New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-12-03
STREET CAR NAIL BOXES.
A SUCCESS IN HARTFORD. BUT NOT
FAVORED HERE.
VIEWS OF PROMINENT OFFICIALS. WHO BELIEVE
THAT CONDITIONS IN NETWORK
MAKE THEM INApvIsABLE.

MAKE THEM INApYIsABIE.
An interesting experiment has been tried by the
postmaster Of Hartford, Conn, I'm placing letter
boxes the streetcars there 1t has been success
| full and has given general satisfaction After
trial OF eight months the Hartford postmaster Is
| OF the opinion that II is bound to be a success
wherever adopted. Postal authorities. however
| differ with him, and argue that while the system
might do for city of Hartford's size, where the
cars radIate from point, 1t would not De prac-
| ticable for New-York where the sreetcar lines DO
not centralize any given point. This Is the oplh-
! ion of Perry s. Heath, First Assistant Postmaster
General: Postmaster Van Colt of Manhattan, and
| Postmaster Wilson OF Brooklyn.
+. p. Furlong postmaster Of the Hartford post
office. said in a letter received here:
The collection Of mall by means OF the trolley
cars was established in this city as an experiment
on April J. After ten days trial OF this system we
| experiment, but that 1t had come 10 stay.
During the first month, to our astonishment' there
were 22209 letters received from this source alone
and every month since has shown an enormous M
| crease in the number OF letters received, whlch
tent By the citizens OF Hartford. During the month
! ending October 81. GAPS letters were received
| The service is half hourly throughout the entire
city, and although Hartford is city OF $1,000 in
| about four miles from the centre. 1t takes only
fifteen boxes for the system. .,,. . -,,,.
mail by means of these boxes IT affords the pub
s and especially people few miles away from ont the
special delivery stamp. and have 1t delivered within
| forty-iye minutes. which You will see is almost
Geographic service, and very much more sats-
factory. for the reason that 1t is private and you
can embody so much more IN a letter without In
| creased expense.
Many other cities have the matter under
| consideration, and I am Informed that the First
Assistant Postmas erGeneral in his report to the
| is, in my judgment bound to be success wherever
patch OF mail
! OFFICIAL OPPOSITION.
| Perry S. Heath. First Assistant Postmaster Cen
era in reply to a request for his views upon tho
advisablllty OF adopting In the city of New-York
the system OF mail collections from streetcars now
in operation at Hartford. Conn, said in letter
| received here yesterday:
| I apprehend that the Hartford system could not
be successfully applied to New-York In Hartford
the cars radiate from one point, terminating near
| simply has the mail collected from incoming
| at point the postofiice, and not only saves
much time in making collections in the ordinary
way. but expedites the dispatch of mails. For in,
| stance. ii is practicable, under the system adopted
| letter for delivery in the city from one remote
point and deliver it to another remote point within
| ordinary time occupied in depostlng letter in
street box collecting 1t by the regular collector
| Unfortunately. the streetcar systems or New ",
| York-the Metropolitan for example-centrahze az
no given point. There is radiation of even the
| lines of system from given point, Hucn i.ss
| the Capitalization of terminals representing the
Furthermore. | have been informed that the
Eightblaye Nnth-ave Fourth-ave..
second-ave and various crosstown lines WI nov H
ths any rSyrryin of the mails The Thrd-ave having
terminal near the main Office; mas nov and it
fairly meets the necessities OF the East 0'ue u
| Another point in connection with the New-York
service which is peculiar is that fully ted
for delivery M those stations. Therefore il would
result in carrying the mail to the man rmrb time
| now avoided by the regular collections Dy man
sill another adverse condition surrounds the city
OF Network as compared with Hartford, IN IN, me
latter place the do not run win such IT.
guency as to forbid the interchange OF mails or an
ordinary stop of car to take UP or S car run
I'm such close proximity. with such great frequency
less than half a minute-that to detan car tor
or Collecting mail would result in congestion of the
| streetcar business .., I. &,
not practical under present conditions TO apply the
| Hartford system of mail collections by sreetcars
to NewYork city.
POSTMASTER VAN Colts VIEWS.
Postmaster Van Colt said he was not familiar
| with the workings of the system in Hartford and
did not know how successful IT may have been, but
so far as New-York was concerned he did not hesi-
tate to say It was impracticable. He went on:
had lust such scheme myself eight years ago.
after taking eG y9 h he n %as not plan
Suppose you live in hundred and -lItn-
| ST. and should mali letter there ~.
| nintn-st We could not have a collector watch
every car and that letter would probably go down
town and come back The cars run about every
three minutes and to put a collector on every car
would be impossible. - . ,r,o,
| We have a half hour service all day 10 Harlem
! We collect as we 90 aong and sort on the cars
and distribute for the various stations on the East
Side and on the West Side connect With the
| elevated railroad. When we reach the dlHereht
stations on the road the letters are ready Tor me
| We send letters TO Forty -FOUR th-st ana
| Lexngton-ave. by pneumatic tube, and from there
| we sort letters up TO Harlem. .oo.
| Now as we have a railway surface postoince
running every half hour between here and one,
bundrad- a nd -tWenty-ffth-st. there Is no use IN
| nuttinp collection boxes in the streetcars. We
make collections in certain parts of this district