies them as " foreign short paid " and notifies the addressees of their deten- tion, an arrangement having been made with the Canadian postal administration for the reciprocal exchange of stamps collected from this source. Under the title of " misdirected letters " are included all letters upon which the postage has been paid, but which are so illegibly, insufficiently, or incorrectly addressed as to prevent their prompt delivery. Little does the writer know when he omits to add the name of the state for which his letter is intended, or, naming the state, gives the name of some hamlet or locality not honored with that title in the Postal Guide, how much work he entails on the postal service. Still more troublesome is the man who, in the hurry of the moment, addresses his letter so illegibly as to require trained experts to decipher the directions. The tired, overworked railway postal clerk puzzles his brain with these letters before they are con- signed to his assortment of " nixies " for division headquarters. The " nixie " clerks at the post offices examine Postal Guides and bulle- tins to complete what negligence has omitted, and although they deliver many thousands of incorrectly addressed letters, nearly half a million are sent annually to this division as undeliverable, because " there is no such office in state named, " or they are " insufficiently addressed " or "illegibly addressed." To be sure, they are only sent in when trained employees have failed to ascertain their destination; but still one more trial must be made before their contents are examined. To this work are assigned women peculiarly fitted by quickness of perception, education and long experience finally to revise the work of others who have tried in vain to correct the mis- takes of the senders. Two women in the Unmailable and Property 252 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. Division secured the delivery last year of over 55,000 of these let- ters, unopened, to the persons for whom they were intended. Con- sider the work involved. A letter is addressed to a person in "BeardstowD, Pennsylvania." There is no office of that name in the state. There is a place local- ly named "Bairds- town," but it is not a post office. The expert forwards the letter to B lairs ville post office, where it is delivered, for Blairsville is the nearest post office to Bairdstown, which, in this instance was misspelled "Beards- town." All this work is done to preserve letters in- violate and deliver them to owners in the condition in which they were mailed. The cor- rections are not MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, BANNERS, ETC. -, i ,1 letters themselves, but the entries on the lists are corrected to corre- spond, so that record may be had of the disposition of each letter thus forwarded. Over 30,000 letters are received yearly in the Unmailable and Property Division and entered under the heading "without address." They are not all, however, simply letters in envelopes bearing no directions, but include packets containing money found loose in the mails. Almost equally as careless as the man who forgets to place any address whatever on the envelope of a letter when it is posted is the one who puts copper, nickel, silver, or gold coins in a frail DEAD LETTERS AND LIVE ONES. 253 wrapper and consigns them for dispatch in the mails. Of course the coins cut the envelopes and drop out, some of them in the post- offices, and others in postal cars. Then often follow accusations of dishonesty or incompetency against employees of the service. This loose money is received in this division accompanied by little slips telling where and when it was found. Of fictitious letters there is a great variety, from those received at Christmas-time written by some sweet little believers in the good old superstition and addressed to "Santa Glaus," to the man who wants to meet an honest friend to tell him how to get rich at the expense of the Government, in other words, the dealer in " green goods," who has assumed a fictitious name for evil purposes. There are others simply addressed to initials, without box or street number. These cannot be delivered because the addressee cannot be identified. The undeliverable parcels received at the Dead Letter Office (and they are all sent to the Unmailable and Property Division for treat- ment except those originally registered) furnish a very fair sample of what the postal service carries for the million at reduced rates of postage. They embrace a most curious aggregation of almost every- thing. Business and sentiment run side by side. The whole range of domestic life finds full expression here : tiny little socks, deli- cately colored and ornamented; the juvenile necktie and the message-bearing valentine; the jewel box with its engagement ring; wedding cake in fancy boxes ; infant's apparel again; soothing syrup ; cholera mixture; little shrouds; coffin plates inscribed "at rest"; flowers from a grave, all come here when misdirected, unclaimed, with postage unpaid, without address, or not prepared for mailing in accordance with the regulations; and there are packs of playing cards, dice, gambling devices, instructions how to swindle, bi- chloride of gold, and pocket knives, samples of cloth, electro- types, surgical and dental instruments, to say nothing of live toads, snakes, beetles, or tarantulas. Here may be found the unpoetic washboard ; the capacious travelling sack ; the hat box ; the merci- less accordeon ; glass bottles and vials filled with every conceivable concoction ; photographs, probably the grossest of libels ; a stuffed alligator from the sunny South; objects given up by the sea from the wreck of the Oregon; fire crackers; fancy work of various 254 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. descriptions, wrought with patient assiduity by the tender hands of loved ones, perhaps long enrolled with the dead. The employees become quite indifferent to the sentimental value of the matter handled. The bundle of old letters tied with a ribbon is examined for the usually present finger ring and the last note bearing the address of the sender and saying, " I return herewith your let- ters ; all is over be- tween us," with as much business-like nonchalance as the sample of yarn or cloth and the mes- sage, " Will furnish these at so and so." The pair of woolen socks that " dear old mother knit for absent John " at- tract no particu- lar attention ; rath- er will the clerk pause for a second to tickle the horned toad from Texas found in the next packet, just to see if it is alive. Here the "fads" of the day may easily be recognized, the decline of the bustle in popular favor and the advent of suspenders for womankind; the jewelled snake as an ornament, following Bernhardt's "Cleopatra," only to give way to packets containing pins and rings made into bow knots or lover's knots. In books a deluge of "Ben Hurs " and "Robert Elsmeres " is followed by thousands of the paper-cov- ered kind. A CORNER IN ONE OF THE CASES. DEAD LETTERS AND LIVE ONES. 255 All parcels of merchandise are received in this division accom- panied by lists giving their full address, or, if they are without address, a brief description of their contents. The parcels and lists are numbered to correspond after the entries are verified. These numbers serve to identify each package with the records, as the lists are sent to the recording clerks, where they are entered in books indexed under the initial letter of each surname. The clerks engaged in the treatment of merchandise are furnished with sheets giving the number of the parcels delivered to them in numerical order. Their duties are to examine each package to ascertain the reason for its detention or non-delivery; to write a full description of the contents on the sheets furnished them ; to send the proper notice of detention either to the person addressed or to the sender with the request for a remittance sufficient to pay postage for the return or forwarding, and to send all parcels for which these notices have been sent and all which are to be placed on file because no clue to ownership can be ascertained, to the store rooms of the office to await reclamation. The sheets, endorsed with the number of each notice and the necessary descriptions of contents, are then delivered to the recording clerks for proper entries opposite their correspond- ing numbers on the records. If the varieties of causes which render parcels undeliverable are considered, some idea may be had of the necessity of good judgment, intelligence, and a thorough knowledge of the postal laws and regulations on the part of these employees. A large part of their work consists in treating parcels which senders have attempted to mail as gifts to friends residing abroad, without first ascertaining the rules and regulations to which such matter is subjected by the postal conventions. If it were generally known, that aside from printed matter, articles sent as gifts cannot be forwarded to foreign countries unless the postage is fully prepaid at the rate applicable to letters addressed to the countries of destination, or that, where a parcels post has been established with the country addressed, the technical requirements of the convention should be fully observed as to customs declaration, address of sender and payment of postage, fully 20,000 fewer parcels would be received yearly at the Dead Letter Office. Nearly ninety per cent, of these parcels contain arti- cles not absolutely forbidden transmission in the Postal Union mails, 256 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. and the addressees are requested by circular letters sent by the employees engaged on this work to furnish the address of the senders in the United States or to return the communications with a remit- tance sufficient to pay full foreign letter postage. Many of these foreign addressed parcels, however, contain articles of jewelry or such as are especially forbidden transmission in the mails abroad. The addressees in these cases are asked to furnish the ad- dress of the senders to enable the office to return the par- cels, or, if they so desire, to authorize them to be for- warded by express, charges to be paid on delivery. About ten per cent, of the parcels addressed to other countries are forwarded outside the mails in re- sponse to these re- quests. By careful treat- ment over 30,000 parcels sent to this office by postmas- ters as un deliver- able are annually restored to owners. There would be no need, however, for the labor involved, nor any necessity for filing the large number which cannot be delivered, if each sender would take the precaution to request by endorsement on the wrapper the return of the parcel to him in the event of its nondelivery; for while third and fourth class matter requires the payment of additional postage for its return, it will be returned upon request direct to the sender at the PICTUltES AND BIRTHDAY REMEMBRANCES. DEAD LETTERS AND LIVE ONES. 257 expiration of the time named in such request, or, if no time be named, at the expiration of thirty days, subject to the payment of the necessary postage. In addition to the addressed parcels there are received at the "D. L. O." about 17,000 articles annually which have been found without wrappers in the mails. If a little less negligence were used in wrapping and tying parcels containing third and fourth class mat- ter, there would be less cause for complaint of the loss of valuable matter in the mails. Many of the articles received were doubtless enclosed in wrappers properly addressed at the time of posting, but others were evidently deposited without any effort to wrap or direct them. A few years ago a very handsome gold watch was sent in from a Western city, with the statement that it had been found without a wrapper in a street letter box in the seventh ward of that city. The postmaster stated that the finding of this watch had been thoroughly advertised, but no clue to the owner had been ascer- tained. The daily papers had commented on the matter, one of them advancing the theory that a pickpocket, closely pursued by an officer, had dropped the watch in the letter box to get rid of the evidence of his crime. A rival paper, however, ridiculed the idea thus advanced, saying that it was ridiculous to presume that a police officer in that city ever closely pursued a thief; rather, knowing the peculiarities of the residents of the seventh ward, should it be sup- posed that some trusting wife had given her husband a letter to mail.. En route for the mailing he had encountered a friend, then another friend, and yet still others, until, leaning heavily against a lamp post, with a confused idea of an errand to perform for his wife, he dropped his watch in the letter box and walked valiantly home with the letter in his pocket! Complaints of the loss of parcels deposited in the mails are referred to the recording clerks, who, in addition to entering the address, description of contents, and disposition of all articles received, are required to ascertain from the records whether any trace can be found of the detention of parcels for which inquiry is made. If found, the complaint is endorsed with the letter and number of the entry and sent to the store rooms with notices of detention which have been returned with remittances for postage. In the store rooms the parcels applied for are taken from the file cases and sent, 258 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. with all correspondence relating thereto, to the mailing clerk, who restores them to the owners. A memorandum of this disposition is then delivered to the recording clerks, who make the proper entries. The store rooms consist of two large apartments fully provided with suitable cases. On one side of these apartments all parcels for which circular letters of deten- tion have been sent are arranged al- phabetically ,while on the other side those which fur- nish no clew to the proper address of either sender or addressee are sim- ilarly arranged. About 80,000 par- cels are constant- ly stored in these rooms. It is nec- essary, in appli- cations lor any of these packages, that the full ad- dress of both the sender and the ad- dressee be given, together with a description