Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1891-11-20
Wonderful Efficiency in the Distribu-
ton OF Our Mail While
in Transit.
The Present Condition Discussed,
with Suggestions as to How it
Can be Improved.
Stories Of Old Stage Coach Days
and how Mail Service
has Grown.

One OF the most interesting branches of
the government service is the railway
mail, and as interesting "a talker as you
will find in the pQstoffice department is
Mr.. J. Lowrie Bell, the second assistant
postmaster general, who was not long age
general superintendent of it, He is thor
oughly informed on all matters relating to
our postal system. and when asked as to
the service recently, he replied:
1.-THE story of the growth and prosperity
of postal service of the United States is
the most wondrous in our history. In
1890 there were only seventy-five postotiices
in the country, and our entire postal reven-
ne was only SIS, 900. Now we have sixty
three thousand postofiices, and our postal
receipts are FIVE to six times as much every
day as they were in 1890 for the whole
year. The year 1888 is not so far back,
but there are many persons now living
who remember it. In that New York
newspaper complained because news by
mail from Washington was a week old,
when it should have gotten through in four
! days. can show you a contract dated
about this time, for transporting the
mails between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh
! IN four-hOrsa post coaches. The contract
Ors were to run two lines day, one to 90
! through in a little more than two days.
and the other in three and half days
( The first was the through letter line and
! was the fast mail of that day. The
slower one was called the way mail, car
rying newspapers and letters for the small
offices. These old contracts contained a
clause STIMULATING that on lines where
mails had grown heavy, they should be
carried In coaches, constructed under the
directions of the postotiice department,
exclusively for the mails Except an out
side seat for the accommodation of three
passengers From this it will be seen
that in building and running railway cars
exclusively for the mails, in these later
days, the department has only followed
out the policy that was deemed necessary
in stage coach times.
at was considered great stride for
ward when a contract was made for an
express mail between New York and Phil
adephia in six hours. At that time an
express did not mean a railway train, but
fast horseback service. The distance
| between those cities is ninety miles and
speed of fifteen miles an hour was requir-
ed This was attained 10y running the
horses under whip and spur and changing
| them every five miles. 1t took two horses
each way to carry the mail and there were
| eighteen changes or relays, so that seven
| ty-two horses were necessary, and a re-
serve from which to supply the places of
| those disabled. The amount paid for this
extraordinary service was one dollar for
each mile run 10y each horse. To give you
an idea of what the roads were In those
days, letme read you short extract which
| | happen TO have at hand from Charles
| Dickens American Notes. Describing a
ride in stage coach when he was in the
country in 1912, he says:
"The great portion of the way was over
what is called the corduroy road, which Is
ma lie by throwing trunks of trees into a
marsh and leaving them to settle there
The very slightest of the jolts with which
| the ponderous carriage fell from log to log
was enough it seemed to have dislocated
all the bones in the human body.
| 1t would be impossible to experience SIM
liar set of sensations in any other circum
stances, unless perhaps in attempting
to go up TO the top OF st. Paul's in an
omnibus.
"A report explaining delay in the trans
/ mission of the mails between New York
and Philadelphia, states that the post
coaches were drawn for miles upon the
aX letrees, so deep were the roads. 1t was
with such difficulties as these that the
po'ohicc departm mt had to contend in the
! early days
"When die the transportation of mails
by railway begin2'
"Along in the early '30s few short
| la, III aud i,tn uJ-
vantage was taken of them to expedite the
mail service 1t was many years before
| there was a continuous line of any consld.
cradle length. In 1885 Washington
newspaper hazarded the prediction that the
day was not distant when travellers leav
ing that city in the morning would dine
in Philadelphia and arrive in New York
the same evening. The distance between
these two cities is now made 10y fast trains
in FIVE hours. It is bewlldering to think
of the progress that has been made In the
postal service during the last fifty years.
| The mails are now carried upon 100000
miles of railroad in the United States
Postal clerks are employed upon 10000
! miles
when was the railroad postal clerk
system establishments
at began during the late war, about
1862. Years before that the department
| had recommended to congress the adop-
ton of a system by which a distribution
of mail matter might be made while en-
route. BY this old way all the mails were
carried in closed pouches TO fixed points
designed as distributing officers. At each
of these the matter was assorted and
the mails made up for the officers
within its district. You can readily see
that this plan was hours and days slower
than the distribution Uy the postal clerks
between stations on the swiftly flying
trains Congress ventured to authorize
Il trial and the system was successful from
the very outset, Its ad 'antages in quick
eniug mail communication were so APP
| parent that the system has rapidly extend
ed Its growth has been marvellous,
reaching in twenty .fve years the figures
have given you. BE- 1867 eighteen rail.
wy postal routes had been established,
with 100 clerks. In 1890 more than 5000
postal clerks were employed. Last year,
in the discharge of their duties, they
travelled an aggregate of l26,000 900