Democratic Sentinel, Volume 16, Number 12, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 April 1892 — ON A FAST MAIL TRAIN. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

ON A FAST MAIL TRAIN.

DATA GLEANED IN AN EXCITING NIGHT RIDE. Kansas City Reached from St- Louis In Saven and One-Half Hours—Twelve Tons of Mall Handled -How tho Men Work and liow They Aro Paid. An Cnrlvall d System. A flight with the fast mail f’-om St. Louis to Kansas City was taki n by a reporter for the Globe-Democrat toe other morning. Tho fast mail line from St. Louis to Kansas City is one of iho most Important lines in ihe service, and the reporter had an excellent opportunity of witnessing the enorn ou> work attendant upon the delivery of tee tons of mail that go over this line each light. The clerks who go out with ihe last mail to Kansas City go to their train at 8:30 p. m., sovt n liouvs t efore the fast mail starts. On reach ng the train their work commences, li ends at 1< :to the next morning. No e:g'.it-htur day for the postal clerk. When the start was made at 0 o’clock the crew was almost buii <1 beneath iho avalanche of sacks and pcui-ees that had been loaded into tho car. The ears were very long, each te rg about sixtv feot. Each car was so c.owded wi h racks and cases that Icrely room for the clerks renamed, loch car was abundantly lighted- from overh -a 1 lamps and heated by a wa'«r heater in "ho first car. Except wash-rooms the a _ s had no conveniences. No chairs we.o there, and the clerks would not hove found time to use them if they ha I 1 eon there. The boys all tarry blankets and quilts with them, and should they happen to finish their work before ihe run is completed, they threw their blankets over a pile of mail tags and dose off un-' til Kansas City is reached- This luxury, however, is Seldom offered them on the west-bound trip. The work is all done in the two front cars, the rear car being leaded with through mail. Most of the ra-’ks ond pouches in this car ha 1 been “worked up" by States on Eastern routes and, as they were for the far W< st, they were not to be opened until nearer their des-

tinations. The second car is devoted to , the distribution of letters and Missouri papers. The rear half of the car is fitted with eases for the distribution of letters. These cases look very much j like postofilce boxes, and contain about 2,000 pigeon-holes. Each pigeon-hole represents a town or a postal route. The method employed in assorting the 1 letters may te pasily explained. In j Missouri there are lit counties. At the | office of Superintendent Lindsay is a “scheme” of the States in his division. The scheme for the State of Missouri shows whero the mail for each county should be sent, with all exceptions noted. The clerks on the fast mail that morning were supposed to know the schemes of Missouri, with 114 counties; Kansas, with 106 counties; Colorado, 54 counties; Arkansas, 74 counties; Nebraska, 00 counties, besides having a' knowledge of what are known as “massing schemes’ of several other States. On the eastbound trip the clerks must know, in addition to Missouri, the schemes for the States of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and must have a general knowledge of several adjoining States. As the schemes do not give all the towns in the counties of the various States, postal clerks are required to commit to memory the names of the towns and the counties they are in. The enormity of this task can be conceived when it is known that there are about 5,500 postofflees in Missouri, 1,800 in Kansas, 700 in Colorado, 1,350 in Nobraska, and from 2,500 to 3,000 each in Illinois, Indiana and other adjoining States. When the letters are tied up a facing slip is put on each package. On the slip is put the destination of the package and tiio name of the clerk who assorted It, together with the name of his run and the date. Papers are thrown according to the same schemes as the letters, and similar facing slips are used. The cases are j larger, one clerk having a row of boxes j C or 6 fdet above his distributing table, | and from 30 to 40 fe- tin lencrth. Great ; dexterity is acquired by the paper clerks in throwing into these boxes. Papers j are cistrlbuted with wonderful rapidity, and a mistake is seldom made. It is said that a St. Louis paper clerk attended a party recently and played at “bean-bag,” winning three prizes before the other players learned that his business had made him an expert in mors difficult