of the contents and the date of mailing, as they are recorded under the initial letter of the surname of the person addressed and entered from day to day as they are received at the office. The number on file is so large that without explicit information it is impossible to identify them, and delay in restoring them to applicants is often caused by want of sufficient data con- tained in applications. A case occurred recently, where a resident of a Western city applied for a missing set of false teeth. He .did not furnish the exact date of mailing, and there were sent to the postmaster at his office several sets of teeth found about the time GROUPS OF REVOLVERS ; OTHER INSTRUMENTS MORE PEACEFUL, IN CHARACTER. DEAD LETTERS AND LIVE ONES. 259 mentioned in his application. They were all returned to the office, accompanied by an indignant communication from the complainant, stating that the teeth sent to him were " just common Texas store teeth and could not by any possibility belong to so refined a mouth as mine." With the correct dates a further search was made and the missing parcel was delivered to its owner. Sometimes foreign addressees, not understanding the reason for the detention of parcels addressed to them, are unjustly impa- tient at the delay. A few years ago a parcel containing infant's clothing, addressed to a woman missionary in Africa, was de- tained, and in reply to the notice sent to her of its detention, she wrote angrily: " The child for whom these garments were intended has not yet been eaten by the cannibals, but has quite outgrown them, and they may be returned to the sender, whose address I enclose." All addressed matter remaining in the store rooms for a period of two years, and all matter without address on file over six months, is sold annually. Many of the parcels contain small articles of insuffi- cient value to be sold separately. Indeed, so great is the number to be prepared, nearly 45,000, and the proportionate value so small, it has been found necessary to include the contents of several parcels as originally mailed in one package for the sale, their identity being preserved, as required in the regulations, by recording their original number as entered in the indexed records, when first received. The average proceeds of each parcel at the sale are about sixty cents, and it is attempted to include articles of at least that value in each sales package. The original wrappers are removed from the parcels and new ones substituted, upon which are endorsed a brief description of the contents. This description is entered in a sales book, which is used by the auctioneer, and from a copy of the entries in this book the catalogues furnished to purchasers are printed. It has been found inexpedient to expose the contents of these parcels at the time of sale, because they consist of so many articles that, in a crowded auction mart, they would become separated and lost, while too much time would be consumed by the purchasers in examining them. The description in the catalogue is therefore relied upon to furnish sufficient information to enable a person to make an intelligent esti- mate of the value of what he is buying. The descriptions are made 260 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. as brief and plain as possible, but the variety of articles is so great, ranging from plasterers' tools, plumbing materials, kitchen utensils, watchmaker's findings and jewelry, to all kinds of women's wear- ing apparel and men's furnishings, that occasionally odd and humorous misdescriptions are made. After the parcels are properly prepared for sale the government invokes the intervention of professional auctioneers, and submits its miscellaneous col- lection to the eager competition of bar- gain hunters. The sale takes place in December, prior to the holidays, and usually exhibits many of the stir- ring characteristics of that interesting season, when the accumulation of to- kens of good-will and affection, and their proper distri- bution, engross so large a share of popular attenti on . About a week is required to dispose of the stock, and during this period the auction mart is thronged, day and evening, with good-natured but earnest people, women usually pre- dominating, who, apparently undismayed by previous disappoint- ments, seem to be impressed with the conviction that articles of great commercial value, or at least of superior artistic attractiveness, are included in the mass of matter upon which the Department asks them to submit their estimates. Many of the articles are confided SKULL, HARNESS AND TRAPPINGS. DEAD LETTERS AND LIVE ONES. 261 to the mails in a manner contravening the law, and, it is to be feared, with the express purpose of defrauding the postal reve- nues. The enclosure of articles with newspapers or other printed matter, without adequate postage, is the cause of a large number of failures of delivery, the offence in these cases insuring its own punishment; and in general there would be little occasion for these sales, if the public heeded the injunctions of the postal regu- lations. In the Money Division, Mr. A. T. McCallum, principal clerk, are treated all letters and parcels that, having been opened in other divisions, have been found to contain money and papers of monetary value, such as postal notes, money orders, checks, drafts, deeds, etc. All of this matter is carefully verified and receipted for as it passes from one clerk to another. These letters are entered in index records for ready reference, the arrangement being alphabetical as to the initial letter of the surname of the addressee. The entry embraces a complete description of the letter, its contents, and final disposition. When the address of the writer is found, the letter is at once forwarded under cover to the postmaster, who then becomes responsible for it, and upon de- livery must return a receipt for it to the Money Division. Letters addressed to foreign countries containing coin are unmailable, and find their way to this division to be returned to writer with a cir- cular explaining the reason for detention. On the failure of a post- master to return either the letter or a receipt at the expiration of thirty days, a circular of inquiry is sent to him. When letters that have failed of delivery by this process are returned to the office, they are still further examined for some possible clew, such as the name of a person or place where further inquiry may be made ; and perhaps another attempt is made to deliver. Letters which cannot be restored to owners are kept on file for three months, when the money is separated and delivered to the Third Assistant Post- master General for deposit in the United States Treasury. The letter is carefully filed and, with its original money contents, may be reclaimed within four years. All money realized from the annual sale of unclaimed articles is also received by this division and turned over to the Third Assistant's office for deposit in the treasury. 262 THE STOKY OF OUR POST OFFICE. The receipts of the Money Division are greatly increased through the attempted fraud of persons claiming to deal in counterfeit money. Letters addressed to these dealers in "green goods" are withheld from delivery as soon as their fraudulent purpose is known, and sent to the Dead Letter Office as fictitious. A peculiarity of this class of letters is the failure of any attempt to deliver them to the writer, although they contain a considerable amount of money, the enclosures ranging from five to fif- ty dollars per let- ter. The senders refuse to receive them when they are returned to the post offices, doubt- less fearing crim- inal prosecution. This fear is in a measure ground- less, because at any time before deliv- ery the contents of a sealed letter can- not be used as evi- dence against an offender in a crim- inal action ; but subsequent to de- livery, if the let- ter, were found in the possession of the sender, bearing evidences of its having been conveyed in the mails, it might, perhaps, be used as evidence; and the fear of some such mishap may account for the failure of owners to reclaim such letters. The money found loose in the mails is restored to owners usually upon recommendations received from post office inspectors who trace POLYGLOT SHEET, CONTAINING LORD'S PRAYER, SO- CALLED DYNAMITE MACHINE, ETC. DEAD LETTERS AND LIVE ONES. 263 and identify it as belonging to letters, the loss of which has been a subject of complaint to them. A few years ago a lady in a Western hotel gave the bell boy a package of money to pay her bill at the clerk's desk. In a moment of thoughtlessness he deposited it in the mail. It was sent to the Dead Letter Office, without address, and subsequently restored to the owner, but not until accusations of dis- honesty had resulted in the bell boy's loss of employment, and in serious doubts of the integrity of the clerk. The care with which letters are handled in this division is illustrated by the frequent delivery of this class of letters to owners who have supplied the Chief Post Office Inspector with full particulars and data con- cerning their loss. The following table shows the number of letters restored to owners during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1892, or in course of restora- tion, with the character and value of contents : DESCRIPTION. NUMBER. VALUE. Letters containing money restored to owners 16,004 $28,144.57 Letters containing money outstanding in the hands of post- masters for restoration to owners 1,600 4,761.66 Number of letters containing drafts, checks, notes, money- orders, etc., restored to owners 27,190 1,138,873.10 Number of letters containing drafts, checks, notes, money- orders, etc., outstanding in the hands of postmasters for restoration to owners 1,347 153,882.94 Number of letters containing postal notes restored to owners 2,987 4,443.23 Number of letters containing postal notes outstanding in the hands of postmasters for restoration to owners . 429 676.51 The amount of revenue derived from dead mail matter during the year and delivered to the Third Assistant Postmaster General for deposit in the treasury is shown by the following statement : Amount separated from dead letters that could not be restored to owners $12,423.85 Amount realized from auction sale in December, 1890, of parcels of merchandise which could not be restored to owners 3,498.33 Total $15,922.18 All valuable enclosures of relatively minor importance to money and negotiable paper are referred to the Minor Division, in charge of Miss A. R. Thurlow. This division, with its seventeen women 264 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. clerks, disposes of all letters containing postage stamps, photo- graphs, unsigned deeds, wills, contracts, paid notes, business papers, etc., etc., with substantially the care and system of the Money Division. Another important work is performed. "Hotel" and "ficti- tious " letters, opened in the Unmailable Division, are received here, with their accompanying lists, verified, returned when possible, or forwarded, or destroyed. The disposition of the letter in every case is recorded in alphabetical lists for future reference. Blank letters, or those bearing no superscription whatever, are entered with special care to facilitate search when application is made. Held-for-postage letters, addressed to Canada, are numbered and recorded, and a circular notice of the amount of post- age due is sent to the addressee. If not applied for in thirty days, they are listed and sent to the Opening Di- vision for ordinary treatment. Other foreign short paid letters are either returned to the writer or filed, and in the latter case if not called for with- in one year, they are destroyed. This division also receives from post- masters all stamps found loose in the mails. These "shed stamps, " together with the stamps found in letters that cannot be returned, are pasted upon sheets, THE BLOOD-STAINED MAIL POUCH ; CHRISTMAS PRESENTS. DEAD LETTERS AND LIVE ONES. 265 decorated with the cancelling brush, and turned over monthly to the stamp committee (three employees deputed to destroy stamps) to be destroyed. Canadian stamps are sent to Canada in regular exchanges for United States stamps that have accumu- lated there. All unclaimed magazines, miscellaneous publications, illustrated papers, picture cards, etc., etc., are, by order of the Postmaster General, regularly distributed among the inmates of the various hospitals, asylums, and other charitable institutions in the District of Columbia. The number and character of the matter distributed during the year ending June 30, 1892, were: Magazines, 2,003; pamphlets, 4,025; illustrated papers, 4,062; picture cards, etc., 5,510; or a total of 15,600. The amount of postage stamps received in the Dead Letter Office from the sources named, and destroyed under proper supervision during the year ending June 30, 1892, was $1,088. 