New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1885-11-08
THE RAILWAY MAIL SERVICE
,,pv rp,TuR. Villas SHOULD NOT REMOVE.

<..o.l has of late been making radical changes III
o branches of the Post Office Department Is causing
;derable uneasiness to he elt by the oiu e'nPoSeS
81 tho Railway Postal Service who nave heretofore
considered their positions secure IL was not eAec'eu
~ VIA would be second to any of the Cabinet
'"' ,; alterations or causing such removals TO ne
Io ., anifed MS purpose, but 1t was generally sup
,.oa that he would 30 nothing to interfere WIN '"o
-, and safe delivery of the mails Ills recent
iII;nrs with the Pacific and the other mall sleShSi
cleorv showed the falacy of this idea he
Sor,rocd large part of the foreign mail service Va
anvrv Naturally it is asked Will he hesitate
'"' =, Ttcyisc with the almost perfect domestic dc-
-, srstcn now III operation y Official assurances
n,+ bn will not do not have the weight when th'N
IA Lost snrpg for il is remembered that the OCEAN
ii ,o,ro.ont,tiyes who called upon him IN May u
rtan his intentions in regard to tue appfopri"'o"
,node bv the last Congress for the man s'e"'"sn'P
eolc were informed that they would be properly anu
at;,.ctorilv dealt WITH which promise has certainty
not been fulfilled.
Itwoud be folv todeny that there are many Gi'pace
r,.,ts aud removals which can be made without Se''o
dctrimcnt TO the service, but 1t Is equay true 'nA'
tb.re are some which only take place nj 'ne oA-
ncnso of the public. OF these latter are 'he runway
nostal clerks The duties OF few pu""c oi''''N '''
moro vocuely understood by the average citizen 'hah
q these
fact that the railway postal clerk OF to-day oil uo
i1odv reosnt origin Twenty five years ago he was u
,ro b,rrauc master; he is that now aad the master
nf tho mos. important post Offices Of the country as
well. -.,
rt1 500 all mail was fist sent to the large central
~ ~ they we're then called, " distributing post
oficesn of which there we've between thrty-hVc anu
fftv in the country. Here il was definitely assorted
and made up packages for shipment either TO IT'S
ultimate destination 10 some other large once IL ne
- tti or1 thebusiness of the railway postal clerk was
nIv Ia look after the receiving, carrying and denver
ing OF these packages in sacks In other words he hau
10 do only with the mail IN bulk. But wh'h tno pan
of distributing the mail while in transit was put INTO
onerarion the character OF his once comnieiely
BANGED Instead of being position that almost
onyb3dy could fill with ease, it became one that only
man equipped with vigorous physiSal Ira ue anu It"
excellent memory, capable 81 enduring houIs ol
ordnou toll and constant study hold successfully
TIE LARGO most Offices now distribute only the matter
deposed ia them directly by the public ana the rest III
This work is done IN the cars or the railway posi- oeS
as thew are termed. 1t is estimated taat nearly MhS
entbs of the counrys mail is distributed by the rail-
way postal clerks who number IL all about 4,ooo AT
present For over twelve years they have been gov
I1ed entirely bv the most rigid Civil Service rules that
cnnld be 6evsed. All railway post othce clerks are
appointed for PG0G b O me n er Az
ness Tor the work is tested They are not subjected TO
any examination until the end OF their hrst month
euiployment Then they are questioned closely CON
corning such postal laws and regulations and the
nracfiSal workings OF their Office they are expected
T. have mastered by that time. These examinations
are continued monthly until the expiration Of their
mediation when If found competent, they are gwen
mI appointment in the first of the i've classes into
rrbob the clerks arosdiyidcd. As about 80 per cent
Of ali those appointed fail to pass these examinations,
some idea of their severity may be gained But the
questions are confined entirely TO matters pertaining TO
and intimately connected with the work in which the
clerk engaged and not more searching than the
pature of the service demands
clerks of the first grade receive SsUO year those
of tle second 5000 those OF the third, 1000. The
saauo of the fourth and fifth class men arc limited Ia
s 200 aud 81 400 respectively. Except the old
hands whose proficiency has been thoroughly proven,
All are examined frequently and the results of these
examinations and their raj records their promotion
entirely depend. Everything Is conducted on the
strict, It business principles which IL shown by the
TACT that in twelve wears clerk has been discharged
unless it clearly shown that he was either ncom-
rrtent utemperate or ncglectiul of duty. By these
means the service has been able TO secure the most
efficient corps Of that be found in the employ
of the Government aud II might be added the hardest
worked. Ex-POstmaster General Hatton IN his last
annual report declared that the amount OF special
study which the railway postal clerks have devoted to
tbe dnes of their Office would have made them pro-
6c,ent iu almost any of the professions of lite. The
uecuar character Of the business in which they are
engaged makes il necessary for them TO he complete
masters OF IT, Every detail connected with II they
must know thoroughly. There Is time for them 10
stop and think ascertain what time this or that tram
reaches particular Junction or whether certain
post office is where il Is written on some letter; they
must have 1t all in mind beforehand.