fchrowian than that required in playing the jrwna.of “bean-bag.” The facing slips, in addition to furnishing the addresses of paekazes, are uaedfor the purpose of “ th: eking" erion against the clerks. If any mistakes are found in a passage, th > fact is noted on the back of tie slip, nrbioh is returned to the division office, and there filed sgainat the offender. In this way an mart account of a clerk's arn.rs is kept, and the greater tfee number' the greater

the discredit. It is therefore a great deal of an object for a clerk to exercise much care in his work, for when nis mistakes are too Irequent he is liable to be

reduced in the ranks, if not discharged altogether. On ihe fast paper clpiks exerciso great care in the distribution of

daily papers, upcause of a line imposed on each error. If the paper clerk throws a bundle of dailies wrong, the fact is, of couise, reported on lfis check by the clerk receiving the wrongly thrown package. The clerk making the wrong throw is then charged at the publisher’s- price witli tlie papers delayed by being wrongly thrown. During tho past month the paper clerks on the fast mail were so accurate that not a cent was Culected from them. For the preceding month forty ci nts was collected. This illustrates better than anything else the proficiency that has b, on acquired in the postal service. In distributing letters errors are bound to occur, although the number is very small, considering tho large quantities of letters handled by ihe clerks. Letters frequently stick together, causing errors to be made. The similarity of the names of towns also causes many errors in the distribution of both letters and papers. With poor light, tired eyes, and much work before him, a postal clerk can hardly be blamed for throwing a badly addressed letter for Holti n, Kan., to Horton, Kan., or a paper for Leona, Kan., to Lenora, Kan. To avoid mistakes of this kind, every letter should have tho county on it as part of the address, unless the town to which the letter is going is a large one. Appointments to clerkships in the postal service are made through the Civil Service Commission. To test fitness for the service applicants for appointments aro examined by local Civil Service Hoards appointed by tho commission. The ©xaminatiqus are held twice a year in each State, and the applicants are examined in the following subjects: Orthography, copying, penmanship, arithmetic, letter writing, tho geography of the United States, and especially of tho State or railway mail division in which the applicant resides, and in the railway systems of the State

or division. Applicants must re not less than IS nor more than 33 years of age. Any clerk r t moved , for intoxication can not bo reinstated. New appointees are given a probationary term of six months, with pay at the rate of SSOO per annum, except in cases where the run is a small one and the average miles run per day are less than eighty; then the pay is at the rate of $lO per mile. For example, if a branch lino is seventy-twovuiles long and trains meet at an intermediate point, so that two clerks are needed to man the line, the pay of each would be $720 perannum. tv ben the probationary term expires, if a satisfactory record and proper progress are made, a permanent appointment is made and the pay increased to the S9OU-per-annum rate, and later on to SI,UCO, if plaeod in the class running an average of 100 miles or over per day. On the heavy lines each postal car contains several clerks who get from S9OO to $1,300, the man gettizzg the highest pay being the clerk in charge. The men advanoe from class to class in numt rieal order, the promotions being based uptn their records as shown by the facing slips already spoken of. A good postal clerk must have the physical ability to 6tand the fatiguo of from twelve to sixtec n hours a day of continuous work, and also have the menial ability to ieni-n, retain, and have at con maud without hesitation the location of from 5,000 io 15,000 postoflices. He who hesitates is “stuck." I; does not follow, however, that because a man has a good brain that he will make a good postal clerk. A man endowed with phenomenal power to memorize may have physical and mental defects which reduce his adaptability for this servico to the minimum. He may be unaccustomed to manual labor, effeminate, of sedentary nabits, impractical, wanting in stamina, may have cultivated his mind at the expense of his body, and, therefore, be unable to endure the hai'dshipp incident to a business requiring continual physical and mental labor and strong muscular exertion. But no matter how well equipped a man may be for this service in every other respect, ha cannot hope to obtain the maximum of usefulness unless he is gifted with an excellent memory and cultivates it persistently. Every clerk gets a “lay-off,” not for rest but for study and examination. On the St. Louis and Kansas City fast mail the crews made tvro round trips In succession, taking four days of almost continuous work and then lie off

