The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-12-23

last . lifetime. IT was when the mail train had
q smash-up with . passenger train one winter
Killed, and thought I was pretty near death
then myself. ! was pretty well shaken up, and
~ carry the .-r, scar Of T. to e. my, ET T"
among the passengers that weren't. in hys-
train. and never shall forget the courage
there s'P en- the fo 90 ' OF the Station E60 beside ssE so the
tireman-end he wa. a horrible sight, what
Tss r Isst a. of b 6.mT az a negro scSr 1 viii he sT,m m h Snd i sIt
and manRled, but he died with his head in her
lap. and when the last breath left him she took
face. She took of her fur cloak and wrapped 1t
around me, and | tell you ] was not a pleasant
up the heart OF q woman. and hers was gold. All
sorts Of experiences in a mail clerks HE"
had followed like pale ghosts, and at forty
h ,SI .i.sy S marx s. e ~ the s, tSEiP Sd sp.iP Ia .,.r ThFyG sna,
The telegraph poles nodded knowingly as the
fipoin dil Sas y Il. I nisht ike SsE BLACK s lhs sss'i snd
shook their lights In answer to the shrill whistle.
was a white. silent world Of ghosts ct . O'Clock
h the morning, until there came the SWINGING
, nSs .Sis ss sie sU1t Sn, tGw Of sbSin dnss 3 Sffreighte cars
There had been a ten-ninute intermission in
the nights hurry before Springfield was
hlt NhV lnNh bhhkNu ONtT IHCI ~
or among the mail bags, and caught a bite at
sandwiches from paper bags, There was a little
field came the hurry OF making ready the
pouches for the city and its outlying connec.
hastily labelled and locked. Each postal clerk
carries n key with a special number on 1t, and to
lose a key is a serious matter, almost .
tered pouches have locks with rotary num-
hers on them which are. guards against
locking and goes on record, and any change of
number indicates to the receiver a need of In
ions ssbles, in Sn which sfSe PiS Is siipp Is a@ a (ci Z ,lit PAPER per-
bearing on its face the destination ofthe mail and
the stamp Of the clerk who locked it the staples
are slipped through the eyelets in the pouch's
mouth, the strap is run through the staples, the
padlocks snapped, and the pouch IL ready.
somewhere between humor and sarcasm. "be-
lieyes that the best way TO keep men honest is to
done up the postal service in yards Of red tape,
and we clerks have "a much bookkeeping on our
hands while we are working our brains in postal
Els desk ali day and does nothing but Keep
books. The system works well. though. and
Belongs Sion S1''I We Y "e can 1'H trace s' every very single Hss sn letter n
or package that Is registered through tho
tal,U Sf mail nan matter ~ scu shers; m Sna be- IN toi h%htfsa
there Is q minimum of loss because of that very
sTyrs ks en-. Il gives US gray hair early though;
the names Of clerk. on duty between points, the
sTrors checked against them. the names Of ci,y
utbt hhu WIbU Dolltb Il iNll-
ure. IL ANY, OF mails: the failure, IL any. to de.
liver mails; any ,irregulnrity In the receipt OF
newsdealers' packages; the orders for, supplies;
nation: the unworked mail. II any the number
OF registered packages. pouches, and gold boxes.
and the number of packages and letters distrib-
uted 10 the sixty-one stations. and the names
OF clerks distributing them. Then there are q
weekly pouch report, special reports for mail
failures, mail shortage notices, the registry sys-
tenn, and a great deal more that, comes up in
practical work. Beyond this we have 10 keep a
lookout on railroad schedules, and. II the train Is
delayed and the usual set OF connections with
emergency by despatching, tho mail by, some
other route, or else we are likely to be called to
order by the superintendent"
Three minutes at Springfield. and the train
-Four o'clock, but the stars are. still shining and
the landscape ghostly, and the gas flares on
haggard faces at the cases., and the clerks throw
bundles and lock. pouches with less energy
though no lessening OF the strain Of hurry.
One cheerful young. man at the case down at
the end Of the car whistles q few bars Of . pcopu-
the music dies way in the slip, slip of letter
sorting. The brakeman has curled himself mp
on the leather bags and gone fast asleep; he
platform, In Ave minutes he has laid himself
In the midst OF the leather again. and is snoring
in time to the Jolt Of the train.
The men at the Boston cases work like COM
2ositors throwing type. Worcester Is passed.
There Is a stop at South Birmingham, and the
dawn looks in at the windows. Boston comes
next, with a turning out OF the Back Bay
pouches at the Huntington avenue. station, the
hanging up Of empty pouches. the house-clean-
ing and Strengthening OF racks and tables and
TO, the crew of grimy-faced ,:red-eyed, tired men,
turn their cases for the westward trip. and the
clerk in charge. with his pencil behind his ear,
Office to check on the pouches as the train draws
up In range OF the waiting mail wagons. and the
clocks OF the Hub strike 6 in the morning.