The task OF leaving the distribution OF the mail
Which is SIMPLY ioca to any railway line is an easy one
There are seldom 900 or 800 such Offices and
they can be easily memorized in week or two, but
postal clerk required to distribute all mail received
mon his line and 10 understand thoroughly the railway
and stage routes and their connections through the
states Tor which he makes a close distribution. Take
for instance a clerk trunk line, like the Pennsyl
vania road He has to know and keep the run OF al
th, most Offices in New-York, Ncw-Jersey Pennsyl-
vania. Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia
and "A portion of those in Vermont, Massachusetts,,
Connecticut North Carolina and Georgla-about
10000 in all. Among these changes are constantly
occurring New offices continually being cstaD
hot fold =
railways are be NC built old ones extended and the
frequency of stage trips is being constantly Increased
or decreased. Daily information concerning these
changes il furnished b. the Department at Washington
and the postal clerk is required TO change tho dis
Irbltion at TO conform 10 the altered service If
through ignorance careessnes he sends mail astra
mr. tail. TO forward it by the quickest route to its
destination tue error is detected and charged against
Alm As these mistakes AFFECT ms standing therrcpctl-
ton becomes matter of grave Importance to him.
While ON duty tie clerks work from fourteen to
sixteen hours daily and tue major part OF their labor is
reformed in jaIrng ioting, swinging cars. whirng
along al the rate OF forty or fifty miles an hour IN an
atmosphere heavy with dnst and poisoned with the
fumes of flaming lamps. They are exposed to danger
ous draughts when they heated from their work OF
pilng mail and far more liable to injury in case of
accident or collision than the passengers rs they are
near 10 tho locomotive II j. not strange that many
of them break down under the severe strain 10 which
they are necessarily subjected in order that the mail
NAV he promptly delivered On nearly all the heavy
lives the clerks only alternate weeks, and this is
what leads maUy people to suppose that their positions
are JesiIaIle forgetting that il is the sc erty of the
work which makes this rest absolutely Indispensable
At the principal railroad stations Of New York and
Jersey CITY they be every afternoon, three
four hours before their trains start scpaIa ng the
contents of the mail sacks that are brought TO them
from the Post Office in the great mail wagons. There
are generally four or Eve men TO each and the
rapidty with which the old. experienced hands can
distribute Is simply marvellous. Tho thousands Of miles
OF territory in which are the destinations OF the letters
and papers That they handle with its complicated
systems OF railroads steamboat lines and stage routes
are so clearly mapped out in their minds by careful
study anC years OF constant practice that it is
10 see one stop IL inquire about the most nsgn-
cant office in it, But clerk has to years OF a-
premiership to become thus proficient. 1t IS cxcep
fio for man have charge of an Office until he has
been on the line for at least FIVE years In the very
nature of the case as has well said, the places