The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-12-10
Six Will Go On Duty Next
Tuesday, Probably.
Rearrangement of the Routes
Now in Progress.
Interesting Facts About Mail Distrl-
button In This City.


morning, will make considerable
difference to postal service in this city.
That fact may not be generally realized,
but letters will be received more fire.
quenily and important missives of every
character will depsrt for their destina-
-tions With more regularity than hereto
fore. Some persons may be inclined TO
find fault at nrst because OF a little
longer delay in receiving their mail than
before, but the change In the delivery
force necessitates considerable change In
the various routes. Consequently In the
rearrangement some persons who re-
ceived mail at q certain hour will find
that il comes q little later after next
Tuesday.
This is accounted for because these
particular persons under the present ar
rapgement came first In the carriers
route, but in the Encouragement now be-
ing perfected they may come last. The
irst shall be last sometimes, you know.
All can't bc first and some consolation
may be derived from the fact that as a
whole the citizens will receive their mall
several minutes quicker in the average
than before.
This matter OF mail delivery is rather
interesting and as the method was related
TO IHE NEWS representative 1t is some
thing Of an art demanding careful atteu-
tiou and intelligent manipulation. There
are CO letter carriers in the city at the pre-
sent time. With the new carriers the
force will be ~ next Tuesday. Sixty-two
OF the carriers have regular routes and
four are collectors. The collectors ara
the men who drive about the streets and
gather in the contents of the large pum-
ber of boxes.
The 62 routes, are OF course, many of
them, extensive in territory, requiring
tong time for the carrier to make the
complete round, and ne only works eight
hours a day. 1t is the intention of the
post office officials to have at least two
complete deliveries each day, but some
times this custom Is more honored in the
breach than la the observance. Ihe car
rier can, and does OF course, make the
grams rounds of q big territory once a
day. He also makes big slice in his ex-
tensive tramp on the second round, but
sometimes the eight hour day closes be-
fore a.few letters for the fsg end of his
route can reach the remote places, conse-
quently II is taken back TO the postofiice
to be delivered on the first round in the
morning. OF course ignorance Is bliss
on the part of these who don't realize
that an anticipated letter was onlv a
slight distance from its destination when
the postman has to quit work under
the rules.
With the addition OF the new carriers
this draw back TO first class service will
be overcome. Six new routes will be
m sde, thoreby reducing the territory of
plrticular carrier and making il posi-
ble To cover his whole route twice a day.
1t Will also insure increased facilities in
the center OF The city. In the business
center there will be four deliveries and at
least three in the circum ference of Brown
street on the east, America street on the
west, Randall square on the north and
Trinity square and the ground to the
south. Nearly everyone will readily un-
derstand that this system will be great
improvement over the existing plan when
two deliveries q day ara the best the car
riers Gun DO.
The change will make other improve
ments just as important to the general
publc. Everybody is fully as anxious
Ihst an Important letter should be sent
quickly as they are that 1t should be re-
ceived with celerity, perhaps more 60
especially il the document received Is
reminder that a certain obligation re-
mains uncanceled. A large number OF
citizens living some distance from the
heart of tse city drop their letters in the
street boxes late In the afternoon or
ca rly evening feeling sure that Uncle
Sans energetic employees viii be around
all right TO gather them in SO that they
will be on their journey almost before
the ink is dry. Tut, tut! They generally
remain in the box until morning. Tne
postmen don't like to disappoint thcir
friends, but as it Is impossible TO make
custsTd pie out OF ten-penny nails so it Is
impossible for CO posto flee employees TO
walk and ride all over tho city In
limited time. They might put IN few
extrs hours OF work but the land of
the free and the home OF the brave does
not pay for overtime through Its Official
head the postmaster general.
They are 396 le;ter boxes in tho streets
OF Providence. Every one OF them Is used
by taxpayers ana others OF this muni-
cipslity. or this number at least 40
boxes are only emptied once day. A
person dropping a letter int@one OF these
outlying district boxes believes that in q
short time IT will be taken out. Perhaps
the collector had enptied that box about
five minutes before that last letter was
deposited. What happens. The person
for whom the letter was intended re-
ceves IL "a hours late. That is, ssthe mis-
--ipe- -Aaa = -aayis- &sss in tAe-sea- -irer- box
hiiched TO the lamp post or some other
stable arrangement to which 1t is affixed.
IL Is q safe resting place. bat repose is
not a Characteristic admired by letter