Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1888-07-14

Clerks Wh0se Brains are Gridirome,
Like Hallway Maps.

Like Halfway Mapss
WHAT A railway MAIL SERVICE CLERK HAS 10
LRARN-KxAMrNArl0Ns THAT HI HAS 10 UNDER
CO. THOUSANDS or rosr oFr1cts AND THEIR
LOCATIONS At rnER yfNeER IRA
They have little examination Of their own,
20 the railway-mail oflcials say and they are not
particularly interested In the recent statements
that their service Is to be gathered within the
fold Of the Civil-Service Commission The
general opinion seems to be that the Presi-
dent will probably direct this to be done
In order to make the civil-service law apply
TO all departments Of the public service.
II will be no particular novelty to q
postal clerk to be obliged to pass an examination.
In fact 1t Is said with good natured exaggeraton,
that postal clerk rises up In the morning with
same companion. When he has "his day on" he
10 apt TO speno II reading little book, or rather
trying 20 transfer 70 his memory long lists Of
names OF places and railroad lines. He may be
probationer just learning his "ocal scheme" or he
may De the veteran OF many years service, who is
for the purpose Of gaining promotion. what
ever may 1e his grade or length OF service, a
postal clerk has generally an examination to look
With the ingenuity born OF a wider experience,
may be able to devise Examinations Involving
postal clerks doubt their s6ility 10 make lie
Kreater burden than 1t Is at present. The worst Of
ncisn s1e c,eraS say examin tions and high pro
'ne WORK they are expected to do.
on BOARD POSTAL CAN.
Inc man matter has now reached such proper.
lions that 1t must be distributed on the cars, or
not at all. The majority Of post-of1ces have all
they can 90 TO attend to the local mails. On
on wneelA the clerks In handling the mail matter
are Obliged to have full and accurate knowledge
road on whcS 81 sae TO % ane rs
also the names OF all the little towns villages and
CROSSROADS along the branch lines and star-routet,
anu steamboat connections, and also about the
roads that the men on horseback and In wagons
as ns ssy The a Sp wea y
10 supply mail facilities to people who live In the
back bach counties away from ali railroad lines To be
Oy sheer force OF p0' nemo S,e'A aoso uss
the he, geography Of the country through
m ma,ch IN ne passes He must photograph postal
Map on MS mind and keep IL there with all the
lines clear and distinct. A single deviation, the
slghteot error as his hand losses the letters and
car Will result In carrying the mall matter miles
beyond It's proper destination and delaying deiiv-
cry ior hours and perhaps days. This would be an
CLERK would not mind that very much as the public
H. rather coldly impersonal to the average mind.
anxiety to avoid making one is due TO the fact that
Inc postal clerk or postmaster who discovers a
letter In the wrong pouch or any error In the
rfahsmisson Is oolged 10 report II. In this way
IL Is charged up against the clerk that made the
error, and errors stand in the way OF promotion.
SCHEMES TO BE MExoRIzED.
Any one who has studied a map showing the
railroad lines in this country will understand how
q postal clerk is obliged to "gridiron" his brain
when he succeeds In mem0rizing his scheme"
MI Chas. W. Vickery, the superintendent OF the
division with headquarters In this city, told a
SiAh Ieporter that when man has mastered HIS
route, especially II 1t happens to be OF the main
lines ne has not much room left In his mind LOT
any thing else. II lakes man three Or four years
the novice Is Obliged to begin gradually. He is
not given at first list OF the names OF
5000 or 1000 ofices with all their railroad
connexions When a man enters the service he
does SO as prObationer. lie goes on postal Car,
and Is an assistant TO the clerks. He ties up the
bundles or mail NATTER raStens up the sacks drags
them in and out OF the car, and, in the intervals
he Is studying little black book. This book is,
apparently, his nearest and dearest friend, and he
all up, and dgests 1t thoroughly, so that when an
examiner comes along and asks him questions
about the care Of mall matter, the duties and re-
sponsibiltes OF clerks, and other matters touched
upon by the rules and regulations OF the postal
service, he Is able to give correct answers. Then
the examiner puts his name down in a little book
anu writes IN column opposite per centage indi-
Gazing how perfectly he knew his lesson.
LEAKING THE POST-OFFICES.
After that, II the examiner is satisfied, sheet
OF paper, called "a local scheme,"is put in the
no'lces hand. His work now begins in earnest.
That paper contains list OF the post-oices along
some main line Of railroad, with the star-route
connections. The beginner then attempts TO make
himself familiar with portion OF the state which
he has begun 10 study. While he learns he travels,
and gradually he becomes acquainted With the
multitude OF railroad connections. A drummer,
MI. Nlckery said, once entered the service,
and at nrst he said that he would not have very
much to learn, as he knew all about The Railroad
lines and most OF the towns. lie soon found out
tnat he was mistaken, observed Mr.. Vickery, Qui.
city. After the beginner has been su1iciently ex-
amned on this local scheme and Is able to tell at
what point TO leave the mail Tor some cross-road
.AOa IN Iln
can give other interesting and thrilling informa-
ton about the meanderings Of the star-routes,
and, above all, when he has attained percentage
OF ~, he Is ready 10 go on. lie may have been
six months or more In the service and during that
time the examiner is able to judge whether he
has any capabilities for the service. Some men
are not so quick and ready as Others and Tor such
men a longer probationary period than six months
IS granted. Some Is per cent OF the men who
enter the service fail to stand the test of examtna
ton, and are dropped out.
TAKING WHOLE STATE
SO far the man has not mastered q state, He Is
next given the task OF learning the names OF all
the post-oces In an entire state. 1t Is called in
the slang OF the service, learning "ofces to coun
ties" II Is studied In much the same way as the
printers apprentice studies his case. The learner
sits down before case OF pigeon holes. Each one
OF these pigeon holes is labeled with the name of
county. lie holds in his hand a pack OF cards
containing the names OF the pOst-ofiices or towns
To get these cards In the proper pigeon holes Is q
problem which takes some men an hour and other
the cards." as It IL called, Is not SO amusing
as IL might seem. 1t requires many hours Of
hard study In preparation, and the time
occupied In the distribution well as the num-
Der or mistakes made are all put down neatly In a
little book, which the examiner keeps The ey
aminer hasn't anything particular to DO except to
SIT around and see a man struggling with his
memory. He, OF course, has gone through 1t ali
himself ana Is familiar with the pigeon holes as
with bis alphabet. The examiner OF this division
Mr. Geo. w. Carr, told STAR reporter that not
long ago he sat with man from O'Clock In the
afternoon until O'Clock the next morning and
then the candidate did not get more than SO per
cent on his examination.
STATE SCHEME.
The aspirant for the honor OF being member of
q postai-car crew having successfully eluded the
various pitfalls which have been placed In his
mental pathway Is fairly on the road to success
lie next undertakes "a state scheme" This new
instrument OF torture, when shown up In print
covers sheet about or feet square, and In the
case OF state like Ohio the sheet assumes larger
with the name OF the railroad by which mail is TO
be sent to the different towns within that county,
An Interesting feature OF this scheme at least TO
those who don't have to learn II, is the noting of
the exceptions in the list OF towns to which mail
Is TO be sent by some other railroad For inst
in the county OF Ptttsyivanfa Va all the mail is 10
be sent TO Danv1lle with the exception or certain
towns along the line between Washington and
Charlotte, some twenty-f In number. There
are also i've such towns between Elba and Rocky
Mount, eight between Keys and Danville seven
between Danville and stuart, and seven In other
locations. 30 that out OF total OF seventy-One
vN<Naf <sfJiO m IN