four days. 'While off they put In the time resting and studying. New postoffices are continually being established and old ones are being established every day. Tho railroads are constantly changing tho schedules of their trains, and every change involves a change on the postal clerk’s “scheme,” which he must work and commit to memory. The postal clerk must keep whole volumes in his head, and knows that forgetfulness is charged up against him every time. He cannot plead, as other brain-workers sometimes do, that his brain didn’t work right. He must remember, and remember instantly, with a precision that is required in no other business. 1 Then there is the matter of honesty. Temptation is on every side. Letters containing coin go through his hands

j every day. His sense of touch becomes ; so delicate that he can detect money In ! a letter every time. Magazines that he I would like to read are before him, but not for him. A thousand other snares aro in his way. His pay is small. Should he become dishonest a few j “breaks” will land him in the Penitentiary. To the credit of the 6,00(1 postal clerks on duty for Uncle Sam, lot it be said that that worthy is seldom obliged to put his legal finger on ono of them. , Danger is also always in front, of the ’ postal clerk. His car follows the en- | gine. In a smash-up the postal car is I the first to be wrecked. Thirteen postal ! clerks have been killed this year and | many others injured. Postal cars arc ; so crowded that, in case of accidents, ! the clerks cannot escape. Everything considered, the lifo of the clerk is not an enjoyable one. But the train has been rushing on and has now reached Us first stopping place, Pacific. A pouch of letters and three or four bags of paper were put off and several sacks of mail taken on. Tho stop consumed four or five minutes of ' time. Then tho train rushed on again. ! Mail was delivered at tho stations of Washington- and Hermann, but none taken on. The next stop was made at Chamois, about 100 miles out of St. Louis. Here a large basket of hot lunch was handed into the letter car, and the clerks from the other cars came in to assist in disposing of it. As the boys crowded around ihe basket tho clerk In charge noticed that one of the boys was not present. “Whore’s Jim?” he asked. “Sick." was the reply. Thg reporter was also suffering with sea-sickness and was unable to do justice to the lunch. “Sea” sickness is of frequent occurrence among postal clerks. 'Hiding on the fast mail is not riding in a sleeper or on a chair car by any means. The mail cars i being next to the engine aro con-

stantly swayed from side to side, and as tho clerks are on their feet they receive the.full effects of ia.-h bump aud jolt'. Sacks of papers were thrown off at Dauphine, Osage City and Jefferson City, no mail being taken on at either station. At Jefferson City the sacks of mail have to be thrown off with great care. The track makes a sharp curve at the depot, and, as the train rushes along, tho pouches will be drawn under the Wheels unless thrown off at exactly the right spot. It looked as if tho bags of mail were thrown from the car before the station wa3 reached, and struck the

ground after the station had been passed. This was hot the fact, however. } The sacks strike exactly in the center of the 'depot platform cn a spot that has been worn almost through by having mail thrown upon it. So expert have the clerks become in striking this spot, j that tut cm bag of'mail has been drawn ; undef the wheels during the past year. The next stop was at Sedalia. Here another engine was coupled on, and a breathing spell taken by the train crew. | TUe postal clerks did not rost at So* ;

