The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1894-02-24
A LONG DAYS WORK.

A LONG DAYS WORK.
/ He spends the night in the dormitory
on the top floor of the Federal Building,
which is a hotel as well as postoffice and
a courthouse The train on which the man
leaves Jersey City starts at 9 p. m but by
noon or little later, the hour depending
on the heaviness of the mails, he must re-
port for duty on the mail car His first
work is to ''dress" the car-that is, to get
it ready for the journey. From the
''hold under the floor he gets out movable
racks on which to hang his pouches and
sacks There is great art in arranging
as many as possible in the given space, so
that openings will be presented into which
newspapers and packages may be thrown.
Letters are tossed into the pigeon holes of
a rack fastened to the side of the car,
1t also takes time to arrange the slips,
on which his name is stamped, and which
are placed in every pigeon hole. When
the bundles of letters are tied up slip
goes with each, so that mistakes in assort-
ing letters may be traced to the man who
made them. When everything is ship
shape it is time to get to work on the mail
matter, which is hauled to the car in great
bags. The clerk is busy until the train
starts, at 8 p. m., and probably until Pitts
burg is reached, after the journey of 444
miles.
Some mail for way stations is pitched off
and great deal more is taken on. There
are thousands of letters TO be assorted,
among them doubtless a score with ad-
dresses so illegible that even trained eyes
must give some time to deciphering them,
and several which defy all scrutiny. The
letters must be tied up in parcels and la
belled, and the sacks and pouches must be
locked or tied up, with proper tag attached
SHORT REST AFTER A LONG JOURNEY.
The train is due at Pittsburg at $50 a.
M, but travellers know that trains are not
always on time. The poor clerk is pretty
well tired out, but he must keep his eyes
open long enough to report his arrival, and,
if he is in charge of the registered mail to
get receipt for it, He is hungry, too,
and must get his breakfast 1t will not be
far from 10 o'clock, if all has been well,
when he throws his weary form on a bed
in the Pittsburg dormitory. He has work
ed steadily for perhaps twenty-five hours,
standing on his feet nearly all the time,
and one would say that he deserves a good
long sleep.
SO he does, but he dosent get it. His
train leaves Pittsburg for the East at p.
m, and he must be on hand a short while
before that hour He dosent need to
"dress' his car, for it has come through
from ST. Louis. Harrisburg is reached at
2.l0 a. m, on Thursday, always with the
proviso that the train is on time, and he
gets off there, feeling that there Is still
considerable sleep due him from the night
before. But he now gets only six hours
of sleep; perhaps he gets less.
At 1890 a. M, on the same day, Thurs
day, he steps on the train for Jersey City,
which is reached at Up. m, In New York
he gets a good sleep, and the next day,
Friday, at noon, he sets in again to prepare
his car and to assort his mail. The train
goes at . p. m, getting to Pittsburg at
$50 a. m, on Saturday After seven or
eight hours of sleep he starts for Harris
burg This he reaches at 21O a. M, on
Sunday, and his tour of six days (it is
really nearer seven) is ended.
A TERRIFIC STRAIN.
1t is easy to see that no human being
could stand this for any length of time.
Not only are the hours long, but the work
is extremely arduous The men are on
their feet nearly all the time, bracing them
selves to withstand the jolting Of the car
This is a great muscular and nervous strain. I
IF the clerk had to start out again on
Sunday or Monday he would be a physical
wreck in short time. There is record
Of man whe worked thus for thirty days,
but this was an unsatisfactory scheme
for it took him weeks to recover
from the shock. He lost his pay during
his time
The Department at Washington, recog-
lizing these facts, gives the men on the
New -Pittsburg line six days of rest.
Sunday does NOT enter into the calculations
the routineis six days s'cn" and six days
off On the next Saturday morning the
.lerk again starts on another tour. The
hours are made 50 long not from any lack ]
'f consideration for the men but because /
4 The necessities of the service, I'll,