22. The Returning Division, Miss Harriet Webber, principal clerk, originally extended over a wider jurisdiction than at present, having since transferred some of its functions to the Money, Unmailable, and Minor Divisions. Notwithstanding such reductions this branch is still the largest in the office, having on its roll, besides the chief and her assistant, thirty clerks, most of them women, a skilled employee to seal the letters, and two female messengers to collect the papers, keep rooms and desks in order, and distribute to the clerks the bundles of letters that have come directly from the open- ing table. It will be remembered that these packages contain ordinary letters without valuable enclosures, and often do not reach the returning desks for several days after the opening process. Each returning clerk is charged with the number of letters received, and at the close of every day reports the number returned to writers and the number of those destroyed. It is the practice to return all letters containing legible address and signature, all notices of meet- ings, and all wedding cards, while printed matter, business cards, and mere advertisements are thrown into the waste basket. The clerks are supplied with all the facilities for their work, such as the official Guide, directories of all the large towns, foreign directories, church annuals, lists of scientific societies, and all military and naval sta- tions, Indian agencies, and lighthouse stations. With the utmost 266 THE STORY OF OUB POST OFFICE. care less than forty per cent, of these letters reach the writers. The average clerk will handle about seven hundred a day and return two hundred and fifty. Very swift returners will dispatch over three hundred a day, but this rate is exceptional and cannot be prolonged without undue nervous strain. It is curious to observe the large number of carefully written letters that bear no more definite address than " Your loving sister, Nell ; " " Affectionately, Dick ;" " Cousin Frank;" "Your devoted mother," etc., etc. Such letters, though possessing much sentimental importance, must necessarily be thrown away for the lack of proper care on the part of the writer. The in- timate connection between this and the Opening Di- vision is sometimes a reciprocal one, for, while the usu- al current of work Hows toward the returning branch, should the openers by chance over- look anything of value hidden away in the fold of a let- ter, the returning clerks are sure to discover it and send it back to the opening table for proper treatment. This was the first division in the Post Office Depart- ment ever assigned to a woman. About the For- eign Division, Miss Clara M. Richter, principal clerk, compara- tively little is known by the general public. Apart from the STAR FISHES, SNAKES IN ALCOHOL, CONFEDERATE MONEY AND POSTAGE STAMPS, OLD MAIL POUCHES, CROCODILES, MINERALS, ETC. DEAD LETTERS AND LIVE ONES. 267 main office in a corner room wholly inadequate is performed a most important work, requiring a high degree of aptness and general information. Here are conducted all the mail exchanges with foreign countries, the correction and forwarding of mis- directed foreign letters, all necessary translations for the entire office, and a complete system of record books, by which every valu- able letter or parcel received can be quickly found and its postal history easily traced. All matter treated in the Foreign Division is readily divided into two classes, foreign and domestic. The former consists of all mail matter of foreign origin, which, failing of delivery, is, of course, sent to the Dead Letter Office. The latter, or foreign addressed, includes all letters and parcels sent from the United States to for- eign countries and proving undeliverable there, are returned to this country in accordance with existing regulations of the Universal Postal Union. Of the former class 609,747 pieces were received during the year ending June 30, 1892, and of the latter class, 293,608 pieces; a total of 902,995. Observe the rapid development of this division since Miss Richter became its chief in 1879. Then the total receipts of undelivered matter from all sources amounted to 265,202 pieces. The countries and colonies with which exchanges of undelivered matter were made in 1879 numbered forty-seven; now there are eighty-six, besides numerous small colonies and dependencies of Great Britain, France, Portugal, and Spain, which receive their undelivered matter through the medium of the mother country. This very great difference is caused primarily by the reduction of postage to foreign countries since the formation of the Universal Postal Union, the increase in immigration, and the general development of the country. The marked increase in registered matter for Austria since 1879 is in the ratio of 5,877 to 46,830. The number of registered pieces sent to Russia in 1879 was 103 ; in 1892, it is 1,823; while the ordinary let- ters numbered 2,451 in 1879, and 53,220 in 1892. The work of this division increased rapidly during the five years following 1879, and since then its growth has been steady, but not so fast. Then it was comparatively easy for one clerk, with the occasional assistance of another, to handle the matter sent to this division for treatment. Now it requires the constant application of five clerks to do the DEAD LETTERS AND LIVE ONES. 269 work. The increase in receipts is not the only factor causing more work, since much labor has been added in the methods of treatment, such as the more careful examination of matter received, the greater efforts made to supply corrections of addresses on misdirected or insufficiently addressed matter, more elaborate records of parcels returned to country of origin, and of applications received for miss- ing matter, more numerous calls from other divisions for translations of foreign addresses, improved treatment of card and request letters, and more thorough searches for matter supposed to have been sent to the Dead Letter Office. Records are kept of all applications for missing matter supposed to 4 have reached the Foreign Division and of all matter found and forwarded to applicants. During the past year 10,224 letters and parcels were forwarded to corrected addresses, instead of being engulfed in the mighty stream of " dead matter. " The correction of addresses, or "blind reading," of the Foreign Division commands admiration because the usual perplexities are still further complicated in the guise of foreign superscriptions. Foreigners often adapt the sense to the sound and write such expres- sions as "Poniprehri" for the two words Pawnee Prairie, "Sonngu- onque " for Suncook, " Chinchichi " for Kankakee, " Provenctao " for Provincetown, and " S. X., Pitsco," for Essex, Page County. Letters are frequently advertised in large cities for " Vescovo, 111.," when no suggestion of Illinois was in the mind of the writer, but a very respectful form of address to a most reverend bishop. Another similar address is " Eveque, Monsr. Rev." Such letters come regu- larly to the Foreign Division for return to country of origin and are, of course, regularly forwarded to the worthy prelates for whom they were intended. An Italian, supposing that New York embraced the whole country, once confidingly addressed a letter to Chicago, New York, adding " Dove si trove " (wherever he may be found). Foreigners frequently prefer their own version to the official names of our post offices, and accordingly direct letters to " Daie Verte " for Green Bay, " Suerno Verde " for Greenhorn, and " Cayo Hueso " for Key West. The number of ordinary foreign letters now received varies from eight hundred to three thousand or more daily. They are counted, carefully examined as to previous treatment, and if worn in transit, 270 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. officially sealed, distributed according to country of origin if found to be "dead," and returned to respective postal administrations with letters of transmittal. Third and fourth class matter is recorded if of apparent value. Ordinary printed matter, such as newspapers, business circulars and notices, is returned without record to all countries except Canada, Great Britain, Germany, Switzerland, and the South and Central American Republics, only the number sent being indicated on the letter of transmittal. Registered matter, after having been receipted for on the general registered record of the Dead Letter Office, is then examined and carefully distributed according to country of origin. The letters for each country are entered in alphabetical order, together with the original register number and the number of the Dead Letter Office record, in the books provided for that purpose. A comparison of these two records is made and a copy is sent with the registered letters either direct to the postal administration of country of origin or to the New York exchange office. The latter supplies to the Dead Letter Office all the details of forwarding, which are kept on file in this division. The foreign matter received from the Unmailable Division is treated according to its character ; that is, hotel, fictitious, and lottery let- ters are returned to country of origin, as with ordinary unclaimed letters, while misdirected letters are subjected to the careful exami- nation just referred to, in order to find possible owners for them on this side of the water. The second grand division of mail matter treated in the Foreign Division is the "foreign addressed," or that originating in this country and sent to foreign addresses, and failing of delivery returns to this office. All this matter is carefully verified by the accompanying letter of transmission and the registered portion is handed to the clerk in charge of the register section. Letters bear- ing upon the envelope the address of sender, with or without request for its return, and those having " new address " in this country are sent under cover to the postmasters of their respective destinations for delivery to owners. All remaining letters are turned over to the opening Division as ordinary unclaimed matter. The number thus sent out averages 3,500 monthly, effecting considerable economy in time as well as clerical work, since all of these letters are saved from the opening table and possible destruction. It has proved DEAD LETTERS AND LIVE ONES. 271 necessary to forward such letters under cover, because, when sent in open mail, like ordinary card letters, they are frequently sent again to first address, notwithstanding the stamp, "Return to writer," placed on each letter of this class. The receipt of all dispatches of undeliverable matter returned to the Dead Letter Office is entered in the record kept for this purpose and due acknowledgment made to the postal administration. Dispatches of this class are received weekly from Canada, England and France. The exchange offices on the continent make up semi-weekly dispatches, but do not send letters of advice with them. Italy, Portugal and Spain send at irregular intervals. Mexico may send unclaimed matter twice a day for a week, and then postpone further operations for a month. The Pacific colonies send regular monthly returns, while the South American Republics send whenever the accumulation of unclaimed matter is sufficiently large. Among the many notable exhibits in the national capital there is, perhaps, no room of equal size that contains so many curious and interesting articles as may be seen in the Dead Letter Office museum. With the exception of two old mail pouches, carefully preserved for their ninety years of faithful service, all of the articles in the cases passed through the United States mails and were found to be unmailable, misdirected, short paid, without address, or without the name of sender. The articles have been deposited here for a two-fold purpose, not only to interest the casual visitor, but to call attention to the unmailable character of many things thrown into the mails. A person mailing a piece of fancy work in a thin wrap- per might well complain if in the same pouch were deposited a hand saw, a bottle of alcohol containing snakes, loaded pistols, dirks, friction matches, etc., which would either obliterate the address or so mutilate the wrapper as to separate it from its contents. Many of the minerals found here were addressed to foreign countries, but, being in excess of the limit of weight prescribed, they could not be forwarded unless the postage were paid at the rate of five cents per half ounce. As neither the names of senders nor the deficient post- age could be secured from the addressees, the parcels were held two years and finally turned into the museum. A large number of cocoons are received by the Dead Letter Office. The owners are notified of their detention, but in many cases there r -^ i DEAD LETTERS AND LIVE ONES. 273 is considerable delay in responding to these notices and interesting results follow. Not long ago one of the file cases in the store room of the office was left open for a short time, when to the surprif^e -of the clerks the room was soon filled with a swarm of large and brilliant butterflies. A box of cocoons had been accidentally exposed a few minutes to the light. In one of the cases may be seen a large sheet containing the Lord's prayer beautifully inscribed in fifty-four languages. Just below is a piece of mechanism that the average guide delights in calling a dynamite ma- chine, though it is really nothing but an innocent, old-fashioned bank marker. A tragic memento of the Indian- question appears in a blood-stained pouch, tell- ing the oft-repeated story of danger and death in the faithful performance of duty. A brief account of the tragedy is affixed to the pouch. On July 23, 1885, F. N. Petersen, mail carrier between Crittenden and Lochiel, Arizona, while on his return trip to the latter place, was killed by the Apaches. After murdering the carrier, the Indians cut open the pouches and entirely destroyed the mail and also two of the pouches, leaving this one bespattered with the blood of their victim. There is a large skull in the collection, which was addressed several years ago to Prof. S. D. Gross of Philadelphia and refused by him on account of the excessive postage due, as it had been sealed against inspection and was entitled to regular letter rates, which amounted to more than three dollars. A specimen of Guiteau's hair is seen with this inscription : This contains my hair. Charles J. Guiteau. THE ALBUM OF OLD SOLDIEKS' PICTURES. 