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

Is found that the same men must handle
the mail from New York to Pittsburg, so
that proper account can be taken of the
way in which the work is done On the
journey eastward the mail is largely classi-
fed by the time it gets to Pittsburg, aud
it is possible to change Crews at Harris
burg.
One might think that with six days of
rest even such six days of labor would be
bearable; but the six days are not really
spent in resting We have left our clerk
at Harrisburg on Sunday at a. M, thor
oughly tired out. Should his home be in
Philadelphia or New York, he must 'dead-
head there. Sunday and Monday are
given, to use paradox, to good hard rest.
1t is found by experience that man does
not get back to his normal state after the
six days strain in less than thirty six or
forty eight hours. Tuesday and Wednes-
day, probably, are spent in study These
clerks must memorize on terrific scale.
Those on the heavy through lines Ike that
spoken of must know the situation of eight
or ten thousand postofices and the trains
running to them. Then there are con-
slant changes in time tables, which. make
it necessary to correct the schemes of dis
tribution.
The New Yorker will have Thursday
for enjoyment On Friday he will get his
slips ready and make his reports about
irregularities, and that night will travel to
Harrisburg to begin another ''tour" on
Saturday morning.
SOME LINES NOT so BAD.
This is perhaps the most trying line in
the Second Division of the service. This
division consists of the Middle Atlantic
States. The superintendent is r. C. jack
son, and his chief assistant, Victor j Brad
ley. Both have offices in the Federal
Building here. Some of the men on the
200 lines have comparatively easy time.
There are only half dozen with what
most people would call entirely reasonable
seasons of labor. Some lines are nearly as
trying as that to Pittsburg, but have regu-
lar hours. Take the New York albany
line on the West Shore One train leaves
Albany at 4.20 a. M, but the clerk must
report at his ear at , Il. M, to start on his
asserting,
This train is due to reach Weehawken
at 9.2a a. m. Having to make reports,
etc, the clerk hardly gets to the dormitory
here before 1870 or II o'clock. After
nap of two hours he gets up, has bite to
eat, and reaches his car at 2 p. m. He
has got settled down to work at 345 o'clock,
when the train starts for Albany. Ii is
due there at 9.05 p. m, and the clerk hur-
ries to bed, knowing that in four hours an
unfeelins man will shake him and say
get up. Time to get to your car The
clerk may get bit of sleep on the way if
the mails are not heavy, and he may not
After six days of this he has six days for
study and rest
RESTING ONE WEEK OUT or THREE.
On some small lines the clerks have Sun
days to themselves, but are on duty every
weekday. If the work is not quite so
arduous as on the New York Pittsburg or
New lork-Albany runs, the men may rest
one week out of three. As the line entails
less labor, the vacations grow farther apart
Some clerks work three weeks out of four;
others four out of FIVE, five out of six, or
even six out of seven.
A feature Of the Service which the pub
lie might have difficulty in understanding
is the fact that any men who report for
duty at Harrisburg and end their tour"
there, should live here or in Brooklyn.
Many of them do, and therefore make two
extra journeys Of five and half hours
each every twelve days. Men appointed
to the service are urged to move to the
place which is their headquarters, but
often they prefer not to leave their relatives
and neighborS. Sometimes they are will
ing, but their wives, possessing veto power
which no vote can overrule, decide against
going to a strange city. The tendency of
course is toward the most convenient place.
Clerks have been known TO stand the
hardships of the service for dozen or IF
teen years without showing any III effects
other than chronic ''tired feeling, for
which one cannot blame them. Some
suffer various ailments due to the motion
of the cars, Their hours of eating are
irregular and the food not always of the
best-facts by no means conducive to health
and longevity. Altogether, the man who
feels that his business is uncammonly try,
ing might get grain Of comfort from com
pairing it with that of the railway mail SER
vice,
Farm Law.
A farmer has right 20 use all the
water he wishes for his cattle to drink for
his family ,,sa. ,loo - ;,,;,..ta ~, l,,l.