Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1886-07-03
AN Attractive RESIDENCE.

staircase, hall and buffers pantry. The library
Is separated from the hall by handsome
screen. In the basement is kitchen, laundry
aad pantry with cellar, and the upper floors
contain nvs chambers with bath room and ann
pie supply Of closets
THE LETTER CARRIERS.
nskiss Collections From Letter Boxe.
en- Tricycles.
TIE HOURS AND WORK OF LETTER CARRIER
WALKING KIGHTEEN Or TWENTY MILES A
DAY-How THEY ROUTE" THEIR Letters
THE HEAVY TRIPS, &c.
Letter carriers on wheels may be one OF the
sights which the near future has in store for
Washington. In fact such sight can be seen
now IL one fingers around the city post office
ana watches the carriers IA they go to ana from
the ONCE. An experiment Is being made to
test the practicability of using the tricycle. In
making collections from the boxes. A tricycle.
OF the pattern used by some business men In
the city, built with a large basket In front of
the rider Is being used. The contents OF the
boxes are placed in the basket. $50 far" said
Mr.. James 4. Bell, superintendent Of the city
delivery, to q STAR reporter, speaking of the
tricycle.. ut seems to be quite success Car
Yiers are able TO mount and dismount more
quickly than from q wagon, and to get over
quite as much ground a. with q horse" The
tricycle., OF course, Is not considered practical
BILE in making house-tO-house deliveries, but
the work vi collections may be expedited by
their use.
THE LIFE OF CARRIER.
Carriers have to work pretty hard" said one
OF the post office officials. "For my part, SO tar
as the work is concerned, would rather work
laying paving stones in the street than to do
the work OF u carrier. The amount OF walking
carrier has to do day after day. carrying from
~ to 30 pounds OF mail, is in itself hard days
work. In this city Ii IL worse than in Others.
Why: Because Of the wide parking in front OF
Inc houses on most Of the streets. A man has
10 go In through the parking To "A front door,
then retrace his steps 10 the sidewalks, go 10
the next house, take another walk To the front
door and SO on. On some streets, like h street.
man has to walk the distance Oh nearly half q
square In going from one house 10 another.
sometimes, OF course, q carrier can cut across
the parking, but most people put up picket
not do that"
WHAT A PEDoMETER SAID.
Some time ago a pedometer was worn by q
carrier In the office. One day the ped ON eter
registered twenty-five miles from the time he
went on duty in the morning until he quit at
night. Another day he wore it only when out
Oh the Office on his route and il registered
eighteen miles. Any one who thinks carrier
has nothing 10 do but walk from house To house
would change his mind il he could look into
the carriers room some day before the carriers
started out on y trip. The mail for city de-
livery ID sorted by squad OF clerks i'm large
gets his mail from his box. When he gets il
he has " assert ii in the order in which the
Letters and parcels are TO be delivered, or, in
th lang uage Of the office, lac has To route il.
Apert carriers "route" their mail very rap
idly, having in mind a map Of their route and
just the course they propose " take.
THE HOURS OF DUTY.
The average number OF hours q carrier 10 on
ure consumed out OF the office in the delivery
and collection Of mails. The carriers are due At
the office at $50 Oclock in the morning. De-
liveries are made at = and 10 =. H., IL m. and
aud y. M. The men who make trips a day
Consume about hour and 40 minutes on the
b O'Clock trip; hour and 20 minutes each and
the 10 and ~ O'Clock trips, hour on the z
O'Clock, and hour and 10 minutes on the 4
O'Clock trip, making, in AL, u hours aud As min.
utes outdoors. The trip men are out about q
hours and 80 minutes and the trip men z
hours and 90 minutes. The trip men though
making fewer trips cover much more territory,
In the outlying sections OF the city. Almost the
entire time OF the carrier is occupied either in
delivery Or office work from $3.50 a. IN. TO 5:3O
y. w., AS the limited time between deliveries
will not permit them to be absent from the OIL
tce. In answer to interrogations from the
Post ONCE department as ~ the effect of the
proposed S-hour rule tor the carriers, Postmas-
ter COnger stated that IL the present number OF
would require the employment ol not less than
30 additional carriers but their employment
WOULD make possible improvement vi the SER
vice. by The extension oi deliveries and collec-
tionS in almost every section Oh the city.
THE HEAVIEST TRIP.
The eight-o'clock, or earliest trip Of the day,
Is the hardest as the heaviest mails arrive
early In the morning. When carrier returns
from this trip, about nine O'Clock, he has to
hurry TO get ready to go out again AT ten O'Clock.
This Is = light "trip. he returns a little alter
eleven and sits down TO eat his lunch, perhaps
eating and distributing his mail AT the same
time, he has 10 70 out again at twelve o'clock.
A carrier when he learns his route soon adopts
methods OF sorting his letters, SO as 10 insure
the speediest delivery and 10 enable him to get
over his route rapidly. Generally, the carrier
In asserting his heaviest trip nas one rule from
which he never departs, but ON the light trips
he often changes, rs he nnds that it VIII ''run'
better or that the longest way around is the
shortest way home. carrier whose route
takes in two parallel streets, like 9th and TIN
streets, aud tue streets running between them,
will sometimes start up 9TH street and when
he comes TO u cross street 60 hall a
square down that street, returning To sth
aud SO ON. Then When he comes down 9th
street he will go halt square up each cross
street, AZ he comes 70 IL, delivering the mail 10
the point where he left OH. All this ID OF course
in his mind when he sorted his mail and he
went over his trip mentally arranging the let
tiers and packages, SO that the mail for each
To tue house. the carriers will soon be pro-
vided with a set OF new sorting tables provided
with boxes which, it is thought Will facilitate
their work. The superintendent Of Tree de-
livery, Col. Bates has shown much interest in
the Washington office. Mr.. Bell, speaking of
Col. Bates. said he had shown q disposition to
when the wants OF the office have been brought
to his attention.
Death Umdisguised.
"Oh DEATH thou subtle Protsus, that dost wear
Such shifting shapes in human phaIltasies
lain would see Thy face without disguise,
And know thee ~ thou art, for tout tar.
Then Death appeared, responsive to my prayer,
~ W ~, own aspect. g., gr a. calm ana wise
Bun kind and gracious-sndh he blest there
And from that day, as friend would walk with friend
We walk the world together, he and 4,
And OF he holds with me high colioquy:
70 that the ways Ut life thro lgn which we wend
Are w with hlter purpose, aud the end
And final goal seems blent with the far sky.
FRANK Z. AARzIAis, ~ TIE AcadempI