The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-03-23
MEN WHO MEMORIZE.

The Big Burden Carried by n Railway
Mail Clerks Mind.
II suppose that the clerks in the railway
mail service have to exercise their memories
more than any other class Of persons" said
Victor j. Bradley, assistant superintendent
of the second division of the railway mail
service, recently, to a New York Tribune re-
porter. "For instance, some of the men of
experience are expected to have the situa-
ton Of $4,000 or 10000 postoffices in this
country fixed in their minds. When a man
enters the employ of this branch OF the
postal department of the government, he is
put on probation for a time. He is assigned
to fix in his mind a certain number of post
offices within a given time, and if he does
this satisfactorily, and is capable in other
respects, he receives q permanent appoint
ment.
In the first six months of his service he is
bound to learn VIII ere about 900 places are
situated. Of course, we begin him on that
section of the country in which he is at work,
SO that he is aided in his memorizing by his
expe rience. The next six months he is ex-
pected to learn even a greater number of
offices. and in four years in certain cases
III AuF0 = ~ LIE iSa 2 Clia WhClO D6-
tween $4,000 and $4,000 postofiices are, and
be able to tell how to mail matter to them.
Of course, the men will forget some out of
this enormou number, but the percentage
is small, otherwise the clerks could not keep
their places.
The trouble about the whole thing is that
the employees must be examined periodical
ly, no matter how long they have been in
the service, SO that we can make sure they
have not ceased reviewing their lessons. A
mar might have all his offices committed to
memory and vet forget many of them in d
year or two, if he did not keep up his study
ing. BY the time men learn the last Of
their $4,000 names, they have forgotten
some of the first ones, SO their task is an
endless one.
The mere committing to memory of the
best way to send a letter to its address ia
not all that is expected of our men. They
must also know something OF the less adj
vantageous routes and the times at which
trains which carry the mails reach inter-
mediate points. 1t sometimes happens
that the train on which the clerk is at work
meets with a delay, and he cannot make
the connections he ordinarily could. In
such cases he must have a clear idea of how
he can send the pouches over some other
route, 30 that they will reach their destina-
items with rs little loss of time as possible.
Oftentimes this will compel him to ire
assert his mail, 30 that he can send part of
it one way and part another. Again he
may have all unusually large amount
of mail matter to handle,
SO that in spite of the
utmost diligence, he cannot have the letters
packages, newspapers, etc., properly as
sorted whsn the train reaches a station
where some of the pouches are to be thrown
off. In such cases he must change the
scheme of assortment. getting ready as
much mail as he can, and sending the rest
back as soon as possible. Aman must have
a clear, cool head on his shoulders, and be
able to plan out a long campaign of railroad
connections and routes in his mind.
In spite of the qualifications and study
needed to make u satisfactory railway mail
service clerk, the pny of the men is poor,
promotions are slow and the tenure of Office
by no means so dependent on good behavior
ns it might be. The highest annual salary
for a clerk is $1,000 n year, and generally
takes eight or nine years to reach that
grade. No, n place in the service is not the
most desirable ono in the world, aa most
OF the 5000 men who are in it Will tell you.'