The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1895-09-11
MAILBAGS.
THIRTEEN MILLIONS NEEDED
FOR THE POSTAL SERVICE.
Some of Them Have to Stand Hard
Usage-How the Damaged
Bags Are Patched and
1Iendeu.

such bags together, the Pile SO createa
becomes mountainous. Such q noun
tain was required to represent the
number of nail bags, pouches and
sacks used last year by the United
States Postofice Department to handle
the business of the 68,403 postof1ices
in this country. Sixty per cent. Of
these 13, 900, 600 receptacles were used
by 68, 402 postoffices, while the single
remaining office on the list required
forty per cent, or $500, 900 of the
pouches and sacks. This single office
is at New York City.
All bags used by the p~ostofice de-
partment are not two-bushel bags.
There are n variety of sizes and they
are designated as leather pouches five
~sizes), through register pouches three
Sizes, catcher pouches lone size), horse
mail bags three Sizes, iute canvas
sacks three Sizes, United States for
oign register sacks -four Sizes, United
States foreign canvas sacks (four Sizes,
domestic inner register sacks -four
sizes), one size of cotton canvas sacks,
and one size of coin sacks. Each size
of each kind of sack does a certain kind
of service, and wherever any sack may
be doing duty at any time, the mail
equipment division of the ~postofice
department at Washington can locate
it.
As these sacks arc made of leather,
or fabrics of cotton Or iute, they will rip
and tear under certain conditions, and
as they are dragged over floors of stone,
iron or wood at times, to be pitched
into wagons or cars, or to be tossed
upon rocks or hard frozen ground oc-
casionally, these injurious conditions
are frequently present. This is par
ticularly the case with the catcher
pouches, which, thrown off from and
taken akoar! of trains, travelling fifty
or sixty miles an hour, get unusually
hard knocks. Thus, it is no trifing
matter to look after the welfare of the
mail bags of the country, and for this
reason the Government has established
and conducts the mailbag and lock.
repair shop in Washington.
Postmasters throughout the country
are instructed to prevent, daily, any
surplus mail bag or lock, in good con
dition, from lying idle, by shipping
such excess of supplies to the ware
house and shop ut Washington. They
are also notified that it is not Lawful
to use any such bag as o convenience
for the storing of records or the re
ception of waste paper or for any pur
pose not legitimately under the heat
of the transportation of nails, and
finally, when any bag showsthe slightes
rip or tear, or when any lock is BEN
out of shape, or, for any reason fails
to work easily and securely, those arti
cles must be at once shipped to the
shop.
For this reason the shop IN question
is a very busy and interesting place
1t is in u five story building, at Nos
479 and ISL @ street, N. W., and it ii
5Ox140 feet in size. From 1900 t.
Is, 900 mail bags are received each day
at the repair shop, and as you enter
the lower floor where the receiving
clerk and his assistants perform theil
duties, you see one single apartment
fifty feet wide by 140 feet deep, which
is occupied by tiers of empty bags
sacks and pouches, neatly piled ter
and twelve feet high, unlocking quit
like o storeroom for the exhibition o
bolts of iute and cotton fabrics ant
various qualities of leather.
The inspectors pack the damaged
bags in lots of ten, taking five badly
damaged and five slightly damaged TO,
each lot, the leather bags, the jute
bags and the canvas bags being kept
separate. From the inspectors these
lots are distributed to the repairing
department, the leather bags going tt
the leather workers and the other one:
going to those who work on jute o,
canvas By the operation of thi
system, it will be seen, there can b.
no favoritism in the distribution o
work-each workman gets five badl,
damaged and five slightly damaged
bags to work upon. All repairing i
done by piece work. There are TO-
ONE employed in the repairing o
jute and canvas bags, and they receiv
three and oue-half cents per bag
They work eight hours q day, and carr
from 81 to 81 % a day. An interest
ing fact connected with the duties o
these workers is, that they are sup
piled daily between noon and half-pas
- o'clock, free of charge, with all tn
coffee, milk and sugar they may desire
as an accompaniment to the lunche
they bring. These supplies-and the
are of the very best quality-are OF
tanned by money received from tn
sale of junk Accommodations at the shop
The hopelessly damaged sacks ar
only hopeless in o certain sense. The
cannot be repaired, and retain thei
identity, but they are of service. Al
ter being sorted according to the ms
terial of which they + made, the
are sent to the foreman of the leathe
shop, and the shop where iute an
canvas bags are repaired. There the
are inspected for salvage. The top G
one bag is found to exc out a perfee
bag by the aid of o bottom from
second bag, one side from another an
@ second side from q fourth bag. S
expert are these foremen in fifth
salvage bits together in almost il
Vulnerable combinations that a yer
large majority of the material fro1
hopelessly damaged bags is utilized i
the production of combination bag