Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1892-10-03
HER 1lAJESFY,S MAILS.
a Glance at England's Postal and
Telegraph Men, with Official Fig
ures of the Pay They Get.

LONDON, Sept. 81.
To the Editor of the JOURNAL AND COURIER.
A very wise man has said that there is
nothing new under the sun, bu. when we
had several letters delivered to us one
night endorsed on the envelopes "Dog on
Step" and with the initials of the letter
carrier attached, we felt as though we had
fallen upon something q1ite new and lit
tie exaspsrating as well. The only dog we
could learn of which was at all likely to
be perched in the hallway of our dwelling
was harmless young collie that belonged
next door. But surely, We thought, this
cannot be what is meant; the legend "Dog
on Step" must be sign by which the pos
tai authorities of Great Britain express in
cipher something of great moment which
it is desirable that only the initiated
should find out. When, however, We re-
ceived, few nights later, another letter
with the same Endorsement upon it, igno-
rance ceased to be a virtue and we in
quired timorously what it was all about.
The reply we got was that it meant Just
what it said, and the further explanation
was given that If a postman fails to deliv-
er on any round the letters which are en-
trusted to him, he must endorse upon the
envelopes the true reason therefor, and
that in our case the reason We were missed
WAS that the able bodied carrier of her
majesty's mails had thought discretion the
| better part of valour because as he looked
-, 20 f,a hol haa,, oh0nGeA
| and intimidated by seeing dog on the
| step.
Undertaking to write upon postal af-
fairs, with special reference to the condi-
ton and wages of the numerous employees
in this branch of the public service, We
have introduced the subject by the incl
dent just given because such an occurrence
| the like of which we never knew before
seems to illustrate both the good aud
the bad features of Britieh postal work
the good, in the perfect system and care
full oversight it displays, and tho bad in
the fact that uniformed officer of hel
majesty, wrapped about with so much red
tape, aud with such well organized de
partment behind him, should have beer
turned aside from the even path of hi:
duty by harmless little collie. OF course
there was not much delay in the delivery
of the letters. This ''dog gone STEP" ~
we felt like expressing it at the time, only
made difference OF about an hour; fol
one of the very best of the many good
features of the Eoglish postal system II
the frequency with which the postmar
makes his rounds. Here in London yor
begin to get letters at eight o'clock; ther
another delivery at ten, and after that, il
your friends or business clients keep NJ
their end of the line properly, You will b,
hearing the postman's knock about every
hour until what is called the nine o'clocl
delivery, which sometimes, of course, will
not reach you until nearly ten, when yor
are thinking of putting on your night cap
This is how it is in the whole of London
and we are assured that the mail service i
quite as good relatively in the provincia
towns.
An important branch of the British
postal service is the monopoly 1t has of tn
telegraph business, and, beyond doubt
this is one kind of monopoly which re
} bounds to the advantage of the public
!, We are constantly hearing from English
men that the postoffice is run for revenu
only and that the convenience of the dea
public is an after consideration. We sha
, leave the Britishers to settle this matte
for themselves, only saying that to a
! American it seems a mighty conyenier
: thing to find postofices at such short dil
tances from each other, and to find, ful
, thermore, that almost all of these al
equipped with telegrsphic appliance
And when you discover that you ca
! send q message of twelve words to an
a part of the United Kingdom for the tt
fling sum of thirteen cents, with only
cent word for what you may desire
send in addition, your satisfaction nat
o rally increases. It must be noted, no,