Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-07-04
No Successor Has Yet Been Named
to Captain Sherwood.
A TALK WITH THE POSTMASTER
How the Office Has Grown During
His Administration.
A s PL ENDID RECORD

The commission of Mr.. Henry r. Sher-
wood. postmaster of Washington, expired
today, and all eyes are now turned anx-
iously toward Gray Gables to see what
name President Cleveland will post up on
the bulletin board Of federal patronage as
that of his successor. The Star on Monday
gave resume of the conditions of the
case and outlined the standing of the lead
ing candidates for the position, and there
has been no change in the forty-eight
hours intervening.
As all roads lead to Rome it Ia generally
admitted here that all democratic lanes
in the District lead to DR.. j. Walter Drew
He has long been regarded as the receptacle
OF political fact and rumor regarding local
party affairs. He was asked by a repre-
sentative of The Star this morning for his
views upon the postmastership; who was
most likely to get il, and when 1t would
PROBABLY be filed.
What DIR. Drew Says.
Il don't believe there Is a man, woman
or child in the District who is aware of the
Presidents intentions regarding the various
candidates i don't think he will take ac-
ton at once, but believe he will fill the
place in January, although he may send in
the new postmaster's name in the usual
batch OF December nominations. L can tell
you one thing. however" he continued, with
earnestness, If the sentiment of the gen.
eral public here can influence the PreSi-
dents action he will appoint Mr.. Sherwood
10 succeed himself He has made an ideal
business postmaster. and did not disturb
democrats who were employed in the office
when ne TOOK cf@rge. oh, yes, l am per-
ieStIy willing " be quoted on this"
The same neral sentiment, friendly to
ME- Sherwooi appeared to exist in all
quarters. bu. many thought there should
De political change in the place, and that
some local democrat should get il.
POSrrna - for nj
all disturbed by the strong fight being made
over his official remains
Talk With POstmaste Sherwood.
My connection with the office began
when 1 was appointed assistant postmaster
OIL the 1st Of August, 1888. and consequent
ly have been here steadily for a pretty
long time" he remarked to The Star
porter who called on him. With the up
ward movement Of the office during that
time 1 have been closely Identified. and 1
may De excused for taking pride In the i'm
provement-the remarkable Improvement
that has taken place. and the success that
has been attained in the system under
which We work.
Few persons have any idea of the i'm
mense =...IIIIes connected with the
WashinL post Office" he continued. Il
am bonded In saO.WJ, for instance, and fire.
Quentiy there are $.sU,UtU worth OF stamps,
postal cards. etc. In my possession. while
In tine depository of similar articles down
stairs are SpD,UO more. since my term
began the business of the office has been
largely Increased. This office is now the
distribution point for postal cards for fif-
teen or sixteen states, and this summer its
registry division has had added TO its duties
the distribution of all the stamps issued by
the government, which We're formerly sent
out from New York. This amounts to s52.-
coO,OOO a year.
Remarkable Record.
'The registry division is under the su-
perintendence of Mr.. W. d. Peachy. and is
splendidly conducted. 1t has not lost a
single piece of registered matter in six
years, a record that is. l believe, unequaled
in the country. / am gratified to say, also,
that there has not been a single monetary
less in the office since have been postmas-
ter, and at every moment of the time af-
fairs have been in such shape that a post
office inspector would be welcomed. My ac-
counts have always been all made up, and
at any time i could have turned the office
over to my successor, as ! can today, If
necessary, at two hours notice. The in
crease Of work and responsibilities seems to
nave inspired al Increase, if such a thing
were possible, Of the efficiency of those who
had 1t to meet. The business of the office is
now $JO.OUO In cash receipts, and II the
government put stamps on its correspond
OOO
Nearly all the branch post offices have
been established in the past ten years, and
II may be Interesting to know that Ii will
be but short time before the railway post
oince system Will pouch letters intended for
the East Capitol, GEORGETOWN and SOUTH
west branches direct from the cars to those
offces- They are the only three stations
having the carrier service connected with
then, and the new departure will greatly
facilitate the delivery of letters in the sec
tions they control. i could talk for an hour
on what the Washington post office has
done during my connection with II, but it
to rts.r
steadily upward and forward along the path
Of improvement"
Future Needs of the Office.
Tell me something about what should be
done In the future, suggested the reporte-
"A great deal remains yet to do" re-
sponded Mr.. Sherwood. There are now ten
fourta-class post offices In the District.
They should all be abolished and mads
branches Of this office, and the WASHINGTON
postmaster made postmaster of the District
of Columbia. Iii tell you WHY. Such y
change would admit the creation of csrrisr
branch offices, and in this way the carrier
service could be extended, as ii should he
TO the District lire. The fourth-class post
offices / speak of were made money order
Offices under my recommended tion but many
people are not aware of it"
''Will ycur successor have much patron
age at his disposal?'' inquired the reporter.
There will be little no patronage such
as you mean. 1 presume. of the loaves and
fishes variety, was the reply.
An Efficient Force.
venture the assertion, without fear OF
contradiction. that the Washington post Of
flee contains the most efficient Gle -ical force
OF any post office in the country. Iattribute
such condition 10 the operations OF the
CIVIL service laws The superintehdeAts in
the main Office and those of the branch Of
fees are the only employees not under the
civil service, and half of these are demo-
Gratis The efficiency of my force is due to
the fGct that Washington is peculiarly an
American city.
There are very few foreigners here. This
once gets a list of eligibles from the civil
service commission, and finds that mCst
OF them are High School boys They are
young, smart active. bright, have good
eyes, ani are Just the material to make
hrst-class post office men out of They are
all American-born. Then the colored men
on the eligible lists are usually Howard
University men, and the same characterIs-
tics hold good In their cases. / have never
allowed politics to have anything to do
with appointments under nee. There are no
politics in Washington. and when / took
the Office didn't believe the people wanted
the Office run In a polit cal way. / found
many democrats In the Office. and also
found they were efficient painstaking,