274 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. Accompanying this was a request for the modest sum of $1,000 to aid in the compensation of his counsel. Another contribution from his pen soliloquizes as follows : She's my darling from this day you will surely die for the murder of James A. Garfield on the scaffold high, my name 'tis Charles J. Guiteau, my name I will never deny, too leave my aged parents in sorrow for to die how little did they think while in my youthful bloom, would be taken from the scaffold to meet my fattle doom. The eight pistols and revolvers so artistically arranged in one of the cases are described as having come through the mails, all loaded and still in possession of their deadly contents, but only one was loaded when it was deposited in the mails, and that the lowest in the group, is an old-fashioned "pepperbox" of six barrels. This was sent to a young lady supposed to be living in Springfield, 111. Failing of delivery, it was forwarded to Havana, in the same state, and thence to the Dead Letter Office. Strange to say, in all of these changing conditions of postal treatment not a single barrel was relieved of its contents, even in the process of opening in the Property Division of the Dead Letter Office. Here may be seen the official "record of all valuable letters in the Dead Letter Office " from 1777 to 178 8, covering forty-four pages and three hundred and sixty-five entries. Among its other curiosities is a card showing one hundred variations in spelling the word "Chicopee," as received at the Boston post office, sand thrown up by the Charleston earthquake, Confederate money and postage stamps, crocodiles, rag babies, patent medicines, coffee pots, wash boards, medals, musical instruments, horned toads, harnesses, hat boxes, hoes, gripsacks, etc. Some time ago the residence of a prominent citizen of West Rox- bury, Mass., was entered and among the articles stolen were two miniatures prized as family relics. Six years afterwards a daughter visited this museum, and to her surprise found the missing minia- tures. The records of the office showed that an envelope, without an address, containing the miniatures, was dropped into one of the mail boxes at Boston a night or two after the robbery, and in ordinary course of treatment was sent to the Dead Letter Office. The right to the property being clearly proved, it was of course immediately delivered to the family. DEAD LETTERS AND LIVE ONES. 275 A large portfolio in one corner of the room contains thousands of photographs and tintypes of old soldiers taken during the war. Many of these had accumulated, and soon after the close of the war, by order of Third Assistant Postmaster General Zevely, they were taken out of the store room, mounted on large cards, and placed on exhibition in the museum in the hope that an occasional visitor might be able to identify and restore some picture of value to the family connections. A few years ago these cards again found their way to the store room to be finally rescued by the Chief of the Minor Division, through whose patriotic interest and personal efforts the photographs were cleaned, many of them remounted, and in a new portfolio were again placed on exhibition. Descriptive lists have been advertised in the journals of the Grand Army of the Republic, and in various ways many of these pictures have reached the families for which they were originally intended. The Superintendent of the Dead Letter Office is Capt. D. P. Leibhardt, who was born in Milton, Ind., in November, 1844. He enlisted for the war when he was under seventeen ; and he served /^ ^\ four years and three months, and jjjfa ~<<&tm** ^\ came out the quartermaster of his brigade. His business interests have been the manufacture of farm- ing implements. He had charge for years of the correspondence of | a large manufacturing firm, and j came to be considered one of the most expert accountants in all that \ country; and as a business corre- ||j spondent, and in the grasp of busi- ness forces, his abilities were clearly of an exceptionally high order. This peculiar training, and his orig- inality and steady application, es- pecially fitted him for the duties of Superintendent of the Dead Letter Office. He is at his desk from eight in the morning until six at night, and for a period of three years took only two days' vacation. His work, and the work CAPT. D. P. LIEBHAKDT, Superintendent, Dead Letter Office. 276 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. of the force under him, has never been equalled for intelligence and push. Capt. Leibhardt is enthusiastic in the postal work, devoted to duty, and thorough, even to minor details, in all he under- takes. The Chief Clerk, Mr. Waldo G. Perry, has had an experience of nearly thirty years in Dead Let- ter Office work and is thorough- ly identified with its growth ; for superintendents have come and gone, but he has remained, giving permanence to many important reforms and contributing in no small degree to the present stand- ards of excellence. He entered the office in 1865 and took charge of the Foreign Division. He was later in charge of the Unmailable Division and when the office be- came a separate bureau, Mr. Perry was made chief clerk. He is a Vermonter, a graduate of the Yale Law school, and a man of great originality and information. MB. WALDO G. PEBBY, Chief Clerk, Dead Letter Office. ESTABLISHING OFFICES; APPOINTMENTS. HE establishments of post offices originate in the office of the Fourth Assistant Postmaster General, Mr. Estes G. Rathbone. The application for the establishment of a new office is made, in a great ma- jority of cases, by ordinary petition. The Depart- ment has blank petitions, which are furnished up- on application. These are usu- ally called for by some one representing the commun- \ ity in which the office is to Sk \ be located, and is signed by those who will be pa- trons of the office, in the *& >-'$'*& W event of its establishment. I .m* No definite number of j ^A; names is required; though \ the character of the peti- Bj| tion often has much to do * with its favorable consid- \ ^tjjfL eration at the Department. / All sorts of forms are used by petitioners. Some ask for the office in very few words; others go into de- tails and give nearly all the points which have to be MR ' ESTES G ' Fourth Assistant Postmaster General. known before an order is made for the establishment. One of the first things inquired into in connection with establishing a new office is its distance from 277 278 THE STOKY OF OUR POST OFFICE. other offices already in operation.. If on a railroad, the intervening distance is sometimes reduced to one mile, especially if there is a station where a number of people would be benefited by an office. In the country away from railroads a rule is in force requiring the new location to be at least two miles away from any other office. This rule, however, must necessarily be flexible. A natural obstruc- tion would make a difference in this distance. For instance, a river which is not easily fordable, or a hill, or a small mountain, would be reason enough for disregarding the limit referred to. Upon the receipt of an application for a new office the Department at once furnishes the person who is proposed for postmaster with certain blanks which are to be filled out giving definite information upon many different questions. The section, township and range (where a country has been surveyed), and the county, state, or terri- tory, of course, are first given. If it is on a mail route already in operation, that is given, together with the number of the route and the terminal points of it. Also is given the number of times a week the mail is then carried over this route. The question is answered whether the new office will be directly upon the new route, and if not, how far from it. If the office is not upon a route, and is too far from one to make a change in it so as to have the carrier reach the new office, it is then supplied by what is known at the Department as "special supply." When this service is named, the office already in operation, from which the new office will be supplied, is named and is called the supply office. Special offices, however, are not supplied at the expense of the Government. The postmaster has to furnish his own supply until such time as the new office develops business enough to warrant the Government in appropriating a sufficient amount to fur- nish the supply. Meantime the carrier is allowed an amount equal to two thirds of the compensation of the postmaster. This compen- sation is regulated by cancellations. Other conditions which have to be given are the name of the office nearest to the proposed one on the one side and its distance. The postmaster is also to give the same facts with reference to the office on the other side ; and he gives the name of the most prominent river or creek, and the distance which the proposed office will be from either. The name of the nearest railroad is required, if the office is near enough to be in any way affected by the railroad. If the new ESTABLISHING OFFICES; APPOINTMENTS. 279 office is on a railroad, the information must be given on which side of the road the office will be located and how near the trackj and also what is, or will be, the name of the railroad station. If the office is located within eighty rods of the station, the mails are car- ried to and from the station by the railroad company. Should the location be more than eighty rods from the station, the office is sup- plied by the mail messenger service, which is to be paid for by the Department. If it is in a village, the number of inhabitants is to be stated as nearly as possible. In any event the population to be supplied by the new office must be given. A diagram, or a sketch from a map, is also usually required, showing the exact location of the office. This diagram is furnished in blank on the back of the location paper, as it is called. These facts all have to be certified to by the proposed postmaster, and also by the postmaster at the nearest office already in operation. If, however, such a postmaster, for personal or other reasons, declines to make such certificate, the Department uses its own discretion in establishing the office. A great many offices are asked for, especially in southern portions of the country, which apparently have for their object a reduction of the compensation of an office already in operation. This seems to be for the purpose of retaliating where a man objectionable to the community has been appointed postmaster at an old office. By an objectionable man is meant one who may be competent, but who for personal or political reasons is not acceptable. After the Post- master General inaugurated the country free delivery, the number of applications for new offices seemed to increase. This was probably for the reason that action could not be taken promptly upon a proposition for such service, and it awakened an interest upon the part of the people for better facilities than they already had; and a liberal number of offices would be the next best thing to free delivery. After an application has been made for a new office and the loca- tion papers returned, the Department considers all the information which has been furnished and passes upon the advisability of estab- lishing the office. The policy of the present administration of the Department in the matter of new offices has been to deny very few applications. If the office does not promise to be of much import- ance, the petition is usually all the evidence required, both as to the establishment and the appointment of a postmaster. In estab- (No. 1142.) Jg^g^to all communications to this. Department oe careful to give the name of your Office, County, and State. Office OFFICE OF THE FOURTH ASSISTANT POSTMASTER GENERAL, Sir: The POSTMASTER GENERAL has established a Post Office by the name of ,in the County of ....... -.. and State of.. ...and appointed you POSTMASTER thereof, in which capacity you will be authorized to act t upon complying with the following requirements: 1st To execute the inclosed bond, and cause it to be executed by two sufficient sureties, in the presence of suitable witnesses; the sufficiency of the sureties to be officially certified by a duly qualified magistrate. 2d. To take nd subscribe the oath or affirmation of office inclosed, before a duly qualified magistrate, who will certify the same; also, to appoint an assistant, who must take the usual oath, to be returned with yours to me. 3d. To exhibit your bond and qualification, executed and certified as aforesaid, to the Postmaster of__.__ , and then deposit them in the mail addressed to me. A mail key will be sent from the Mail Equipment Division. Blanks will be sent by the Division of Post Office Supplies at Washington City. D. C. After the receipt, at this Department, of your bond and qualification, duly executed and certified, and the approval of the same by the Postmaster General, a commission will be sent to you. Jfyou accept tlte appointment, the bond and oath must be executed and returned without delay. If you decline, notice thereof should be immediately given to this Office. It will be your duty to continue in charge of the office, either personally or by an assistant, until you are relieved from it by the consent of the Department, which will be signified by the discontinuance of your office or by the appointment of your successor. Very respectfully, Fourth Assistant Postmaster General Esq. v Iftf ty N. B. The quarters expire on the 31st March, 30th June, 30th September, Bad 31st December AH accounts V matt be rendered for each quarter within two days after its close. Postmasters are not authorized to give credit for postage. Want of funds, therefore, is no excuse for failure of _ "P" A p ogtmagter mngt uot c i, ange t h e name by which his office is designated on the books of the Department with* tr out th order of the Postmaster General. . ** CF" Be careful, in mailing letters and transient newspapers, to postmark each one, in all cases, with the name of .*__ your office and State; and, iu all communications to the Department, to embrace in the date the name of your office, county, : and State. Q2 It stamping letters, great care should be observed to reader the impression distinct and legible. S. INSTRUCTIONS FOR NEW POSTMASTERS AT NEW OFFICES. ESTABLISHING OFFICES; APPOINTMENTS. 