Morning journal and courier., 1892-11-01
RAPID TRANSIT FOR MAIL.

BY Pneumatic TuDe-Ine SySte" 10
be Tested-A Contract Signed by the
Government-New Haveners Spe.
cially Interested In the Enterprise.
An interesting problem relative to the
swift delivery of mail matter is about to
be tested and the subject is awakening
great interest, as the government has taken
hold of the case and will give the pneu-
matte tube system trial. Several of our
New Haven citizens are specially and fnan-
oially interested in the new enterprise and
have great faith in its ultimate triumph
ant success and they have from the first
conceived the project to be of the greatest
feasibility. The particulars regarding the
coming test trial and the contract entered
into by the United States are thus given
in its Washington special by the Philadel-
phia Press, in which city the trial comes
off in a short time:
Within the next two months the FEAST
bility of the pneumatic system of mail de-
livery will be tested in the city of Phila-
delphia. The postmaster general to-day
entered into an agreement with pneu-
matte transit company whereby the latter
corporation is to put in plant between
the main Office in Philadelphia and sub
station of Chestnut street below Fourth.
The expense of the construction of the
plant is to be borne entirely by the COM
pany, the only accommodation granted by
the government being the privilege of en-
terinR the postofice and the sub-station !,
and that must be done under the super
vision and direction of the supervising
architect of the treasury. The govern
oJo 10 al %t,1 In
use of fifty horsepower from the surplus
offics building. The contract was signed
by W. J. Sicily, president of the COM
pany, and g. T. Hemp, secretary land Post
master General Wanamaker for the gov
eminent.
According to the agreement to-day was
the last day on which plans for entering
the postof6ce building could be submitted
to the architect This was done, and as
they do not damage or interfere in any
way with the buildings they were
| approved. December i is named as the
date on which plans and drawings of the
method of entering the sub station on
Chestnut street are to be submitted. The
latter date will be near the completion Of
| of its material ready and is prepared tc
| enter upon the construction of the tubes
! at once.
| The tubes to be used are required to b.
six and one-eighth inches in diameter. The
agreement signed to-day also binds tn
transit company to conduct the tests O.
carrying the mail at it's own expense for
year if required to do so by the postmaste
general. At the expiration of that TIM
the government is to have the privilege o
leasing the plant or buying it outright a
it's cost.
SecondAssistant Postmaster Bell is chair
man of the commission which has ha,
under consideration the testing of the pneu
matte system of mail delivery. He is yer,
mucL interested in the approaching tes
and was much gratiied at the signing o
the contract to day, which insures trial
Philadelphia, in his opinion, is one of til
most suitable cities in which to test tn
system. This is partly on account of tn
facilities which the government building
offer. There is plenty of surplus power i
the postofice building to operate such
line as is proposed. There were man
systems presented to the commission fo
trial, but the cost of making test of ther
barred most of them out. While the owne
| and inventors offered to construct the plan
| at their own cost the question of securin
sufficient power to operate them after the
had been built forbid the department tai
ing hold of them as the money allowed b
congress for this purpose is very small.
Mr.. Bell cited one instance in which tx
agents on a certain system urged its tri
because it consisted of a twenty four inc
| tube and could accommodate more matte
than the one about to be tried. Mr.. Be
showed that in order to get power enoug
to make such large tube sufficiently rapi
in the transmission of mail matter engine
costing $15O,000 would have to be bull
and there was no government building
the country large enough to accommoda
| such machines. Fifty horse power will
sufficient to operate the one about to I
constructed. and the delivery will be
| effect instan taneous.
1t will not require half minute for IL
transmission of a package of mail matte
from the central Office at Ninth and Ches
nut to the sub station. The rapid trans
of mail matter has been NJ. Bells STUD
and hobby for years, and he has alread
been able to accomplish much in that lin
The plan OF using the many electric ra
roads that connect large cities and the
suburbs for the delivery and collection
mail has been very successful, and ia
operation in many of the western cite
The first trial was made at Minneapol
and st. Paul, and proved such an adva
tage that it has been introduced quite G
tensively, especially along the Pacific coa
where so many towns are connected
trolley lines.