Evening star., 1896-10-24


braced on the establishments pay rolls)
that every mail sack and mail pouch in
use on the broad continent sooner or later
finds its way for overhauling. Hun
dreds OF thousands of them pass through
the skillful hands of the employees Of this
government factory many times before their
period of usefulness has passed and they are
thrown on the condemned pile. The United
States government owns and uses every
day nearly 100000 mail sacks and
pouches. OF this number exactly 1,643, ,139
were patched up and sent out again as
good as new at the mail bag repair shop
last year. Just now, about 1900 sacks and
pouches are being thoroughly overhauled
every day. In the same building, an ad-
junet to the mail bag repair shop, Is the
Post Office Departments machine shop,
wherein is made every lock and key used
by the postal authorities throughout the
United States
All Centered In This City.
Not many years ago the Post Office De-
partment had it's mail bags taken care of
by private contractors, who made annual
bids for the work This plan was discov-
cred at length to be not only too expensive,
but unsatisfactory in other ways, and the
department started mail bag repair shops
of its own in four large cities-New York,
Chicago. St. Louis and Cincinnati. This
scheme OF collecting and rehabilitating the
mail bags was also found cumbersome and
impra cticable in the course of the rapidly
increasing postal business So. ten years
ago, Maj. r. d. S. Tyler. the chief OF the
mail equipment division Of the Post Office
Department organized the general repair
shop IN Washington, and the institutions
In the other cities were abandoned. The
work was centralized here on a compare
lively small scale at first. but the mail bag
repair shop Is now a miniature department
In itself.
1t may be that the tiredness which is the
universal affliction of baggage handlers is
also characteristic of the postal employees
throughout the country who directly tuggle
the sacks and pouches of mail in transpor-
tatton. At any rate. the appearance OF the
mail bags that arrive by the thousand at
the repair shop from all parts of the United
states every day would seem to indicate
that the physical act Of lifting is a thing
unknown among such employees, for the
greatest amount Of damage to the bags is
attributable to the dragging process. Even
the stoutest leather mail pouch will not
Withstand many months Of dragging over
rough, nafl-studded railroad platforms and
the ordinary jute sacks used for second and
third-class matter. strongly as they are
made, soon exhibit evidences of wear at
their bottoms and sides under this treat
ment The sacks and pouches are made
by contract according to Post Office De-
partment specifications, but no guarantee
IS ever exacted of the contractors as to
the length of time which the bags are IN
last. The mauling which is constantly in
hicted upon mail matter in transit is too
thoroughly appreciated by the Post Office
department authorities to make such a
guarantee of any use.
Average Life of n Bag.
THE average career of usefulness Of the
Jute or canvas mail sacks for second and
tEird-class matter Is about three years"
said Superintendent Edward p Cullen of
the mail bag repair shop to a Star reporter
who visited The establishment yesterday.
"A newly issued mail sack is likely to turn
up here for repair within a month after it
has been put In service, and a sack that
stands three years Of the mauling and
tuggfTg and dragging to- which 1t is SUBJ
jected in the intervals between its being
patched up here about a dozen times is
pretty near ready for the scrap heap The
leather mail pouches often last for as much
a. as fifteen years although their average
lifetime Is about nine years.. These pouch
es. which are used solely for the CARRYING
OF ffrst-class mail matter, cost from 81 to
So each. however while the jute sacks are
bought by the government for about 80
cents. The canvas sacks, which are grad
ualiy displacing those made of jute, cost
about 95 cents.
Every through train that comes into
Washington trings scores of these sacks
and pouches to this shop for repair" Mr..
Cullen continued. Postal EMPLOYEES of
whatever grade engaged In the direct han
ding of mail matter are aware of the repu-
lation that no sack or pouch Is to be used
that is in the slightest degree worm The
tiniest tear in mail bag makes 1t unfit.
according to the well-known rule. for fur.
ther service until the rent has been patch
ed. Thus in every post office in the coun-
try and on all the railway postal cars the
employees are constantly on the lookout
for these damaged bags.
LAS soon as they run across them they
ship them here, with neither letter of ad-
vice nor comment, for every bag tells its