Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-06-20

Is a necessity for intelligence, industry anC
activity. without these requisites nothing Ii
gained. but, on the other hand, much loss il
sustained by the government. The new clerk
Is taught to separate the long and the
snort letters, so that the stamper,
and case men can handle the same
without loss of time and make up neat and
trim packages.
He is also Taught to practice economy ir
picking up India rubber bands and Other
things OF use that go toward saving the
government the expense Of purchasing simila,
articles Everything found by him in the
mails must be put in proper place and a re
port Immediately made to the official in charge
The importance of this duty has Frequently
spoken well for the fidelity with which
it is performed. The new man, il
bright and apt, is in time taught to
stamp by. practicing on circulars. and
from this he goes to the letters. if it ID
found that he is trustworthy. He then is put
at the state case to learn how to cast letters
and nom his clerical work done there is judged
Els illness for promotion. He also is forced to
use his number when necessary and has to
stand the blunt OF the errors he commits.
A MASS OF FACTS AND FIGURES.
The dispatcher is an official whose brain is
supposed to be a mass of facts and figures He
Is expected to tell the time of departure and
arrival of every train. what route letters should
| go. and be a first-class clerk To be successful
! he must stand the continuous use of legs and
arms. BE able to lift heavy sacks of mail mat
| ter in manner that Sampson himself if alive.
would be proud Of He must know just where to
put the heavy pouches and sacks, when to send
| them away. keep record of them and have his
work evenly balanced. 1t is not one man in a
thousand that can fill this position properly,
and when a good man is obtained he is safe in
his position as long as he cares to hold it.
| The mailing division is without doubt an impor-
tant one. 1t is here that the public is concerned
about the dispatch of their mail, and as far as
| the clerks are concerned they faithfully see to
| 1t that the mail they handle is properly sent
out. provided the proper address is put on the
mail and the regular postage is affixed to the
| same.
Before leaving this part of the article men
ton must be made of one very arduous duty
1t is but he who works ct it. Allusion is made
| to the 'jackass.'
DUTY OF THE JAcKAss.
The duty of the '.jackass'' is to haul into the
mailing room the heavy sacks of mail arriving
hourly at the post Office. No one can imagine
how the sweat flows so freely or how possible
| 1t Is for human being to sustain daily siren 18th
| enough to haul and handle the tons Of matter de-
| posted at the Office 1t is an irhsome task and
takes all the courage that man can command
20 keep up n cheerful frame os mind while
at work. 1t can only be compared to a steve
dore on q Mississippi river steamboat.
| His labor is without end and if he gets a
chance to catch an extra breath of air he feels
| battered. There would be a sense of injustice
done if the good work OF the mailing clerks was
not spoken of in high praise. No one can form
any idea of the work. slavish as it is, but by
learning IL from experience. The mind and
body are constantly employed. There is no
rest, and added to the many troubles growing
out of the duties the an kettles and depressed
feelings often occasioned by official interior
ence.
EVERY ONE WORKS Harm
Any one who goes into the post Office to work.
whether to occupy the postmaster's chair or to
do ianitor's chores, might as well understand
at once that he will do JUS. as hard tasks as
would be expected of the laborer on the street
The fact is the latter has a chance for a good
nights rest, to have his Sundays and HOLIDAYS
OIL, and set hours for work. The postal clerk
when he begins his work does not know whether
he will be made to work eight hours or a Dozen
Often he finds himself called on to do two men
work and II he be one of the kind generous
enough to undertake to do more than this he
Will be smiled upon and probably coaxed to go
ahead.
There is grumbling and dissatisfaction among
the clerks over the hardships they have to
undergo for the small salaries they get The
public would hardly believe that some clerks
get as small salary as SIS per month and
these same persons do the same work as those
VINO get $50 and 500. The salaries range from
S3OO up TO II 900 per annum and it is apt to take
clerk many years to reach the 81 600 class
The letter carriers have two grades-SSOO and
Sl,000-and they are enyied by the clerks for
the good luck they have in getting the salary
they do.
THE DELIVERY DIVISION.
The delivery division is the receptacle for
all mail matter reaching here for delivery to
the public. The clerks are slipped, rs in the
mailing division. and held accountable for all
ST max 10 u,.rl OH
sweat until there appears to be ending to task.
One mail is hardly received and boxed for the
letter carriers wher anothe- arrives and the
same thing Is gone over. The clerks have
all manner of conundrums presented to
them i'll the. shape of handwriting and
1t is wonder that they are successful as
they are in making out many of the addresses.
The public who fail to get letters on time are
much to blame. Often in writing to their
friends they fail to give either the street.
number or the section they live in They
don't think that there may be one or more per-
sons named like themselves. 4 few people
imagine that their names are household words
and hence feel satisfied that If letter comes
addressed to the city they will get it without
fail.
IMPORTANCE OF DIRECTING LETTERS PROPERLY
1t ought to be the duty of every good citi-
zen, and bad one too, for that, to see if his or
her name Is in the city directory, with the
proper spelling OF the name, the street, num-
Der OF the house and section of the city where
he or she dwells. Ii not found the postmaster
should be Immediately informed and a list of
| the family given him. Another very impor-
tant thing is that when person moves from
a house the postmaster should be informed of
dle number OF house, &c, moved from and
of the house entered. These rules, simple as
they are, require no trouble other than putting
the same on slip and either dropping it in a
letter box or handing il TO a letter carrier
People OF late are being stricken with men,
tai malady, and that is of writing one thing on
an envelope while meaning another Frequently
letters intended for Washington, ILL.,, say, are
addressed Wash, d. c. or Wash. Del q"
Delays, therefore, in such instances can be un-
derStood. The post office cannot be expected
to interpret what person meant TO do when
the address on the envelope shows a contrary
idea The delivery division is closely identified
with the citizen and this fact is often
shown by the lengthy sarcastic letter that
the citizen sends the postmaster regarding
delayed letter. The letters reaching this di-
vision are Immediately postmarked the date and
hour Of arrival, that any Que receiving a
letter can tell the time when il was mailed bv
the postmaster on the front of the enveIope
and the time it was received by
looking on the back. Often letters are
received marked due SO much. This