New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-12-12
4 STREETCAR NAIL SERVICE.
SUCCESS OF THE EXPERIMENT Is ST. LOUIS-AN
EXTENSION OF THE SERVICE EXPECTED.

! SUCCESS OF THE EXPERIMENT IL 1T. LOUIS-AN
EXTENSION OF THE SERVICE EXPECTED.
! ST. Louis, Dec IL CSpeclaD.-A street railway car
fully equipped for Collecting sorting. postmarkng
and distributing mail matter, the first Of It's KIND IN
tbe world was put into operation in this city on
Wednesday last. Occasional references nave bceh
made I'm the press Postmaster lIarlows plans for
ach a service and II has been said that II was
already in operation but the fact Is that only II
regular trips had been made up TO last "wednesday,
and the scheme was put into actual operation 50
quietly that it had been doing It's work for four days
before the local press found 1t out
Major Harlow has been In the service OF the POST
office Department for twcnty-sevcn years During
the greater part this time he has been in the Rail
WAY Mall Service. lie. in fact assisted materially
In developing that service, and was his hnlliar
with II which led him to think OF applying similar
methods within the limits of the larger cities The
nubllc asked why II took longer for letter 10 90
from the West End to the North End In ST. Louis or
Chicago than from ST. Louis to Chicago or from Chi
cage m omaha With the best possible use of the
facilities with which he supplied, no postmaster
IN auy Of the large has been able to prevent
his patrons from asking these emDairaSS's fuc9
| ,nns Major Harlow saw the necessity not only
of increasing the speed with which the mails arc
rn,pored In the city, but Of postmarkg and sorting
them while In transit lie has been for IL year OF
moro mast endeavoring TO work out the details OF
nlan which would accomplish these ends
In its general construction United states street
Railway Mail Car no l. as it is labelled Oh the
sides resembles a common baggasecar' haVHiH uoo
on each side as well as AT each eDd. Ni'nh 'he
car when In operation, are two postal CLERKS one !"
receive distribute and deliver mail matter the oth'r
90 rotmort letters As they are received and arrange
,er, for d.tributon the front end at one side Il
a rack with hooks on which to hang pouches on th'
oppositc side Is IA table on which the man Win inc
stamp works and near II Is case OF pigeon NUTS
while the space in the rear end oil the car Is reservoir
for ont oftJwn mail which Is to be sorted at the post
Office.
There are three regular subs,ations along the line
y, the road where all kind, OF po~toire business may
be done but besides these Major Harlow has provided
for seven or eight points Of rendezvous Tor carriers
Tie car leaves the door Of The I"stonce al 90
A. H. for it, inst trip and arrives a. N"baHe' az
lance Of probably i've miles az o'clock IL runs on
schedule time and Is al tn" ten or eleven stations
or raliyne point, by the carriers assigned 10 the routes
in the adjacent districts. These carriers have already
made collections their routes Tie mai collected
/ hv them is handed 10 the In The car. and The
D,uch.-, containing matter for them to deliver are
n. stopping place. The letters just received are post
marked those TO 20 outside thr city being separated
from those FOR city distribution. Letters addressed
q 10 point, covered 10y the carriers contiguous 10 the
posal-car placed in their appropriate pigeon
holes. and when the rail- inePint 81 the carriers to
who's, r,utcs they belong /, reached they delivered
10 those carriers without having been carried
TO the posoiIcc In such Instances Il great saving
Of time Is effected In one insthn'o, al least letter
has been delivered within twenty Nv. minute, from
the time Il dropped In box
Returning the car have Calannc at ocloca.
Meanwhile the carriers along the lin" have dis rhted
the mail received from the car AID made collections
over their routes The mail collected Il placed aboard
the car. and 9.33 + al the ppstOfice. At $50
The starts again for another trip Al present only
three trips a day made. but IT Is proposed In
crease he number 10 four at an carly date
far Major laflOw's experiment II pronounced
entirely successful. but thl, experiment embraces only
a fraction OF his entire scheme Ills plan include
similar several other streetoar lines and
Az .sAnsfer Of mall matter from line another