281 lishing an office the politics of the person proposed to be appointed is not commonly inquired into. When the Department is not entirely satisfied with the petition and the other papers in the case, all such papers are sent to one of a chosen corps of advisers of the Depart- ment, called "referees," for his investigation and recommendation. In Republican districts the members of Congress are the referees; in Democratic districts, in states where one or both of the senators are Republican, the cases are referred to them for recommendation. Where there are neither members nor senators to represent a district, the Department has referees appointed, usually men who have either been members of Congress or candidates for Congress. Some- times, however, other methods are resorted to to secure advice. The referee system has been a necessary growth, and it has been in vogue for many years and through many different administrations. It is assumed by all parties that changes in office are to be made when an administration changes. It is impossible, of course, for the appointing officer to have personal knowledge of the merits of the various candidates; he must secure advice. The best advice almost always is that of the local leader. He has his own personal interest and his own personal success at heart, as well as that of the Depart- ment and the public service. Hence he may be depended upon almost always. The process of giving advice in the matter of appointments is a privilege and not the right of a referee ; for under the constitution, of course, the appointing power is alone responsible for the appointments, except where the confirmation of the Senate in the case of certain offices is required. But the custom of having referees has been necessary ; and experi- enced politicians say that the trouble in making recommendations for office is not so much in the fact that recommendations have to be made, but that sufficient courage, promptness and discretion are not used in recommending. Fights for post offices are allowed to go on and drag along for months and months when they might be settled to much better advantage, on the merits of the case, almost offhand. The most experienced of the senators, men, for instance, like Senators Sherman, Cullom, Allison, Aldrich and Quay, act, when they do act, promptly and once for all. After the case has been examined in the Fourth Assistant's office and the establishment and appointment decided upon, the proposed 282 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. name of the post office is submitted to the Eailway Mail Service for approval. One clerk in that service has a complete record of all the offices in operation, so that he is able to judge whether the new name would in any way conflict with the name of an office already in existence. It is necessary that new names shall not be like any others, for confusion in the distribution of mail would surely be involved. Of course there cannot be two offices in the same state bearing the same name. It is also objectionable to have offices of the same name in states where the abbreviations of the names of states are very much alike. For instance, it is objectionable to have offices of the same name in the states of Virginia and Pennsylvania, for the abbreviations " Va." and "Pa." would lead to great confusion. The policy of the Department is to give short single names to new offices. Double names are always avoided unless there are local rea- sons to the contrary. Euphonious names are adopted wherever it is possible; but that is made impossible sometimes because of the equally strong desire to follow local usage. The name of a village or railroad station is always preferable for the name of the post office. Two years ago the President created the United States Board of Geographic Names, and since that time a great deal of work has been done by way of making uniform the names of rivers, bays, islands, and, in fact, all geographic points ; but the chief good work done is in the matter of the names of post offices. Soon after the board referred to was created Postmaster General Wanamaker issued an order that all branches of his Department should follow the decisions of the board where it could be done. The result is that the names of post offices are continually improved; the possessive form is dropped just as rapidly as possible and is never used in connection with new offices, double names are changed to single names where it is practicable, and the hyphen is discarded. This makes Brown- ville of Brownsville, Jackboro of Jacksboro, etc. The Postmaster General rules in favor of dropping the final " h " in the termination "burgh," of abbreviating "borough" to "boro"; of spelling the word " center " as here given ; of the omission, wherever practicable, of the letters "C. H." after the names of county seats; of the simpli- fication of names consisting of more than one word by their combina- tion into one word ; and of dropping the words " city " and " town, " as parts of names. ESTABLISHING OFFICES; APPOINTMENTS. 283 The name of a post office in Huntingdon County, Pa., is Aitch. There were five prosperous farmers in the portion of the county where the post office now is, and their names were Anderson, Isen- berg, Taylor, Crum and Henderson. Each of them wished the office to be named after himself; but they could not come to an agreement, and finally as a compromise the first letters of each name were put together. And so originated Aitch. A petition for a new office in the mountains of Virginia was received at the Department. It was found that the name submitted DESKS IN THE APPOINTMENT DIVISION. was undesirable. The petitioners were so notified and requested to make a list of names in the order of preference. The new list con- tained no acceptable name, and the chief of the Appointment Divi- sion directed one of his clerks to select a name himself. The clerk walked to the map. He discovered that there was a mountain hardby named Purgatory. The new office was presented with the name of Purgatory. When the establishment papers were forwarded to the petitioners, they were requested to submit a name for postmas- ter. They returned the name of George Godbe there. 284 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. Another petition received from a community further in the South also failed to submit a proper name for the post office, and when a request was made for a list of names the petitioners replied that either Whitfield or Wanamaker would be acceptable ; and as if to show impatience over the delay at agreeing to a name for the new office, they added a nota bene, "or Toughtown." The officials of the Department had been somewhat annoyed to have numbers of post offices named after them ; and not desiring to encourage that species of compliment, they selected the name "Toughtown." Dur- ing the latter part of General Clarkson's tenure of office he found, quite by accident one day, that there were dozens of post offices named Clarkson. These petitioners had really wanted to compliment him; but he grew weary of it, and fearing lest people would think he had encouraged this, directed the officials under him not to permit any post office to be named Clarkson after that. There are 33 states that have post offices bearing the name of Washington. Thirty states have post offices named Lincoln; 23 Grant; 21 Elaine; 22 Logan; 24 Sherman; 22 Sheridan; 28 Jack- son; 17 Hancock; 14 Ouster; 25 Cleveland; 6 Hendricks; 7 Tilden; 8 Hayes; 9 Thomas; 6 Dorsey; 13 Chase; 3 Polk; 1 McClel- lan. Alice is the name of 10 post offices; Alma, 22; Alpha, 18. There are 22 Arcadias, 26 Ashlands, 20 Avons, 25 Belmonts, and 26 Berlins. The shortest name in the Guide is B, in Tip- pecanoe County, Ind. ; there is one Apple, and Bowl, Brick, Bee and Box are in the list. In 9 states a post office is named Bliss ; there are Blue Eyes, Blue Jackets and Blue Blankets, Blacks and Blackbirds. Mary has 1 post office : Lucy, 2 ; Laura, 2 ; the Larks have 4; Kate, 1, and Kathleen, 4; Jump, 2; Jumbo, 7; John, 4, and John Day, 1 ; James, 6 ; Edith, 8 ; Edna, 4 ; Cora, 11 ; Francis, 9 ; Frank, 7 ; Grace, 7 ; Emma, 9 ; Fannie, 2 ; Flat, 1. There are 2 High, 3 Sugar, 3 Coffee, and 1 Cream, with 2 Creameries; 1 Wig; 2 Wing; 1 Worry; 1 Pay-up; 4 Cash; 3 Cave; 3 Confidence, 1 Confusion and 1 Confederate, and 1 Cool- Well. It has been pointed out that the religious enthusiast may select from any of the following : Eden, Paradise, Baptistown, Brick-Church, Canaan, Genesis, Jerusalem, Land of Promise, New Hope, Old Hundred, Pray, Promised Land, Old Church, Sabbath Rest, Zion, Bible Grove, Churches (three), Stone Church, and Saints Rest. The military genius could be suited at ESTABLISHING OFFICES; APPOINTMENTS. 285 Battle Ground, Broken Sword, Cavalry, Camp Ground, Canon Store. Encampment, Little Warrior, Headquarters, Warrior's Mark, Seven Guns, Stewart's Draft, Tenth Legion, Union Camp, or Warrior's Stand. The baseball maniac would be interested in Ball Play, Ball Ton, Catchall, Two Runs, Umpire, Best Pitch, Six Runs, or Ball Ground, and the medical profession is recalled when these towns are named: Colon, Doctor Town, All Healing, Cureall, Healing Spring, Medicine Lodge, Mount Healthy and Water Cure. It has been pointed out by another that there are at least two offices in the United States where the above Mosaics should be noted with especial interest. They are Rat, Alabama, and Chestnut Hill, Mass. After the name has been approved of, the case goes to the Contract Division in the office of the Second Assistant Postmaster General for report upon the nature of the service. Here is obtained information whether the new office will be upon a route or whether it shall be established as "special." If upon a route, the number of it is given. The case is then returned to the appointment office ; all the data are placed upon the face of the jacket, which in the case of establish- ment is always yellow in color, and if everything is found to be in proper form, the jacket is " initialed " by the chief of the division, and from him it goes to the Fourth Assistant Postmaster General. He signs the order of establishment. Then the case is returned to the division, where a complete record is made of it; and it is then taken to a clerk in charge of the Postmaster General's records and is again entered there. When the Postmaster General signs this record the order of establishment is complete. The case then goes to the Bond Division, from which the blank bond and other blanks are furnished to the newly appointed postmaster. Upon the return of the bond properly executed a commission is issued. The Bond Division notifies all the other bureaus in the Department that a new office has been created and all necessary blanks are at once furnished the new postmaster, who has been appointed in the order establish- ing the office. With his commission as his authority and with the supplies furnished to him the new postmaster begins operations. The establishment of post offices in Oklahoma and in other regions recently opened has often been in advance of the actual settlement. Before the Oklahoma counties were named they were called by the Department, A, B, C, D, E, etc. Postmasters were appointed 286 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. upon recommendations of the delegate from Oklahoma and of Sena- tors Plumb, Paddock and Manderson. The theory of the Depart- ment is that the establishment of an office in a new locality is often the means of educating the people who become its patrons. Having a post office, they are more inclined to correspond with friends and far more liable to take newspapers. A number of western offices have been established in the last two or three years which have become presidential within a year from the date of establishment. These are not necessarily "boom" towns. They rather show the rapid, steady growth of the country. The discontinuance of a post office is resorted to where the office is run down so that the receipts are not enough to warrant any one ^^^ in continuing to serve as post- master. In that event a case is x >v made up ordering a discontinu- ance, giving the reasons for it, and the date upon which the order is to take effect. With the ex- ception of going to the Railway Mail Service, this case goes through the same routine as cases of establishment. An office is rarely discontinued if it is possi- ble to secure the services of any one for postmaster. The post- master at the office discontinued is instructed, on the date of dis- continuance, to take all his sup- plies to the nearest office, which has been previously notified of the discontinuance and instructed to receive the supplies. A few in- stances have occurred where post offices were discontinued because the patrons refused either to patronize the office or to allow the postmaster appointed by the Department to serve. These cases were in the South ; and in each the result was the re establishment of the office upon the assurance that the postmaster would not be disturbed nor the office boycotted. MR. PIEESON H. BRISTOW, Chief Clerk, Fourth Assistant's Office. ESTABLISHING OFFICES; APPOINTMENTS. 287 Changes of postmasters at post offices already in operation are largely made upon the resignations or deaths of the postmasters. A resignation is often followed by a great many letters and petitions urging the appointment of different candidates. These papers all go to the referee of the Department, and while his recommendation is not always followed, it has very much influence. Thousands of post offices in the United States yield but little or nothing to the postmasters, but they are continued for the benefit of the community, the postmaster being willing to perform the work for the benefit of his neighbors. A great many removals were made at the beginning of this administration. When General Clarkson was criticised for appointing so many Republicans, he did not go into labored explana- tions; his answer was that it would be impossible to remove Democrats, if Democrats had not previously been appointed under a former administration. Mr. George G. Fenton, Chief of the Appointment Division, was born at Moravia, New York, in August, 1843. Three years after the family moved to Louis- ville, Ky., and ten years later found a home in Madison, Ind., where young Fenton received most of his schooling. When the war broke out he enlisted, though only eighteen, in the 39th Indiana regiment, and served over three years. After the war he engaged in business, and was deputy treasurer of Jefferson County two years, and sheriff for two terms. In 1882 he was appointed to a twelve hundred dollar clerkship in the Appoint- ment Division, was promoted by Judge Gresham to $1,600, and remained in charge of the Ohio and Indiana desks up to the time of his latest promotion in October, 1892. Mr. P. H. Bristow of Iowa is Chief Clerk in the office of the MB. GEOKGE G. FENTON, Chief, Appointment Division. 