The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1895-08-14
UNCLE SANS TEST.
Inspectors Inquiring Into
the Efficiency of Jersey
City Postmen.
EACH LETTER CARRIER WATCHED
Rules to Be Observed by the Mail
observation-disclosures
Grim Joke.


The Postoface Inspector for this dis
trict, with his corps of detectives, is
making his annual inspection of the do
ings Of the mail carriers, and it is said
on good authority he is in Jersey City,
and his men are taking notes which will
booze no good to those letter carriers
who are not obeying the rules of the
department.
These visits are irregular, and the
Postmaster himself knows nothing about
them. They are intended to test the
efficiency of the men, and of course are
kept as dark as possible. Quite recent
ly he visited Philadelphia and created a
great sensation by discharging between
sixty and seventy men. These men were
not dismissed for criminal conduct, but
for negligence, failure to perform their
duties in an efficient manner and gem
orally for disobeying the strict rules of
the service.
The methods of the Inspector are pc
culiar and innumerable are the tests
made by the Inspector to sound the
efficiency of our local Mercurys. A de-
tective will watch one postman from the
time he leaves the Postoffiee on the
Dig tour that is, from eight in the
morning until noon, and he won't take
ms eyes Off that postman a minute. He
will time him, dog him and note his
conduct. Roosevelt's inspections are a
farce compared to hat made by the
Postal Inspector. He will follow him on
the trolley car, count the number of
tickets used and then compare notes at
the end of the day with his chief. All
this time the poor letter carrier is bliss.
fully unconscious of the fact that he is
watched.
MUSTN'T DRINK.
The letter carrier must be sober and
cannot. under any pretext whatever, en-
ter a saloon and drink during his hours
in the service. Then. too, he must be
courteous and obliging, and at all times
conduct himself in an orderly manner.
Beyond these general rules of conduct
there are laid Town in the Postal Laws
and Regulations exactly a round dozen
of rules, and these sharp-eyed detectives
are now busy watching to catch the
unwary letter carrier tripping in respect
of their maintenance.
For instance. the first of these rules
says that the letter carrier is forbidden
to deliver mail ON the street to the owner
unless he be personally known and the
delivery can be made without unreason-
able delay. Now it very often happens
that some pestmen Will go beyond this
rule and give out letters to people
whose faces he knows and will
his stock at the outset of his trip to
oblige a a Jncle Sam forbids that
and that settles it and the carrier.
A letter carrier by the second rule is
forbidden to deliver mail matter in boxes
at premises in whole or in part, except
by the order of the postmaster.
LETTERS IN A PUMP.
Concerning this regulation a curious
thing happened some time ago in Green
VILE. 1t was away back when Green
vine was "a patchwork, or CRAZY quilt.
OF market gardens. Near the door of
Danforth avenue. there was a pump
which had long before that time re-
manned idle. The handle was removed.
leaving an aperture about six inches in
length. The pump remained standing
FOR a few years when its owner pulled
+ down and inside, to his amazemeat,
Some were mouldy, while others were
almost rotted away. some sagaeious
the gate thought it a private letter box
and deposited the mail therein. 1t saved
him the trouble of going through a big
garden and e-ncountering a vicious dog.
Rule three of the code forbids the car
-rier to throw AWAY mail matter in the
windows or halls. unless specially In
ny III pQSSllifpClCt. ! it
must ring the bell and wait for an
answer. He mustn't f1irt with the pretty
housemaid or talk politics with the mann
get. Neither must he enter the houses
during his trips except in the discharge
of mis- duties and then he is expected to
NO MEALS ON TRIPS.
Stopping fer his meals during his tours
lives viii Sc on the lookout It for my Es'ff in
fringement of this rule. A mail carrier
must arrange his meal times so as not
The rule to be observed by the letter
carrier is that he must not deliver mail
matter which has not passed first
and following on the heels of that rule
entrusted to him n, t. E any person other
Finally. he mustnot deviate fromhis
route; must not carry. mail inhis pocket: is
connected with the service during his
way any letters or mail matter which
III these rules must be strictly adj
hered= to, and any infringement will not
be excused by the plea of Ignorance.
OF course the detectives have these
rules of conduct at their fingers ends.
s ana e aFs m Mlil af o. BE Besi lSok09 the 70 w yff
make tests and experiments ON the I'M
sophisticated letter carrier.
I'll ME wv ANN INILA1 II
When the inspection in Jersey City is
closed, and it takes about two weeks,
the Inspector and his forces will trip
over to Newark, to see how tine letter
carriers of that city are behaving them
selves. 1t may be that the tip to New
ark comes too late. as in the case of the
story of an official inspection in Ger
many.
The Postmaster General of the country
many years, a gruff, grim old martinez
unexpectedly dropping into Postofiees
evitabIy the result While on one of
these trips he entered a small Postofiee
a few miles from Potsdam- The Post
master didn't recognize the Postmaster
General and went on with his writing,
leaving a clerk to attend to him. Sud
denly the telegraph clicker started, and
the Postmaster went to read off the
message. Koerner pricked up his ears,
and, being thoroughly acquainted with
the system, heard that his name was in
that message. Pushing himself past the
clerk and striding up to the Postmaster,
he said
General: repeat that message before me-
The Postmaster ~tremblingly obeyed. 1t
came from a colleague at a. Postofice a
few miles down the line and fe8d:-p<
"Dear Karl-Look outfisYWld Reefner is
somewhere about, and he might poke.
his nose into your Offices. FRITZ"
Seiaing the key sthss grip * id General
#Tdo late. / have Just tpNnkeedi my nose