The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1883-02-17

and the one who counts the contents o
one of the pockets empty and pack ri
each three pockets. The third girl i
therefore required to empty and pack vi
the contents offour pockets, with nothing
else to do. The yellow paper band that i
wrapped about each package of twenty
five cards is ready gummed, so that tn
three pocket-tenders are able to work
with alacrity. as it is evident that they
must do in order to stack up all the post
al-cards used in the United States. Tht
packages of twenty-five each are place.
in piles of ten each, and two of these
piles are packed into strawboard box
each box thus containing 500 cards. The
strawboard boxes are made rapidly on
the spot by an ingenious machine. The
whole machinery for making postal
cards, after the cardboard is received
from the paper-mill. could be operated
in room thirty feet square. This. Of
course. would not be sufficient for storing
material and stock.
The Government makes contracts for
postal cards to continue in force four
years. The present contract was entered
into on July 1, 1881. with Messrs. Wool
worth & Graham, of New York. 1t is
understood that the Fort Orange Paper
Company now participates in the con-
tract. The Government agency is in
charge of Mr.. Alfred Tanner, of Kings
ton, who has seven clerks and assistants
to do the bookkeeping. shipping and
supervision. These are employed BY the
Government under the direction of the
Third Assistant Postmaster General.
The contractors employ in the card fac
tory proper about twenty persons-men,
boys and girls. Managers, employees
and all hands board in the village, which
is little more than mile from the works.
This force produces and packs an
average of about ], $50. 600 postal cards
each working day. The total product
last year was $50, ZOO, 900, and as the
cards are all made at Castleton factory,
the product measures the number of
cards used in the. country. II the de-
mand at the factory averages /, $50, 900
a day, it follows that only an average of
one and quarter card is used daily by
every fifty people in the country. This
shows a less general use of postal cards
than many might estimate without some
thing like definite data. The rate of in
crease in the use of cards during the year
ended June 80, 1879, over previous years
was 1902 per cent. For the year ended
June 80, 1880, the increase was 20 per
cent, and for the last fiscal year it was
about the same. The increase is believed
% be mostly in business quarters, where
hey are used for advertising. For pri-
rate correspondence the cards do not
'eem to be as popular as they were when
hey were first authorized in this coun-
ry.
The cost of postal-cards to the Cover.
nent under the present contract, as
with the cost under former
contracts is something remarkable, when
is observed that the size and quality
re either the same or better. The con-
ract price for four years prior to July 1,
877, was 81. 39S per 200; for the four
Iears ending June so, 1881, il was 69. sc
ents per 1000, but under the present
contract it is only 54.43 cents per 200.
seing sold at $40 per 1000 to the public,
ne Government receives S9.49k per
600 for carrying them broadcast
through the mails. A thousand postal
ards weigh six pounds and . quarter,
ccording to the Governments contract
nth Messrs- Woolworth & Graham. The
ost OF the agency for salary on agent |
nd assistants was, for the year ending
une so, 1881, $500.
All orders for cards are sent by local |
ostmasters to the Post-office Depart |
lent at Washington. Each day 8 orders
re there made up into schedule con-
inning the name Of the Post-ofice, the
anne Of the Postmaster who makes the
rider, the number of the cards wanted, |
nd several other entries OF q s'red-tape''
AZURE. One copy Of the schedule is
mt to Agent Tanner at Castleton, and
mother is kept in the Department. The
riders are filed at once. All amounts
nder 1000 are sent in mail-sacks.
riders for 1900 or more are sent in
OGDEN cases under the Post-ofIice
'gistry system. The packing cases are
raduated in size to contain 1000. 1000
900. 5000, $4,000. 10000, $1,000 and
200 cards in original packages of 500
sch.