288 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. Fourth Assistant Postmaster General. For a long time he was city editor of the Iowa State Register, the leading Republican paper of Iowa, formerly edited by General Clarkson. He has been active in politics for twenty years. Mr. Clarkson and he served several years together on the Des Moines school board. Mr. Bristow was at one time auditor of the county in which Des Moines is located; later he was deputy auditor of the state, and for several years he was chief clerk in the office of Governor Larrabee. He was three years secretary of the Republican State Central Com- mittee of Iowa and was called to Washington by General Clark- son, though he was not a candi- date for any position. Mr. Bris- tow is the Post Office Department member of the United States Board of Geographic Names. The clerk in charge of presi- dential cases is Mr. Nathan A. C. Smith, a Vermonter, who en- tered the army from Wisconsin and saw service in Missouri, Kansas, Kentucky and Tennes- see. He was elected a captain in the Thirty-Second Wisconsin Infantry, but did not return to the service on account of disability. He was first appointed a clerk by Postmaster General Randall, and almost always since that time he has had clerical supervision of the cases for the appointment of presidential postmasters. This work has not only familiarized him with local political affairs all over the country, but it has brought him into close personal relations with all the successive postmasters general. He takes great interest, in addition, in the general progress of the Department. It has been required for the last few months to establish post offices at the rate of nearly one hundred a week. In but little over a month recently the increase of 395 offices (in 42 states and terri- tories) was chiefly as follows: Georgia, 28; North Carolina, 19; MB. NATHAN A. C. SMITH. ESTABLISHING OFFICES; APPOINTMENTS. 289 Kentucky, 18; Pennsylvania, 15; New York, 14; California, 11; Indiana, 12; Alabama, 20; Mississippi, 18; South Carolina, 17; Tennessee, 15; Ohio, 13; Illinois, 12; Maryland, 12. In the terri- tories the largest increase was in Oklahoma, where it was 21. In the Indian Territory the number was 12. In the other states and territories the increase in each was from one to nine. The following table shows some interesting operations of the Appointment Division : States and Territories. Number of offices, June 30, 1889. Number on Mar. 5, 1892. Inc. or Dec. Per cent. gain. Population 1890. One P. O. for each Alabama 1 718 2 054 336 20 1 513 017 800 Inhabitants Alaska 15 19 4 25 31 795 1 600 Arizona 160 175 15 10 59 620 330 Arkansas 1 393 1 539 146 10 1 128 179 750 California 1*283 1,416 133 10 1 208 130 800 Colorado 609 689 80 13 412 198 600 Connecticut. . . . 484 500 16 03 1 A 746 258 1 500 Delaware 149 161 12 08 168 493 1,000 13 H 2* 230 392 Florida. .. 781 911 30 .04 391 422 450 Georgia 1 745 2 014 269 15 1 837*353 900 Idaho 227 284 57 .25 84 385 300 Illinois 232 2 471 119 05 3 826 351 1 500 Indiana Indian Territory 1,993 245 2,100 288 107 43 .05 18 2,192,404 1,000 I| Iowa Kansas 1,736 1 815 1,801 1 805 65 10* .04 1,911,896 1 427 096 1,100 800 Kentucky Louisiana Maine 2,041 788 1,066 2,404 910 1,129 363 122 63 .18 .16 06 1,858',635 1,118,587 661 086 750 1,200 600 Maryland Massachusetts 1,011 839 1,101 865 90 26 .09 .03 1,042,390 2,238,943 950 2,600 Michigan Minnesota 1,799 1 220 1,929 1 320 130 100 .18 08 2,093,889 1 301 826 1,100 1 000 Mississippi Missouri 1,184 2 255 1,370 2 499 186 244 .16 11 1,289,600 2 679 184 900 1,100 Montana 303 '399 96 32 132' 159 350 Nebraska 1 070 1 127 57 05 1,058 910 950 Nevada 138 158 20 15 45 761 300 New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York 526 807 228 3 317 538 862 259 3 517 12 55 31 200 .02 % .07 .14 .06 376,530 1,444,933 153,593 5 997 853 700 1,700 600 1,700 North Carolina North Dakota Est Ohio 2,352 472 2 956 2,656 518 3 188 304 46 232 .13 .10 08 1,617,947 182,719 3 672 316 600 350 1,150 Oklahoma 137 61,834 450 Oregon 593 724 131 21 313 767 450 Pennsylvania Rhode Island 4,340 129 4,753 143 413 14 .09^ .11 5,258,014 345,506 1,100 2,750 South Carolina South Dakota Est Tennessee 1,037 608 2 118 1,199 674 2,413 162 66 295 .15 .11 .14 1,151,149 328,808 1,767,518 950 500 750 Texas 2 106 2 373 267 .13 2,235,523 950 Utah '244 263 19 .08 207,905 800 Vermont 523 548 25 .05 332,422 600 2 543 2 828 285 .11 1,655,980 600 Washington 476 716 240 .50 349,390 580 West Virginia Wisconsin 1,450 1 557 1,682 1,716 232 159 .16 .10 762,794 1,686,880 40 980 Wyoming . . 185 245 60 .32 60,705 250 Totals 58,999 65,402 62,654,045 Q-n General Indians . . 249,273 DU Average. 62,903,318 290 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. Three years ago it was recorded that the greatest increase in the number of post offices in any of the states for the year was 215 in Pennsylvania. In Alabama the increase in number was 175; in Kentucky, 173 ; in Virginia, 163 ; in North Carolina, 159 ; in Ten- nessee, 155; and in Texas, 142. The largest increase for the pre- vious year was 121 in Pennsylvania. Two years ago the greatest increase in the number of post offices in any of the states for the year was 130 in Kentucky. In Pennsylvania the number was 114 ; in North Carolina, 103; and in Texas, 101. In each of 11 states there were upwards of 2,000 offices in opera- tion on June 30, as follows: Pennsylvania, 4,684; New York, 3,476; Ohio, 3,156; Virginia, 2,777; North Carolina, 2,614; Missouri, 2,475; Illinois, 2,449; Tennessee, 2,370; Texas, 2,349; Kentucky, 2,344; Indiana, 2,090. In ten of the states there are 100 or more presidential offices as follows : New York, 256 ; Penn- sylvania, 216; Illinois, 209; Ohio, 167; Massachusetts, 147; Iowa, 147; Michigan, 147; Kansas, 120; Indiana, 102 and Mis- souri, 102. The present position of the Department with regard to the removal of postmasters is perhaps best stated in the Postmaster General's report of last year. He said : " But the people generally expect, though they take no personal interest in the matter, that the postmaster will be changed with the change of administration. Hence, the anticipated changes, though insignificant enough, are also numerous enough. Thousands of fourth class offices do not earn fifty dollars a year apiece. In thousands of cases present incumbents are eager to be relieved of their offices, and it is only with the greatest difficulty that new candidates can be found to take them. In hundreds of cases persons of the opposite party are appointed or reappointed by all administrations. In hundreds of cases changes are made simply to secure more convenient locations for post offices. In hun- dreds of cases again, it is considered politics by the members of the party which has lately been defeated, to discourage resignations until removals are made, so that the total of removals may appear in partisan journals as excessive. "The Department neither asks for resignations nor authorizes any person or persons to ask for them; for when it is clear that a change ought to be made, the President or the Postmaster General has the power to make the required removal without indirection. I am able to recall perhaps ten cases, however, in the six- teen months of my incumbency, where postmasters whose habits have become such as to disgrace the service and whose friends interfered to prevent removals, have been notified in order that the publication of these disagreeable facts might be avoided, that they might resign if they preferred to do so. " It has been difficult in many cases where removals have been demanded to ESTABLISHING OFFICES; APPOINTMENTS. 291 secure for the accused postmaster the treatment which should seem entirely fair to him. It is true that your instructions issued to this Department in March, 1889, that no postmaster should be reported upon by an inspector who did -not also have the chance to be heard in his own defence, were never, to my knowl- edge, disobeyed, and it is true that my additional precaution, expressed in a letter of explicit instructions, issued in January, 1890, by the Chief Post Office Inspector to his various inspectors in charge, was never to my knowledge dis- obeyed, for I would not hesitate for a moment to remove an inspector, any more than I would any other postal official or employee over whom I have jurisdiction, who disregards your instructions or mine, especially if, as might be the fact in this instance, he were to assume any attitude that might suggest the star chamber. It is hard to realize, however, how difficult it is even for the experi- enced inspector to resist the temptation to find in the insulting disloyalty of ill-natured partisans sufficient cause for removal. I have myself been much criticised by fair-minded persons because removals for these offences against decency have not been made, and I realize how hard it is for an inspector not to make mistakes. But it is a proud thing for the inspector force that in nearly every instance where the accuracy of the inspector's report has been called in question, this sworn official of the Government has been vindicated by the subse- quent investigation. " The confidential reasons which compel the Department to act must not be disclosed; first, because communities might in some instances be involved in strife and bitterness, and families might be subjected to disgrace and ruin. The removed person, either unaware of the full extent of the known information about himself, or else fully aware that no public use could in decency be made of it. often does not hesitate to talk or write about his so-called wrongs. If the truth were known he would be the one most to suffer; and yet, no matter how one sided or bitter his attacks may be, the Department can do nothing except wait for fair public scrutiny and hope for honest public treatment. " The postmaster in a small town is a candidate for reappointment. The com- munity in which he lives believes in civil service reform without quite knowing all that the words mean. Good citizens demand that the public service shall not be outraged by the appointment of any mere self-seeker or political ' striker.' The Department knows that the candidate for reappointment has not accounted promptly, possibly without fraudulent intent, for public money, or is a victim of the opium habit; it will not reappoint him. A cry is raised that the public ser- vice is prostituted to partisan ends. There are similar cases in large post offices, in which the postmaster similarly does his duty without fear. A letter carrier in uniform goes into a brothel, becomes intoxicated, and disgraces his wife and daughters. He is removed. The same cry is raised that every right of citizen- ship is outraged." In all times and under all administrations there are humorous things, and there are sad and terrible things, about the hunger and the thirst for office. The mania is general in all parts of the country, but in New England, perhaps, or at least in Massachusetts, it has been noticed that the number of candidates for a given small post office is small, and there are no particular candidates in many cases. 292 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. In that locality it has seemed sometimes as if it were a sign of unthrift to want an office, and consequently the office has not been wanted ; and in New England, also, and especially in Massachusetts, has the custom grown among the referees of encouraging the natural bent of the people of their party, in a town where a change is to be made, to hold caucuses ; and the person receiving the highest poll is- recommended to the appointing officer. There is no way of stopping the craze for office, for the simple reason that every free American citizen has a perfect right to be a fool if he chooses. It is not a surprising thing that in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred the best man is selected. In rnany cases it is a wholesome thing, this canvass, for the inevitable result must be that the fittest only survive. Many of the most successful postmasters, appointed under the present administration at least, have been those who have won their places after a fight; for not only have they had the success and pride of the Department at heart, but they have felt the more their obligation to suit the pride of all their patrons. It is a sad and a terrible thing when misrepresentation and malice come in, as they sometimes do. Some time ago there came from a western city to Washington a formidable petition against the appointment of a certain candidate for postmaster. It was signed with a long list of names alleged to be those of prominent citizens. All the names were found to be fictitious. This is a sparkling fancy, though, compared with some of the contentions. Jn a good-sized city on the Pacific Coast a very smooth and sancti- monious pretender wanted the post office. He could not wait; so he conspired to bring about the incumbent's removal. To his aid he called a painted woman and a couple of young men who wanted positions in the office. The woman's services were bought with money. It was her part of the conspiracy to inveigle the postmaster into some questionable situation. There was to be a public scandal and the postmaster's resignation or removal from office would follow as a matter of course. There were divers meetings of the four con- spirators ; but the postmaster was an officer of character and refused to fall into the pit. A woman of respectable standing was then called into requisition. She conceived the idea of charging the postmaster with collecting ESTABLISHING OFFICES; APPOINTMENTS. 