Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1895-09-04
NAIL BAGS.
THIRTEEN MILLIONS NEEDED
FOR THE POSTAL SERVICE.
some OF Them Have TO stand Hard
Usage-HOw the Damaged
Bags Are Patched and
Mended.

ML-.. """H ""HN
such bags together. the pile so created
becomes mountainous Such a noun
tam was required 20 represent the
number of mail bags, pouches and
sacks used last year by the United
States Postofice Department 10 handle
the business of the 6S,tJ3 postotices
in TINS country. sixty per cent OF
thess 1900. 900 receptacles were used
bv 6S.402 postohces, while the single
remaining office on the list required
forty per cent. or 100000 OF the
pouches and sacks This single olce
is at New York City.
All BAGS usei by the postofhce de
partment are not t~wO-bushel bags
There are "a variety of sizes and they
are designated as leather pouches five
sizesl, through register pouches three
sizesl, catcher pouches lone SIZE, horse
mail bags three Sizes Iute canvas
sacks three sizesI, United States for
eign register sacks -four slzesl, United
States foreign canvas sacSst Tour sizes,
domestic inner register sacks (f0ur
sizesL. one size OF cotton canvas sacks,
and one size of coin sacks. Each size
of each kind of sack does certain kind
of service. and wherever any sack may
be doing duty 40 any time, the mail
equipment division of the pOstoiice
department al Washington can locate
70.
As these sacks are made of leather,
or fabrics0 of cotton OF jUte, they willrip
and tear under certain conditions, and
as they are draggedo over floors of stone,
iron OF wood at times 20 be pitched
into wagons OF ears, OF 90 be tossed
upon rocks or hard frozen ground oc-
casionally, these injurious conditions
are frequently present This Is par
ticularlv the case with the catcher
pouches, which, thrown off from and
taken aboard of trains, travelling fifty
or sixty miles an hour, get unusually
hard knocks. Thus, IL is no trIhing
marter 20 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 90 prevent, daily, any
surplus mail bag OF lock, in good con-
ditiou. from lying idle, by shipping
such excess of supplies 70 the ware
house and shop 10 Washington. They
are also notified that it is not lawful
Oh use any such bag as q convenience
fog the storing of records or the re
ception of waste paper or for any pur-
pose not legltmately under the head
of the transportation of nails, and.
finally. whenany bag showst slightest
rin OF tear. OF when any lock is bent
ont of shape, or. for any reason fails
20 work easily and securely, those arti-
cles must be az once shipped to the
shop.
For this reason the shop IN question
is % very busy and interesting place.
It is in "a five story building, mt Nos.
4-9 and fS1 @ street, y. W, and 1t is
50x14O feet IN size. From $4,000 10
1900 mail bags are received each day
NJ the repair shop, aud as you enter
the lower floor where the receiving
clerk and his assistants perform their
duties. Won see one single apartment
fifty feet vide by $40 feet deep, which
is occupied by tiers of empty bags,
sacks and pouches, neatly piled ten
and twelve feet high. andlooIng quite
like a storeroom for the exhibition OF
bolts of iute and cotton fabrics and
various qualities of leather.
The inspectors pack the damaged
bags In lots of ten, taking five badly
damaged and i've slightly damaged for
each lot. the leather bags, the luts
BAGS and the canvas bags being kept
separate. From the inspectors these
lots are distributed 90 the repairing
department. the leather bags gong TO
the leather workers and the other ones
c1iue 90 those who work On Jute or
canvas. BY the operation of this
system. Do VIII be seen, there can be
no fav0ritism IN the distribution of
workbench workman gets five badly
damaged and five slightly damaged
BAGS % work upon. All repairing IS
done bv piece work. There are lOf
women employed in the repairing OF
lg-s and canvas bags, and they receive
three and one-halt cents per bag
They work eight hours aday, and earn
from 81 to 81 - "a day. An interest
inr fact connected with the duties of
these workers is, that they are sup
Piled daily between moo and half-past
h o'clock. free ot charge, with all the
.rH -- --M.uHL .r mos .N.-rn.
a- an accompaniment 90 the lunches
thew bring These supphes-and they
are Of the very best Quaity-ore OBJ
tanned bv money received from the
sale of junk accumulation at the shop.
The hopelessly damaged sacks are
only bopeles. ia o certain sense. They
cannot be repaired, and retain their
identify. but they are of service. Al
ter being sorted according 90 the ma
torial of which they are made, they
are sent 90 the foreman of the leather
shop. and the shop where lute and
canvas bags are repaired There they
are inspected for salvage. The top oi
n bag is found 90 exc ont perfect
bad bv the aid OF a bottom from @
second bag. one side from another and
"a second side from O fourth bag. -
expert are these foremen IN fitting
salvage bits together IN almost ln-
Vulnerable combination that "a very
large majority of the material iron
hopelesslv damaged bags Is utilized IN
the production of combination bag.
as good as new.
This menjing of leather bags lsper-
formed entirely by men who are eX.
-perienced workers, men who are com
retent harness, saddle and beltmaker.