The San Francisco call., 1897-03-16
RAIL WAY MAIL men
OUT FOR A "T|ME"
a Big Trainload From the
East Drop Down in
This City.
Annual Convention of the Mu-
tual Benefit Associa-
tion.
Will Be Here for Five Days Doing
Will Be Here for Five Days Doing
Business and Seeing the
Sights.

There rolled down the Oakland mole
yesterday afternoon a special train that
had carried merry party across the con-
tinent. The eight Pullmans of which it
was chiefly composed emptied themselves
and shortly thereafter this same merry
party was scram bling for streetcars at the
ferry in this City seeking their respective
hotels under the pilotage of committee
of railway mail service men. For the
merry party was composed of delegates to
the convention of the Railway Mail Ser
vice Mutual Benefit Association, which
convenes in this City to-day. The con-
vention will be held at the Y. NJ. C. A.
Auditorium, to be called to order at 10
o'clock this morning.
This is the twenty-second annual con-
vention of the association and its first
visit in this nearly quarter of century
of it's existence to the Pacific Coast. This
is not to say that it did not want to come
earlier, but not until now have the
obstacles to the "Iong haup' been over
come. In 1890 they came as far out as
Denver, and thought they were doing
well. At the convention last year a strong
pull and pull all together succeeded in
landing the gathering for this year over
the Rockies. Arrangements have been
made for big time and every man and
woman of the party is bent upon making
the most of it, for the party does not con-
brought their wives and other lady
relatives along, and the party numb bers
about 300. The headquarters is at the
Baldwin Hotel, where the officers and
their contingents are housed.
The Railway Mail Service Mutual Bene-
| hit Association is an insurance organiza-
ton, including in it's m in bership railway
postal clerks OF the United States. post
office inspectors and department officials
VINO supervise the transportation of mails.
1t was organized twenty-seven years ago
and now EN- braces mem bership of $3.50,
every one Of whom is insured for $1,000 1t
has had its ups and downs, but is now
tending uninterruptedly upward. A treas
urer who in the loose methods of the
earlier stages had given no security and
ran away with all the funds gave it its
principal downward BILE, but the finan-
ciering has fallen into better habits, and
the association is one of the soundest of
the kind in the country. 1t was started
with the purpose of overcoming the excess
sive premiums of insurance required by
the old companies of these men in their
extrahazard Gus calling. The organization
has but one salaried officer, and he re-
ceives the pay of his grade in the mail
service. BY keeping the expenses at a
minimum in this way the ASSOCIATION has
effected a system of insurance the cheap
est in the world.
The annual gathering is not strictly
business affair, but as has been indicated,
a large measure of amusement is allowed
to diversity its programme. The Post
office Department gives encouragement TO
this by furnishing transportation. and
the convention has come to be an annual
outing to which the delegates look for
ward from year to year.
The transcontinenta train was made up
at Chicago, the delegates from east OF the
Missouri gathering there on the 9th inst.
Conducted by Superintendent J.. L. Tracy
OF the sixth division, they left there Tues
day afternoon last and ran to Portland.
At Spokane Superintendent Flint of the
eighth division took charge OF the train.
They spent day in and about Portland,
and left Saturday evening. They arrived
at Sacramento yesterday morning, and
were received and addressed by Governor
Budd in the Assembly chamber.
Mayor Phelan will deliver an address OF
welcome at the opening of the business
session this morning. President P. p