293 .all the letters received for women of questionable reputation and making personal deliveries for his wicked purposes. Then the can- didate put into circulation certain reports intended to frighten the postmaster into resigning. When there came the prospect of a vacancy, another citizen entered the field for appointment. Old time popularity soon gave him first place in public opinion. It now became necessary to wreck this man's reputation, and a second con- spiracy was formed. Immoral character was alleged. More painted women were added to the list of conspirators. Reports were circu- lated that the Postmaster General was about to remove the post- master. A petition was circulated among the best citizens for the appointment of the conspirator, and especial effort was made to secure the signatures of all the clergymen of the city. As he had denounced the postmaster and the leading applicant on account of the reports in circulation affecting their moral characters, the minis- ters attached their names to the petition. Meanwhile he met his men and women conspirators nightly. It took but a short time now for the case to go to the hands of the local Congressman, who would be asked by the Postmaster General for his advice, as the incumbent's term was out. The endorsement of the Congressman was refused to all aspirants. But the con- spirator conceived the notion that he would enlist the sympathies of the Postmaster General, and he presented his recommendations. The Postmaster General notified the Congressman, who at once said he would visit the city in question. To keep the Congressman away from the city where the post office excitement was running high became absolutely necessary, so the conspirator hired a "friend" of the Congressman to go to the latter's home and keep him "in tow." Weeks passed and no word from the Congressman. Finally inspectors of the Department were sent to the scene of action. They unearthed the plot. The leading candidate, a good man, was at once appointed. The Department has these machinations to contend with under any administration. All parties assume that changes in the post offices will be made ; they are in harmony as to the necessity of mak- ing changes. And other sneaks and cowards are the persons removed for cause. They make all sorts of accusations to the Department (no matter under what administration), and the Department can 294 THE STORY OF OUR POST OFFICE. make no reply. It would take too many clerks in the first place ; and in the second, the reputations of these sneaks and cowards would be made as black as their characters, and the happiness of their families would be turned into misery. And certain reformers have come to pick up the complaints of these wretched persons as proof (curious proof ! ) of the vicious nature of the spoils system. The spoils system is vicious enough, but it is not so because rascals are turned out of office or are prevented from getting office. Sometimes when people are dissatisfied with appointments (and they are usually dissatisfied for insufficient reasons), they boycott post offices. They mail their letters on the postal cars; they refuse to buy stamps at the offices; and once, not long ago, at a small Missouri town, the postmaster had a number of his enemies arrested for conspiracy, a foolish thing, because no case could be made out against them in that community. The only remedy for the Department, as has been said, is to discontinue the offend- ing office. Other things sometimes make the life of the fourth-class postmas- ter a burden. Recently in a Southern town call it Santa Cruz, the editor of the local paper described in tearful terms the killing of the postmaster's dog by a railroad train, and he criticised the tender- ness of the postmaster for -burying the dog in his own lot in the local cemetery. This action, according to the editor's report, in "bury- ing a dog in ground set apart and hallowed for the last resting place of Christian people caused great disgust and indignation among the residents in our beautiful suburb, which culminated last night, when some unknown parties went to the cemetery and disinterred the carcass and carried it with the carefully prepared box which con- tained it, and placed it upon the porch in front of the postmaster's store, where it was found by him in the morning." The postmaster had himself done newspaper work and he wrote a reply. He was surprised that the editor should write himself a mendacious and unprincipled scribbler, and he added : " No one but a low brute could gloat over the physical suffering of either man or beast, or attempt to cast ridicule on the mental distress of a fellow-being. So, with unspeakable loathing, I relegate the writer of those very * funny ' paragraphs in re- gard to the tragical death of my little household pet to the shades of obscurity.' * ESTABLISHING OFFICES; APPOINTMENTS. 295 And the postmaster meant fight, for he concluded : "Like other criminals and law breakers, those 'curs of low degree' have not had sense enough to cover up their foul tracks; and they are not (as the prime mover and head devil of the gang fondly supposes) ' unknown.' There are traitors always in such disreputable and rascally camps; there is really no honor among thieves, and as soon as I can secure sufficient proof, I will see that full jus- tice shall be meted out to those delicate and refined guardians of the reputation of Santa Cruz." The editor now appealed to the Department. He complained that the postmaster had come up to him in his very sanctum. He added : " Without the slightest provocation he has come up and called me the vilest of liars, a white-livered scoundrel, etc., and that he was not through with me yet, and much more of the same sort, including a threat to ' shoot me,' accompanied with the most insulting language. He has repeatedly refused to sell me stamps, in the quantity for which I asked and for which I tendered pay, alleging as his reason that ' someone else might want some, and he would not have them,' and on different occasions he has admitted that he had one or two dollars' worth, but would only let me have fifty or seventy-five cents' worth of them. I have on many occasions during the last year urged him to procure a sufficient quantity of stamps, which he has persistently neglected to do, saying that he ' could not get on a great quantity of stamps just to accommodate one man.' I think much of the postmaster's late conduct towards me is due to the fact that he holds me responsible for two newspaper articles ; for he has publicly accused me of the whole matter, the digging up of a dog and all. Of course I am innocent of the ' grave desecration ' in question, but I did write the second article referring to the digging up of the dog as a matter of news which legitimately belonged to the public." There is a postscript, however, in which the editor says : " I went into the postmaster's office this afternoon, and he said to me that if I went in there again he would kick me out." In every Congress, in every session, almost, are introduced bills to raise the pay of the fourth class postmaster, to relieve him of his troubles, and to make his appointment, if he must be appointed, which it is sometimes hoped not, a patriotic thing. Each is a panacea. A bill was introduced in the last Congress which provided that the country should be divided into postal districts, in each of which the Postmaster General should appoint a post office inspector to act as an examiner ; that when a fourth-class postmaster is to be appointed, this examiner shall post notices saying where the post office is, what compensation the postmaster receives, what bond is required, where application papers may be had, when papers must 296 THE STORY OF OUK POST OFFICE. be returned, and giving such other information as seems proper; that the examiner shall furnish the blank applications, etc., which shall be filled out by the applicant himself, giving his name and residence, when and where naturalized, if naturalized, time and place of birth, education, physical capacity, whether employed in the military, naval or civil service, his employment and residence for a period of five years, whether indicted at any time, and where the applicant would establish the post office, and whether in connec- tion with any other business; that each candidate shall also furnish a certificate under oath, signed by three reputable citizens of the state or territory in which the applicant has actually resided within one year, that the applicant is suitable for the office ; that the post office inspector shall post a list of applicants in the given locality, and shall then find intelligent judgment as to the qualifications of the applicant; that a graded list of applicants shall be sent to the Postmaster General ; that the Postmaster General shall then appoint to the post office one of the candidates reported upon, assigning reasons acceptable to the public why the candidate graded highest does not happen to be appointed, if he does not happen to be ; that no appointment shall be absolute until a year thereafter ; that the Postmaster General shall not appoint, nor the inspector recommend any candidate for political reason, that they shall prevent as far as possible the presentation of any political information touching the applicants, and finally that any fraud knowingly perpetrated shall exclude a candidate from the eligible list and be sufficient for his removal during the probationary period. Evidently legislation of this sort would require great numbers of additional inspectors, and they cannot be employed until the money is appropriated for the purpose. As one very practical postmaster has written : If a practicable method of relieving Congressmen from the responsibility of recommending the postmasters in their various districts were devised, it is probable that it would be generally favored by them, as many leading represen- tatives have expressed themselves as opposed to doing a work which involves them in much controversy and annoyance at home. But, as a citizen, I do not see how the proposed method could be satisfactory either to the patrons of the office or to the post office department. I am told about 400 fourth class post- masters are necessarily appointed weekly to keep up with the large number of vacancies occurring from death, resignations and opening of new offices. These vacancies being scattered throughout the United States, it would not be possible ESTABLISHING OFFICES ; APPOINTMENTS. 297 for 20 inspectors, nor for 100 inspectors (which exceeds, I think, the total number of the force at present employed) to visit 400 different places weekly, and get sufficient information to make an intelligent recommendation as to who should be ap- pointed postmaster. Even if enough inspectors could be provided, the principle of allowing a stranger, on a brief visit to the place, and having no common inter- est at stake, to decide who should be its postmaster, would be very unacceptable to the people, and even if it were agreeable to them, the scant and imperfect knowledge which a stranger would be very apt to get would commit the Depart- ment to appointments which would have to be revoked and corrected upon the representations of the people through their Congressman, bringing it back in all contested cases to the recent system. The only cases that would not be so brought to the attention of the Congressman would be the little offices where there is but one applicant, so that the functions of these inspectors would be mis- placed in many cases and unsatisfactory in many others. " Under the present method of Congressional recommendations the Department has about 500 responsible counsellors, without expense, scattered throughout the country, who, if they do not know the applicants for office in their districts personally, yet know the very best sources for information as to them, their char- acter and their efficiency. These representatives have an interest in the recom- mendations they make, which cannot be felt by any inspectors, and instead of this system foisting upon the department inefficient partisans of the Congressman, it naturally results in the selection of men who reflect credit upon their endorsers and in making the members popular in their districts, i. e., good, honest, accept- able men. " It seems to me, therefore, that, while many Congressmen would like to be free from this responsibility, the Department could by no other means secure reliable information about candidates for office, without incurring an expense disproportionate to the end desired, or without resorting to methods which would be very distasteful themselves." Another favorite cure-all is the proposition that postmasters shall be elected by the people. Congressman Grout of Vermont has favored this method. Mr. Sherman Hoar of Massachusetts intro- duced a bill in the Fifty-Second Congress to effect the same purpose. Governor Flower of New York has long been a distinguished advocate of this policy, and General Clarkson believes in it. He said recently in a public speech : "I would take the post office out of national politics, and put it in neighborhood politics. I cannot share in the opinion of the Republican and Democratic reformers who would select at Washington by some device of a commission nearly all the postmasters for the 70,000 postal communities of this nation, for I would not take away, and in my judgment the American people will never allow to be taken away from each community the right to a voice in the election of its own postmaster. There is no reason why every postmaster should not be elected by the people whom he is to serve. The post offices have been largely the ele- ment of discord in national politics. They lead very often to party divisions and party weakness. They have killed off more good Congressmen and more good 298 THE STORY OF OUK POST OFFICE. senators than all other causes combined. There are no ills in this Government which cannot be cured by carrying them directly to the decision and the wisdom of the plain people." Of course an amendment to the Constitution would be involved, and these come hard ; and while the argument would be used that this glorious country is different from the glorious country of Wash- ington and Jefferson because it is a hundred times as big, still a change which would take the officers of the executive branch away from the responsibility of the appointing power, is likely to come but slowly. MAKING BONDS OP 880,000,000. 1 HE first appearance of work for the Bond Divis- ion is when the cases come in from the Division of Appointments. Clerks prepare a circular letter notifying the postmaster of his appoint- ment; and they also prepare a blank bond for him. These are transmitted to the new post- master. Then a record of them is made in one of the county books, as they are called, and a record is also made of the bond in the bond book, as it is called. The postmaster's name, the office, Bounty and state, and the amount of the penalty of the bond are all recorded. When the bond is returned in the proper form the ommission of the new postmaster is ready for the signature of the Postmaster General. The work of the Bond Division has stead- ily increased, of course, with the growth of the service, and now the clerks sometimes approve as many as one hundred and fifty bonds a day. Especially has the work been heavy for the last months, because of the Post- master General's order making money order offices of all those where the postmaster's salary is $200 or more. As early as three months ago the Bond Division had completed as many as six COL. J.UTHER CALDWELL, Chief, Bond Division. 