The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1872-03-09
POST OFFICES ON WHEELS.


Behold the great white sea.
CARL SPENCER, in Ha1per's Magazine.
POST OFFICES on WHEELS.
How OUR LETTERS ARE CARRIED AND
DISTRIBUTED on THE CARs-THE RAIL-
WAY NAIL sERvIcE-ITs ORIGIN, IMPoR-
LANCE AND MANAGEMENT.
Probably very small portion of the peo-
pie of this country are aware that the Post
office Department at Washington has I'M
der its care large numbers of " Postoffices
on Wheels" in which as the railway trains
are passing along from point to point, mails
are received and given out, and letters and
papers are assorted or classified for their
various places of destination, with as much
regularity as that which exists in the best
managed postoffices in our cities. Such,
however, is the case. Under what is known
as the Railway Postoffice Service, the pos
tai system of the United States within the
past ten years has been improved so as to
increase mail facilities beyond the expecta-
tions of the most sanguine of the few who
interest themselves in the improvement of
tho mail service. In these Improvements
every man, woman and child is directly
interested, and in one way or another
receives the benefit of them.
WHAT THE RAILWAY POSTAL SERVICE is.
The Railray Post-office Service of the
United States may be described as the
endeavor to give letter the same rate of
speed and continuous progress as trave-
Ter can attain. Under what was known as
the old Route Agent system, although
large post-ofices and cities had the advan-
tage of through mail bags by fast trains,
small ones were restricted to wayservice
on slow trains; and letter going any con-
siderable distance from one small post office
to another, was subject to delay of from
twelve to twenty-feur hours at one or more
points on its journey, in some of the large
offices. AS we shall presently show, these
delays are now almost wholly obviated by
the Railway Post office system.
PosT-oFFIcE ON WHEELS.
Before we consider the origin of this sys-
tenn, brief sketch of what it is, as seen in
its practical workings, will not be inappro-
pirate. Probably the New York Central
and Hudson River route, is as good an
example of the system as can be found in
the Atlantic States, running as it does
through a thickly populated section Of
country, and performing what no other
eastern route does, viz: the entire SWAY
service as we'll as the express service, over
the whole line, from New York to Buffalo,
excepting, of course, mails sent by some
trains in Through mail-bags, or pouches
as they are termed. The best way to un-
derstand the Railway Postal service is to
see it in operation; but as it is difficult for
the public to gain access to a postal car,
owing to properly stringent regulations,
we will take our readers into an imaginary
one which is the counterpart of two which
we were permitted to visit, through Official
kindness and the courtesy of Head Clerks
A. D. Sanford and E. NJ. Gregory, who are
employed on the New York Central and
Hudson River route. The exterior of a
postol car does not differ materially from
that of an ordinary baggage car. The in
terror is fitted up for business more than
for comfort and pleasure. On entering
the car, the first objects which the specta-
tor notices are large number of pigeon
holes on one side and at the forward end of
the car. These are for the distribution of
the mail matter which has not yet made its
appearance. We will suppose that we are
in Buffalo. Just previous to the trains
starting, a wagon load of mail-bags or
pouches is drawn up t o the side Of the car,
and the contents are thrown unceremon-
iously through the side-door, upon the
floor. The Head Clerk, the Clerk and the
Assistant Clerk are on hand to take charge
of the car and the mail-bags. The bell
rings, the train starts and the work in the
car begins. The contents of the pouches
of letters are emptied on the table of the
Clerk, who asserts the letters from the
mass of other mail matter, and passes them
over to the Head Clerk, whose duty it is to
distribute them and take charge of all the
registered packages. These letters are
examined by him with view to ascertain
ing their destination, and putting them on
the right route to secure speedy arrival.
The pigeon-holes in front of him duly la
baled with the names of the post-oifices and
postal routes, are used as temporary recep-
tacles for the letters, as they are classified.
This classification, by the way, is one of the
most difficult tasks which the postal clerk
encounters. There are in this State more
than twenty-eight hundred post offices,
With the LOCATION Of which, and with the
most feasible postal routes thereto, he
must be familiar, to say nothing Of the
other postfficoes in the United States.
While the Head clerk is distributing and
classifying the letters that were emptied
from the mail-bags, and the Clerk is dis
tributing the printed matter, such as mag
,zipes, and newspapers, ETC., we notice
that the Assistant Clerk is making up y
4 pouch which he locks, and places near
the side door. We notice also singular
,ontrivance attached to tiia size OF the
door, which we are told is for the prrPo.aae2
of catching maii-bags while the cars are in