dalia, however, but busied themselv* in putting off about one-tuird of th« sacks that were In the storage car. Tin sa -ke contained mail for Texas, parts ol Missouri and Kansas and other States, They woro put off at Sedalia to catch tho South-bound Missouri. Kansas and Texas train, which leaves that city at 9:15 a. m., about two hours after the Khrrival of tho fast mail. Several large sacks of newspaper mail were put off at this point for Texas. Several pouches of letter mail for Mexico were also dropped at Sedalia. After leaving Sodaily the train did not aguin stop until i( reached Pleasant Hill. At this citation largo quantities of mail for Southwest Missouri were put off. This stop occupied but throe minutos, aud then the train rushed, not stopping again until Kansas City was reached. At each station after leaving Jofferson City mail was taken on by moans of the catcher. Tho bag to be taken on is suspended on a crane at the side'of the track. As the train approaches the station (he engineer whistles and the clerk spring 3 to the dool- of the car. With ono him 1 ho grabs the device for catching the pouch from tho crane, while in the other hand he holds the pouch to be dropped at the ptat'on. Before you know what has happened the exchango of mail has beenjmudo. Long practice is required befor* the catcher can be properly worked] Pouches aro frequently missed when the clerk is not io blame. If the cai should sway the least bit in passing t|e crane, tho catcher fails to do its vork and tho poucL .s

missed. And now tho tiyin is reaching Kansas City. Seven stops have been made. Three were for w iter, three were on account of junctio is, and one at Sedalia to change engines md connect with the Missouri, Kansas and Texas. As the train nears Kunsas City the clerks work all tho harder. Tee -pigeon-holes are emptied, and ea :h package of letters tied up u'nd throv a to its proper sack. In the paper ca - the clerks have been working with m jlit and main. Their run had been v ry heavy, and it had pushed them to g t through. They had handled several one oi paper!, periodicals and cireula s, and were now engaged in tieing u] the 200 sacks that the “pudding” had bien sorted into. And now the boys a j cleaning up. They have been on dut; about fourteen hours, and have been v irking as hard as they could for about line hours. At 10:35 Kansas City was eached, and the men hastily left the car. The old clothes had been discai ed and the dust of travel obliterate*. Dinner was eaten,

and at 1 o’clock each iriui went to bed in order to rest up i little for tho return i trip. At 6 o’clock the mm were obliged to get up, go to tielr cars aud commence getting ready for the trip back to : >St. Louis. The bulk of the mail was j not so heavy is on the night before, j but it was' of mflieiont proportion to ! make things derided ly interesting until j after Sedalia had been passed. Then j part of the crov spread out their blank- | ets and obtains! what rest they e< uld ; on their rude hols of mail. The return trip occupied th.-ee more hours the ■> the trip to Kansas City. The mail o-tys return to St. Louis with tho last passen- ! ger train, leaving Kansas City at 8:25 p. in., and arriving at St. Louis at 6:55 a. m. On the return trips the clerks were not so ‘busy, and the reporter had more opportunity to talk with them in regard to their work. The chief clerk showed the reporter a bundle of “nixes,” or letters improperly addrossed. Most of these letters were from various parts of Europe, and much valuable time had been lost by tho clerks in trying to malic out the addresses. Other “nixes” were the results of carelessness on ths part of the writers. AVhcq St. Louis was reached, at 6:55, the clerks were about worn out, and each one took the quickest route lor his home, where he could eat breakfast and go tc bed, to sleep until ,8 in tho evening, before going to tho depot to do tho same thing over again. The Baitway Mail Service is peculiarly cn institution of the United States. The first idea of the distribution of mail on board trains while they were in transit originated with a pos(office clerk at St. Joseph in 1862, which was then a distributing postofilce for the West. Mail was 'made up there for different towns and sent out in boxes. In 1864 the suggestion of the St. Joseph man had been worked out to such an extent that railway postal service was established between Chicago, 111., and Clinton, lowa. Improvements wore made, a system established. A germ in 1864, it has become a giant. It challenges the admiration of business men, the model postal service of the world.

DISTRIBUINCN OF LETTERS.

THE CATCHER.

AN O. D-TIME MAIL lOK.

DEPARTURE OF THE FAST MAIL.

IN THE PAPER CAR.

EMPTYING THE PAPER CASE.

THE STORAGE CAR.