, 1890-02-23
TIE POSTAL SERVICE.
Startling Statements Made by an
Ex-RaiIway Nail Clerk.
lust Why Eastern Letters Continue
to Come in From the West.
Efforts OF a Man to Hold Position
DemoraIIzing the Service.

by 30 many letters and papers mailed
At Eastern points and having their desti-
nation at Cheyenne should reach here
from the west. showing a delay offrom one
to two days in time of transit, has been
Tor some time a mystery to the Cheyenne
public. At all Wyoming points along the
line OF the Union Pacific the same com-
plants have been made and since the es
Enlistment of the through last mail ser
vice they have been noticeable. numerous
and aggravated. These errors, causing
as they do, costly ~annoyances to the pub
lie are invariably charged against the rail-
way postal clerks.
To get their side of the story THE LEA
DER tried 10 vain to interview several of
the Omaha and Ogden boys running into
Cheyenne. The fear of detection and
loss of place prevented them from giving
away any Of the inside workings of the
business. An exclerk however was found
who was not afraid to talk.
The entire fault can be traced to Super
intendent Whites desire to run his divi-
sion on 30 small an amount that he will
get = record for economy and good man
a9ement in the department and be en-
abled to hold his job. White has held
the superintendency of this division a
great many years. The Democrats rec
oenized his ability and made no effort to
remove him. although he is and always
has been . stalwart Republican.
Now. however. there are three or four
people trying to crowd him out. and in
order to stay in he is trying to make a
record. He is making it, but it is at the
expense of the already oyerworked clerks
and . suffering public.
The average mail taken out OF Omaha
is thirty-five tons daily. When the fast
mail started all mail for Oregon, Wash
inRton. Montana and Idaho was diverted
to the line, owing to the fast time that
was made. with the expectation that a
crew of four men would clean up all the
mail for Nebraska. Idaho. Wyoming.
Washington and Oregon, between Omaha
and Cheyenne. When that amount of
work wa found, on trial. to be beyond
the power of the clerks, Mr.. White gave
to each crew one more clerk, making the
crews FIVE men each.
The next move was to take of one crew
to Cheyenne and apportion the members
to WORK from OREGON mail from Omaha
To North Platte. This makes the crews
consist of six men to North Platte and
five from thsre to Cheyenne, and entails
on five crews the running that has here
tofore besn done by six crews, i. e.. for
each member Of the Eve crews an addi-
tional mileage of about $500 miles per
year and about 20 per cent more work. to
say nothing of the added risk. in G, 100
miles travel. or necessary expenses-this
last not a small item to clerks whose sal
aries only'.average 81. 900 per year.
The total number OF clerks working be-
tween Chicago and Omaha is 90; the
number between Omaha and Ogden is
so. The number of pieces OF mail matter
handled for December last by the Chicago
and Omaha lines by these 90 clerks were
in round numbers 5000. 900; by the so
Omaha and Ogden clerks, 5000. 900.
The work expected of clerks on the
Omaha and Ogden run consists of work.
ing all letter and paper mail for Wyom-
ing, Utah, Idaho. Oregon. Colorado,
Nevada. North Dakota. South Dakota,
Iowa, Nebraska. Missouri. Ohio. Illinois,
Indiana. Wisconsin, Pennsylvania. New
Jersey and Michigan, and all paper mail
for Washington. In these states are
nearly onr-half the postof6ces in the
United States.
To acquire a proper knowledge OF the
work requires constant study and to keep
up with the continual change of names
of Offices, the new Offices established, the
changes Of routes and connections it is
absolutely necessary that the clerks have
sufficient time given them for LAY OFF,
in which to rest aud study. Not only
has additional work been crowded on the
Omaha aud Ogden boys, but their 'lay
off has been cut down.
Instances have been known where mail
for Oregon and Washington has been
upon order of the superintendent, held
back in his division twenty four hours to
be worked at Green River by clerks on
their ''lay Off so that the mail might
not go out of Whites division unworked
and be reported against him to the de-
partment.
1t is the opinion OF every clerk in the