The morning call., 1890-09-07
POSTAL FACILITIES.
How Postmaster Backus Has I'm.
proved the Service.

When one stops to count them up the re-
forms which Postmaster Backus has inaugu-
rated in the Postoffice since taking charge
are simply astonishing. Five new branch
postoffces have been asked for and granted.
They will be located as follows: No. /, cor
ner Third and Townsend streets; No. 2,
corner Post and Devisadero; No. g. corner
Sixteenth and Market; No. a, corner Hayes
and Laguna; No. 5. corner Montgomery
avenue and Mason street.
In addition to these five, which, with the
four now in OPERATION, will make nine con-
veniently located postoffiees in the city,
the e will be twelve sub-stations, located as
follows: No. /, Kentucky street. between
Seventh and Butte; No. 2, Twelfth street
and Railroad avenue, South San Francisco;
ket; No. 8, Union and Laguna; No. q.
Kearny and California; No. Z. Fourth and
Howard No. s, Fillmore and California
No. 9, Twenty-eighth and Castro; No. III,
Twenty-fourth and POtrerO; No. II. Tenth
and Howard; No. T. Thirtieth and Mission.
When these stations and sub-stations are
established the public Of San francisco Will
have as convenient a chain of post0ihce
facilities as any city in the continent. Be
sides these, thirty new stamp agencies VIII
be established in convenient parts OF the
city.
In the work Of the postofice proper,
twenty-four new clerks have been appointed,
aud thirty additional carriers. The carrier
system has been extended to South San Fran
cisco, and on October 1st 1t will be extended
to Point LoboS, and MAY LIST carriers Will de-
liver letters at the Cliff House.
A system of package collection and de-
livery has been undertaken. Forty large
package boxes, four feet high by two feet
wide, will soon arrive here from the East
and be placed at convenient points IN the
central portions Of the city, and special car
TierS will collect packages from them as let
tiers are collected now. Special carriers Will
also deliver packages to the houses OF the
people
When the new stations and sub-stations
are established the poStof1ice will be for
midable rival of the district telegraph, sys-
TEN, for special delivery carrier Will be on
duty at every one of the stations and for
ten cents letter can be delivered into the
hands of the person for whom II is intended
with astonishing speed. This feature Will
be one of great convenience to the public.
But, perhaps, the greatest reform in
augUrated bv Postmaster BaeEus is the sys-
ten of checks upon the work OF the clerks,
devised by him and put into successful
operation. The result of this new system
has been to entirely eradicate earelessness
in the Office, and to almost make mistakes
a thing of the past Over 10000 letters
| are handled in the Office every day
and so : affect is the new system that mis-
take niue in handling any one of these
letters can be traced to the delinquent clerk
| with unerring accuracy. For the hrSt
| offense the careless clerk is fined two hours
paw. for the second offense he is fined four
hours pay, and for the third offense lie loses
| a week, Ii is useless to say that the clerks
| in the postofiice now attend to business. =.
The new rules in the internal conduct OF
| the Office are ironclad. Not the smallest
| scrap of waste paper is allowed 10 remain
| on the floor, so that the danger OF letters
getting mixed with scraps and being swept
| out is entirely removed. II letter Is seen
| in any place bu; the proper one, the respon-
| sible clerk is at once punished.
Vastly greater care IS now exercised IN IN
| distributing the mail. A letter thrown in
| the wrong box is sure to turn up under the
| new system and bring swift punishment on
| the clerk who put 1t there. AS an iliuStra-
ton On August 18th mail-pouch filled with
| letters came from Station to the central
office. The pouch was emptied and sent
| back filled with mail for Station q. Upon
| being emptied there two letters we're found
| which the clerks who emptied the pouch at
| the central Office had failed to get out OF the
| bag. The letters were addressed 10 New
| York. The error was reported to the post
| master. The new system of tracing errors
| was put into operation and yesterday the
| careless clerks were called up and fined.
| Said Deputy Postmaster Quinn yesterday {:
Il would like TO impress on the public the
| fact that great care should be exercised IN
| Stamping letters. Particularly should thlS
be done with letters intended for foreign
| countries. We have great trouble with the
! Australian MATS. Part of Australia is in
tine Postal Union and letters 90 there for
| cents, but the west coast of Australia IS
| not in the union and u cents is required.
| The general public are continually trying to
send letters to the west coast Of Australia
with a scent stamp. OF course we cannot
forward the letters, and if the name OF the
sender is not ON the 1dtsIde of the envelope
we are SUPPOSED TO send them to the Dead
Letter office. | have at my own expense
been stamping these letters. 1t has cost me
| Quite a sum for every Australian steamer "