Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1896-06-27
THE STORY OF A LETTER.
Things Revealed by a Visit to the
Washington Post Office.
What Is Done with q Letter Package
After the Sender Has Deposited
1t in One of Uncle Sans
Mail Boxes.
Especial Washington Letter.l

Especial Washington Letter.1
It is easy enough to write a letter, to
put stamp it and mail it; but it is
not so easy to deliver it. Ninety and
nine out of every hundred of the people
who write letters complain of the
trouble that is caused in their prepara-
ton and sending, but their difficulties
are not to be compared with those who
handle the tons of written and other
mail matter that leaves the post Office
daily for all parts of the world. A visit
to the Office only reveals a scene of
hustling employees and for the moment
eXcites more Or less interest. To un-
derstand the systematic movements go
ing on could not be told in few words,
and to fully appreciate them one must
spend sufficient time to learn them.
In the office can be seen men engaged
in various kinds of work, keenly intent
and busy after a manner which comes
of experience. These men go to make
up the history of a letter or package
intrust ed to the governments care for
dispatch or delivery to the person ad-
dressed. Every man employed has his
number and place and is responsible for
the work in his charge.
When a person drops letter in the
box upon a street corner lamp his only
thought is, will it get to the person adj
dressed and how soon?" His work ends
there; but it is taken up by a letter car
rier who brings it along with the other
letters to the main office, where he sepa-
rates the local mail from that for out
side places. As he does this a man in
the mailing division gathers up the out
side mail and carries it to the stamping
table, where the stampers cancel the
postage with stampers bearing the dat
of the month and their own number.
When Cancelled the letters are placed
by him in trough attached to the table.
These letters are taken away by men
whose duties are to assort them into
cases.
Each case bears the name of a state or
a city. When the hour for closing the
mail arrives the "stater,' as he is
called, takes out the letters from the
cases and puts upon each bundle slip.
This slip has the name of the state or
city upon it, also the namc of the post
office, the postmarll showing the hour
| and day of dispatch, as also the clerks
number. When his work is finished
another clerk, who is called the dis
patcher, gathers up the bundle of let
| ters and puts them in leather pouches.
Before locking up the pouches the dis
patcher" places his slip" in a steel
slide. This slip indicates the point of
| slight error in this regard would occa-
| sion much delay.
You must be informed that large
majority of the letters sent from the
| post office in the national capital are
sent by members of congress. They
are very careless in their postal bust
ness, and are also very impatient if de-
| lays occur. Their principal business is
| to look after the desires of their people,
particularly in pension cases. Very
often they send letters to the wrong ad .
dress, and then they blame the postal
officials for their own larches-
The 'stater" referred to has plenty of
business on hand all the time, but there
| is another class of clerks who handle
the mails whose duties are more diff
cult than those of the t'stater.' The
latter simply puts letters into boxes
labeled with the places easily under
stood. while the former asserts his