Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1891-03-11
.SEA POSTOFFICES.
The United States and Ger,
many VIII Experiment.
All the Letter Mail to Be Sorted
and Labeled

While En- Route Across the Atlantic by
Sea Postal Clerks Appointed by the
Two Governments, Thus Saving a Delay
of Several Hours to the Inland Mail.
To Begin About April 1.
WASHINGTON, March 11.-About the
lst of April the new arrangement will
go into effect for postal clerks on ocean
steamers plying between New York and
German Torts. The scheme to place
postal clerks ON ocean vessels originated
with Germany in 1889. Postmaster Gen
eral Wanamaker favored the PROPOSE
tion, and then tried to induce England
and France to enter into the movement
They declined, however to take part in
it. The attention of congress was called
to the matter, and authority was granted
to the postmaster general to enter into
an agreement with Germany to establish
the proposed service. Director of the
Posts of Germany Herr Sachse, wa
sent over here last December to perfect
the agreement. The object of the con-
ference was to reduce to a minimum the
delay in the dispatch of the ocean mails
1t is believed that the plan now adopted
will accomplish the purpose
Under the system at present III vogue.
the mails from foreign countries are
dumped in bulk in the New York post
Office upon arrival. there to b. sorted,
and then sent out to the various rail
ways. it is true that mails for some of
the larger cities are labeled so as to be
dispatched intact, but the great mass of
the foreign mail must be carefully sort
ed. 1t fire. luently happens that a steam
er from Europe brings several hundred
sacks of mail and with all the care be-
slowed upon its labelling in the country
Of origin the handling Of it in the New
York ofce re Iuires several hours To
avoid this delay, and place the CORE
spondence from foreign countries in the
hands of these to whom it is addressed
at the very earliest practicable moment,
is the main object of the new departure
in the mail service. The plan agreed
upon is to place upon all the steamers of
the German Lloyd and American-llam-
burg lines plying between New York
and Bremen and Hamburg two postal
clerks who will assert and distribute
all the mails just as is now done on the
postal cars on the railways. When the
mails reach New York, under the new
arrangement, they will be ready to go
into the hands of the city distributors,
or directly to the railway stations for
dispatch by the first trains.
The distribution on the steamers will
be made according to schemes pre-
pared by the department here and by
the German authorities. Each govern
ment will place on each of the steamers
one clerk, and the German government
will furnish an assistant or laborer
From New York to Germany the Offices
will be known as the New York-Ham
burg lOr Bremen) sea postoffice," and
will be undo" charge of the United
States Official until the vessel reaches
German waters. when the mails will be
turned over to the German officer. On
the trips to this country they will be
known as the Bremen (or Hamburg)-
New York office, and will be under
the charge of the German official AT
present the letter mail only will be
distributed, as the customs regulations
require that all other matter must go
into the New York office to be inspected
by the customs officials. Under the new
system the steamers will bring the Brit
ish mail as now, but they will not be
opened and distributed on the vessels
All other mails, those originating in
Germany and in countries beyond Ger
many, viii be handled on the steamers
The clerks will be supplied with United
States and German postage stamps, so
that passengers may be accommodated
for all correspondence originating on
the voyage.
The new system will be officered by
experienced employees Of the postal ser
vice They have been selected from the
railway mail service and from some of
the most important exchange postoffices
of the country. When the time came
to make the appointments the superin-
tendent of the railway mail service and
the postmaster from whose offices ap-
plications had been received were in
structed to furnish the official record of
each applicant, and it was ON that record
alone the "sea postal clerks were Sc
lected. The result is that the new sys-
tenn will start off with the very cream
Of the service. The service will begin
with the sailing of the German Lloyd
steamer from Bremen on the LIST of next
month this government sending to Ger
many clerks to be ready for duty at that
time. Each government pays its own
employees, and all other expenses are to
he equally divided between Germany
and the United States
1t is expected that this arrangement
will make a gain of several houls in the
delivery of mail in New York and many
times result in the saving of train in
dispatching mails westward, lesides
materially tightening the work in the
New York office