Evening star., 1896-11-28

their positions to go into business or to fol-
low professions than do those of any other
city of Washington's size in the country.
In the present force there are more than
twenty letter carriers who, in their
Swings or intervals of rest between the
collecting and delivering of mail, and with
the money so earned, have acquired solid
professions. and are saving money enough
to hang out shingles as physicians, den
t1StS lawyers, veterinary surgeons, etc.
Thus. the force changes more rapidly than
any force of similar size in the country,
and promotions are more rapid.
Some Queer Experiences.
A letter carrier must have learned the
lesson of patience early in life in order to
be conspicuously successful in his business
He runs across some queer characters. He
has frequently to submit to browbeating
at the hands of persons too mentally OBJ
tuSe and opaque to reduce their roarS to
writing for submission to and considera-
ton by the heads of post offices. The reg
ulations mapping out their duties require
letter carriers to be undeviatingly polite,
and 1t Is very rare that one Of them rem
dered desperate by the reproaches and OBJ
jurgations of the gentleman or lady whose
cousin in Cheyenne Is neglectful in the mat
ter of correspondence, violates the rule
Letter carriers have compiled system of
averages, based upon deliberately made in
vestisations as 10 the right and wrong of
cases in which they have been complained
OF to postmasters for tnattention and mis-
takes. The tabulation gives them 90 per
cent the best of it-that is in ninety-three
cases out of hundred the fault has been
proven not to have rested with them, but
with fate, the railroads. the general gov
ernment or Providence. Letter carriers
reasonably enough, decline to be held re-
sponsible for the floods, fires, wars, wrecks
founderings and robberies of the world
Such things are often laid at their doors
all the same.
Although the letter carriers are only ac-
tually on duty eight hours in the twenty
four, they are all on call nearly twelve
hours day. In the business districts of
washington there are four deliveries of
mail a day. Tie residence portions of the
city are visited by the postman three times
day. The intervals between the mail de-
hverers, or collectors tours of duty are
periods the letter carrier has to be in or
near the vicinage Of the post office, ready
for an extra call. Thus. the delivery post
man who reports for duty at 8 o'clock in
the post office and in delivering it three or
four times day, be only occupied In ac-
tual work from seven to eight hours
day, but he has got to put in the intervals
he completes his final tour at in the af-
ternoon or perhaps a little later he has
given the government just about half Of
his time.
the collectors and deliverers of mall The
collectors are the kindergarten men whose
appointments bear more recent dates than
those of the deliverers. They get rather
the worst of it in the matter of hours, es-
pecially the night collectors, whose last
tour Is made half an hour after midnight
Every man who gets a letter carriers ap-
potntment, however. must be a collector
before he can become deliverer.
The next upward step Of the collector is
his promotion to the 'bumper' staff The
bumpers" are letter carriers whose main
business is the collsction Of mail, but who,
in sparsely settled districts. also perform
a certain amount Of delivering, helnins out
the regular deliverers on beats too large
to be covered within eight hours. Bump
ers'' are not enamored Of their jobs The
task Of packing AROUND a constantly grow
Ing bag of mail matter on une shoulder
and bag Of letters. papers and packages
to be delivered on tho other Is both ex-
hausting and confusing. The man going
through his bumper" apprenticeship sadly
says that he is neither fish, flesh. fowl nor
good red herring, and he longs for his pro-
motion to the rank Of a mail deliverer.
In the matter Of getting over ground