The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1889-06-06
OUR NAIL SERVICE.
THE IMPORTANCE THAT
NONE BUT EFFICIENT
AND TRUSTWORTHY
POSTAL. CLERKS BE
EMPLOYED.
A Few Reflections by an Ex-Clerk,


ASi SAhN sNe1N =" ~ . SNsA = y ~ - /
in the Railway Service of the |
United States, and upon one of |
the principal fast lines of Amer
lea, "a. G. L.,) it has been my
lot to observe the workings of |
this ponderous and gigantic
method of distributing and dis
patching the mail through every
nook and corner of this broad
land of ours. Take the daily
papers of New York city-the
Press, say, at y O'Clock at night,
is started, and by ) o'clock
thousands of papers have been
run off, folded: placed in canvass
sacks, and are flying on t. their
destination and in less than SO
hours tie people Of Florida are
reading papers that were pub
lished in New York over a thou
sand miles away. Much to the
credit of our iilroads is this 50.
| might say the mail system of
the United States is ubiquitous;
railroads, steamboats,, stage
routes, horse routes, and where
the country is rough and jagged.
even foot routes. Some of these
letters cost the government over
five and ten dollars to send them,
yet the aggregate whole reduces
the expense Of all, and thus it
goes on; and to-day we can send
a letter anywhere in the United
States for two cents, and any
where there is an established
route in the world for five cents.
All Of this work is performed
by $500 postal clerks. If they
do not traverse the road they
make up pouches for those
points and forwarded by express
trains. So we might say every
foot of railroad in this whole
country has been traversed by
postal clerk every "a hours, and
he has got to work about eigh-
Teen out of twenty-four, contin-
ually on his feet, and as rapidly
as his hands can move. Were he
to daily FIVE minutes as the train
flew along, some business letter
would be carried by; some letter
from an absent son to a fond
mother delayed, and the sweet
heart would sigh and sigh. "for
the letter that never came"
Not only must he be able to
work, but he must study like a
student, or he must have mem
ory so strong that it predomi-
mates over the other faculties,
and is what we might term a
meekness; and if the memory
be not strong he must pound
and pound. hard, dry, abstract
J and distinctive names until il
is part Of his nature. In fact
he must do everything SO well
that if the train were hurled
Z from the track and you were tc
ask him an Office, and he couli
INSTANTLY tell yon.
TO give you an instance, it wa:
? my lot to witness a terri
BILE wreck. The postal clerl
was badly bruised. He had beer
' distributing mail for the Stat'
: Of South Carolina. approach
ed, laid my hand ON his poo
bruised head, asked, GLOW d.
!. you feel ?" He caught the word
How and ield,-two Offices il
), that State. And there came from
q his dry lips the husky whisper
}. Chow is in Darlington county
e exception, Wjem, Jack" Fiel,
e is in Pickens county, Charlott
and Atlanta straight. The mel
/ who composed the postal clerk
y under Mr.. Cleveland's admins
J. tration we're above the average
y For neither Democrats or Re
IL publicans were retained on an
L other grounds than proficienc!
/ But under Mr.. Harrison's admir-
= istratson Democrats were di:
1t missed regardless of examine
u tiens and qualifications. to MAX
:. room for negroes to worry til
I neop1e of the South. HO
L long7
The postal service is the mo
10 important of all the governm Ell
IS branches. For every commun
st cation, both official and privat
is entrusted directly to the Ca
O. of the postal clerk. We are
most at the mercy Of the
he men. They, see each other evel
Id day. And how quick conce
of action could be promulgat'
to to quiet work. For its mo
IL like work than holding n offic
rd and our country would be ute
n ly paralized, for no man, tie
'e- ever so bright, could commit
N memory twenty or twenty-fi
lst thousand names (more wor
he than was used by the create
writer in the English languas
he under a couple of years; in t
'so meantime what would becol
OF of your mail ? suppose il
ow before an election these men
nd belong to one party. They qu
lay Each man has a right to qu
EYou could not prosecute him