299 300 THE STOKY OF OUR POST OFFICE. thousand of these new bonds, and the work was performed so expeditiously (and that without any extra detail of clerks), that scarcely a third of the work was behind-hand. When the salary of the postmaster is from $1 to $175, the penalty of the bond is made $500; when the salary is from $175 to $300, the penalty is made $1,000; when the salary is from $300 to $450 the penalty is fixed at $1,500; when the salary is from $450 to $800, the penalty is $3,000; and from $800 to $1,000 the penalty is $4,000. The money order portion of the penalty of a postmaster's official bond is determined in every instance by the Superintendent of the Money Order System. In the case of small money order offices it is usually placed at a sum sufficient to cover the gross receipts of money order funds for four weeks. The clerks in the Bond Division are very quick and sharp to know by the very looks of a filled-out bond whether the form is proper and the sureties good. Now and then the services of an inspector of the Department are required to find out the exact stand- ing of the new postmaster's bondsmen; and in all cases where the bond amounts to $2,000 or more the inspector is called in. That means another circular made out, in which appear the name of the postmaster, the office, county, and state, the date of the bond, the names of the sureties and the amounts in which they justify, and the name of the officer before whom they justified. When the inspector's report comes in that has to be carefully examined. If the report is satisfactory, the bond is at once taken from the stack of doubtful ones, and a memorandum is filed away with it to the effect that the bond is good. If the report has not been satisfactory, a new bond is of course required of the postmaster. The Division of Bonds consists of fifteen clerks, a messenger and the chief of the division. The chief is Col. Luther Caldwell of Elmira, New York, an Ipswich, Mass., boy, of one of the oldest families of the Bay State. He had been an editor and proprietor of the Elmira Daily Advertiser and mayor of Elmira. He is a veteran politician, was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in Chicago in 1860, was a delegate to the convention which nominated General Grant in 1868 and secretary of it, and he called the roll of states upon the nomination of Grant and still has the roll call. He has been secretary of the New York State Republican Committee, clerk MAKING JJONDS O^ !^8J,OJO,OJO. 301 of the New York Assembly, and secretary of the New York Consti- tutional Convention of 1867 8. He was for years a confidential friend of Thurlow Weed and Horace Greeley. Colonel Caldwell visited Washington in 1841 and saw slaves whipped and sold on the Government block at the old slave mart on the south side of B and Seventh Streets. He was present at the inauguration of Lincoln and his regiment was the first to march through Baltimore after the THE CHIEF ROOM OF THE BOND DIVISION. attack on the Massachusetts Sixth. In spite of his seventy years of useful activity Colonel Caldwell is as hale and jovial as a college junior. The chief has supervision of all the work of the Bond Division, makes a daily report of the time of all clerks, and examines the names of all newly appointed postmasters, to see that they correspond with the names affixed to the bonds and oaths. The present chief has changed the printed forms of bonds, ordered new money order books for that section, and re-arranged the office so that the county books, which are in constant use, can be more easily and readily (No. int. BCIND DIVISION.) To BE OBSERVED IN EXECUTING THE INCLOSED BOND AND OATH. OFFICE OF THE FOURTH ASSISTANT POSTMASTER GENERAL, BOND DIVISIONS 1st. The bond must be signed m INK by the postmaster, and at least two sureties, each writing his OWN NAME IN FULL, and affixing his seal in the presence of a witness. Writing with pencil not accepted. 2d. The witness must sign his name in the proper space on the left. No person can be a witness who cannot write his name. 3d. The NAME and post-office address of each surety must be inserted in the proper space in the body of the bond. 4th. The certificate at the bottom of the bond, and the jurat to the oath, may be signed by a Mayor, Judge, Notary Public, Justice of the Peace, or by any officer, civil or military, holding a commission under the United States, who most add his official title. If signed by a Notary, a County Judge, a Probate Judge, or a Mayor, he must affix his official seal, or produce a certificate from the County Clerk accompanied by the seal of the <5ourt 5th. The DATE must be inserted in the proper space in the body of the bond, as well as in the certificate of the magistrate and the jurat to the oath 6th. A woman will l>e accepted as surety, provided the magistrate certifies that she is unmarried, and that she possesses property in her own right sufficient in value to cover double the arriount of the penalty. Married women cannot be accepted as sureties 7th. Neither the certifying officer nor a person signing as witness can become a surety. 8th. Firms and corporations are not accepted as sureties. 9th._Wheu erasures or alterations are made, the magistrate must certify that the sureties consented thereto. 10th. Before executing the bond and oath, read carefully the marginal notes printed thereon, llth. Postmasters at Presidential and .Money-Order Offices should also observe the marginal instructions on the second page of the bond 12th. The word " postmaster " should never be erased from the bond and the word " postmistress " substituted therefor 13th. Make no writing on the outside of the bond. 14th. In returning the bond to the Department, let it be folded the same as when received by you. 15th. Bonds with altered figures or written with pencil are not accepted. iyi6th. BEFORE RETURNING THE BOND AND OATH TO THE DEPARTMENT, COMPARE THEM OAREFULLT WITH THESE INSTRUCTIONS AND WITH THE MARGINAL NOTES, IN ORDER TO DETECT AND CORRECT ANT ERROR THAT MAT HAVE BEEN MADE IN THE EXECUTION THEREOF A COMMISSION WILL NOT BE ISSUED UNTIL THE BOND AND OATH HAVE BEEN PROPERL1 EXECUTED. fourth Ass't P M. General A TT C U T I n U I * n a ^ y nr correspondence with the Department be oveful to write plainly the name of yonos A I I L PI I I U N ! OFFICE, COUNTY, and STATE. A FAC SIMILE OF KULES FOR EXECUTING BONDS. 302 MAKING BONDS OF $80,000,000. 303 consulted. The Bond Division uses some seventy different kinds of blanks. It had its present number of clerks fifteen years ago. At that time there were 40,000 post offices; now there are almost 70,000. Repeated efforts have been made to increase the force of clerks in the bond division; but they have always failed. All bonds must have two or more sureties. It is not unusual for a bondsman to sign for $100,000, and one postmaster has a bondsman who signs for 12,000,000. Yet another signs for $3,000,000. The surety has to swear that he is worth the amount signed for, over and above all debts and liabilities existing against him. The names of all bondsmen are kept secret, except from members of Congress, offi- cials of the Department, and the other sureties on the bond. They are kept from the general public because many business men, in fact almost all business men, buy on credit somewhat, and it might affect their financial rating to their disadvantage if it were known that they took risks of this kind; and this fact is illustrated in the experience of the Department, as well as in all business experience, by the fact that the Bond Division is frequently requested not to divulge the names of bondsmen. The postmaster is bonded for four years, and the bond is good for that period, unless, of course, one or more of the sureties die, move away, or withdraw. When anything of this sort happens, it is the duty of the postmaster to report the fact to the Bond Division. A new bond is at once furnished. The reason is evident enough why if a surety dies a new bond should be required. A former Postmas- ter General insisted that, if a bondsman moved away from a state where a post office was, the postmaster must make a new bond ; but any citizen of the United States is eligible as bondsman if he can qualify as to amount of property. A surety may demand a release from a bond, if he thinks his fellow-bondsmen or any one of them is insolvent, or for any reason satisfactory to him. The postmaster may call for a new bond himself. Every surety is responsible for the whole bond. Frequently men will sign for $5,000, each one stipulating that he will pay a proportionate part ; but they are all liable for the whole amount, just the same, as the text of the bond reads "jointly and severally." Few cases occur in which a newly appointed postmaster finds it difficult to secure bondsmen. In most of the cases which do occur, (No. 1109. SERIES OF JULY, 1883.) all commuDicationstothis Department be careful to give the name of your Office, County, and State, *=g& FORM OF OATH FOR ASSISTANT POSTMASTERS, PRESCRIBED BY THE ACTS OF CONORESS APPROVED MARCH 5, 1874, AIO> MAY 13, 1884. I, ......................... . _____ . ...................................... , being employed as Assistant Postmaster in the post office at ............. , ............................................................................................. in the y >; _ .4 County of .......... ........................................... . and State of .......... o cr. I do solemnly swear ( ............................. ) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United f H ^ States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; & o that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will g % well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So HELP ME GOD. > S % I do further solemnly swear (. ............. ........ ) that I will faithfully perform all the duties ^ * % g required of me, and abstain from everything forbidden by the laws in relation to the establishment of Post ' fe g Q Offices and Post Roads within the United States; and that I will honestly and truly account for and pay > & o as over any money belonging to the said United States which may come into my possession or control; and i f-4 & j I also further swear (. ................................. ) that I will support the Constitution of the United States, j 73 v. S4 SO HELP ME GOD. Sworn to and subscribed before me, the subscriber, a ..................... . ...................................... B for the County of ..................................................... , this ............ day of ................. ............... , * A. D. 189 ...................... ______________________________________ t j. p. N. B. T certificate. A FOKM OF OATH FOE ASSISTANT POSTMASTERS. rt of Record and if the 304 MAKING BONDS OF $80,000,000. 305 however, the reasons are political and affected by race reasons ; and consequently they occur most commonly in the South. Citizens band together to refuse to go as bondsmen ; and in these cases the postmaster is obliged to resort to the wealthy or resourceful leaders of his own party in his state, if there are any, and secure their assist- ance. He seldom fails to do this. But sometimes he must suffer the post office boycott only for a time, however, because the Department under these circumstances discontinues the office. The order of Postmaster General Wanamaker, which doubles the number of money order offices, has caused many postmasters to resign; for new bonds are required in each case, and these are larger, and con- sequently harder, or perhaps impossible, to make. But the propor- tion of cases like this is not large; it is perhaps five per cent. When newly appointed postmasters fail to make their bonds, the Bond Division notifies the Fourth Assistant Postmaster General. If this officer thinks the reasons given by the new postmaster for not .securing his bond are not sufficient, he is advised of that fact, this in order to give him a second chance before another appoint- ment to the same place is made. Resignations of postmasters are not infrequently brought about in this necessary way. When a postmaster is commissioned, reports go out from the Bond Division to almost all the other offices and divisions of the Depart- ment; one to the Sixth Auditor's office, noting all the changes in officers that are made; one to the Stamp Division, so that it may know that the new officer is entitled to receive supplies ; one to the Division of Supplies itself for a similar purpose. Wherever a change of site has been brought about by the commissioning of a new postmaster, the Contract Division of the Second Assistant's office is notified, so that a re-arrangement of service, or of routes, may be had, if it is necessary. The Money Order Division is noti- fied of the complete appointment. The Mail Equipment Division is informed, so that useless bags and locks may be called in ; and all of this information upon all of these points is communicated to the Daily Railway Mail Bulletin for publication, for all of it is of use in keeping the service accurate and prompt. The blank commissions of postmasters are filled out in the Bond Division by a particular clerk, called the engrossing clerk, whose handwriting is particularly fine. He must do his work with (No. li05.-SERifi or JOLY 1, 1887.) In all communications to thfc Department be careful to give the name of your Office, County, and State, FOliSt BY THE ACTS OP CONGRESS APPROVED MARCH 5, 1874, ANT) MAY 13, 1884, TO BE TAKEN BY ALL PERSONS EMPLOYED IN THE POSTAL SERVICE, EXCEPT POSTMASTERS. r f f etna g ay* tn tff fiat cMce at en tAe vcunty e/ . .... ana ffafe ojf .. J 1 do tc/emn/y weal. f. J tat *s ivict wSi/ictt ana* aeftnct Me & oft/ie ^nttef/ &