The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-02-23
u.s.. MAILS GROUND TO BITS
IN THE PIPE LINT BETWEEN STA
TIONyP AND THE POST OFFICE.

sseoud Accident or This Kind THAT HAS HAP.
pened-They Were SORTING OveF Yesterday
In the Post once n Buahei or So er Frag-
unouts or First Glass Natl from the wall
Street District Destroyed on Mondny.
A large quantity OF frst.class United States
mail in transit from Station p in the Produce
Exchange to the General Post Office was ground
up on Monday evening In the Tubular Dis
patch Company's pneumatic tube and most of
II was utterly destroyed. Tho accident hap
pened shortly before 8 o'clock In the evening,
when the most important business mails of tho
day were being carried. The Post Office De-
partmont is very reticent about 1t, and exactly
what it was that happened in tho tube Ia not
known, hut tho r~esult-was the grinding into
pulp Of the mail In transit.
Station p of tho Post Office Department takes
in oil the city from about Cortlandt street
south. The district includes Wall street, Broad
street, Exhangs place. and lower Nassau street,
William street, and Broadway 1t includes all
the Stock Exchange, Consolidated Exchange,
and Produce Exchange houses. and nearly all
the exchanges. II takes In also most OF the
shipping agencies and most Of the foreign ex-
port and importing houses. 1t is by far the
most important branch office In New York.
Moro money Is carried from there and moro ar
ticles of value that 60 by 1rst-class post and
more special delivery letters than from any
branch Post Office in tho, country. Thc,letter
mail that 10 sent out from there from the time
Of the closing Of the exchanges and the closing
Of tho great business houses to 0 O'Clock in the
evening 10 the most important Of tho day, be.
cause 1t includes checks to pay the days bal
ancos, important financial statemonts, and the
like. This was the character of tho mail that
was ground to pieces in tho tubes on Monday
night.
The Tubular Despatch Company has two tubes
running between the General Post Office and
Station p. They have been In operation since
last October and have carried letter mail be-
tween the two points between the hours of 5
o'clock and 0 o'clock on all business days. They
don't run at night or on Sundays or holidays.
Tho tubes are operated by pneumatic power.
They are zach eight inches in diameter. Tho
mail Is carried in them in little cars called
carriers. These carriers arc Of metal about
two feet long and of just tho proper
diameter to At tho tubes. They are
opened at one end and are filed with letters.
Then the lid is shut down and locked and the
carrier 10 put on the sending machine. Tho
machine places It In the tube and tho air pres
sure drives IL to Its destination. Arriving thore
1t meets an air cushion which slows 1t down
and 1t shoots out of the tube against q bumper.
AS nearly as could be learned yesterday from
tho poopiCn at u obO oulC NV v l Uucb0 CuTrl0EB
loaded with important business mail. some Of
1t, because of It's Importance. stamped with
special delivery stamps to insure its quick do
livery. was placed in the tube at about 7:45
o'clock at the downtown end Of the tube. The
wind was turned on and 1t started on its Jour-
ney. It should have arrived at tho Genera I
Post Ofice in a few minutes. It did not come.
Another carrier, likewise loaded with important
business mail, was put In tho tube and went
kiting after tho first. A little later things be-
gan to happen In the General Post Office. Bits
Of broken carrier made Of paper and felt began
popping out of tho tube. The mon who were
running the tub o at the General Post Office end
knew what had happened at once, because they
had seen similar accidents before. Only o day
or so before a carrier filed with impo rtant mail
in transit in another Of the Tubular Despatch
Company's tubes had been ground up and do
stroyed in the tubes.
There was nobody around yesterday who
could or would tell the reporter just what fol.
lowed the discovery of the accident on Mon
day. Yesterday being q legal holiday most OF
the officials of the department were of duty.
Tho Acting superintendent of the mails said he
knew only that there had been an accident and
that q lot Of mail had been destroyed. The Act
ing Superintendent OF City Delivery said he un.
derstood that in the neighborhood of a thousand
~ Ahe cNNA ~ out AO ho" hOth-
ing personally. The Superintendent of the
General Domestic Delivery didn't know what
had happened ru rther than that q carrier had
broken and its contents had been ground up.
The destroyed mail was in the possession
of this official. He said that he was doing
his best to find out the exact damage and that
he would mako q report to the Postmaster
| probably this morning.
In the office of the superintendent there was
a busnel box full OF torn and blackened papers
that looked exactly like gun paper wadding
after tho gun has been fred. The superintend.
ent admitted that that was what was left OF
the mail that had been wrecked. In addition
to this box full there were three piles OF crum-
pied and torn and blackened paper on his desk
and on the floor a waste basket half full Of
desk; He was taking the papers from the box
by the handful and any piece on which there
placed in ono of the piles on the desk and the
rest he dropped into the waste basket. r
Btroysdi" asked the reporter.
"0h, the letters are intact" said the official
grizzly Iniy .t "Iih;ey are Just ca,I ruhm ,pp "a. ~, T., .,0
box, much Of it in bits less than an inch square.
and he said he could not say anything further
until he had completed his examination Of the
Zone of the officials informed me that about q
thousand letters were destroyed said the re-
81 think each carrier carries 6Oo.". was the
reply. The. statement of the officials of the
Second Assistant Postmaster.Ge Generals depart
ment Is that each carrier carries 900 letters.
Was there another accident similar to this
onei in the Station ii tube q day or 80 agof' asked
the reporter.
YES, there was" said the superintendent.
And mail was destroyed just like thisl'
asked the reporter.
~ believe so" admitted the superintendent,
hut l can't toll you anything about that, |
had nothing to do with It.. All l know Is that
there was AN accident in that tube just liBe the
one that took place last night in the tube to tho
Produce Exchange. ! believe a report OF both
accidents will BIO made to the Postmaster to-
morrow.
Littlo further could DO learned yesterday
about, the destruction Of the mail in the station
Palace at Forty fourth street and Lexington
avenue. The Tubular Dispatch Company got
a contract to construct a tube to that branch
from the General Post Office at the same time
that 1t got the station p contract. The Govern
ment agreed to pay $l4s, 500 a year for the two
lines But the station II tubes were not com
ploted until two weeks ago, and they have been
In operation only since early last week. Moth
Ing could be learned at the station yesterday
about the destruction of the mail in that tube.
and nothing will be known about it until the
official report is made 10 the Postmaster to-day