Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1899-07-13

mail not only TO New York city, bu-
all over the United States Formerly
the postofiice officials waited until the
steamships We're safely tied up at their
piers, and then big wagons carried the
mail to the New York general pos
transhipped to its destination. As the
great bulk OF the mail that crosses the
Atlantic from Europe to this country
comes through New York city. this was
quite a task. The delay in transship-
ment was something such that it was
the easiest thing in the world for a
letter 10 miss a mail connection that
meant delay of twenty-four hours.
This is what led to the creation of
the duty of the PoStmaster-General
First, to as great an extent as possible,
the mail is sorted and sacked aboard
the ocean liners. Then it is ready for
the PostmasterGene The little
steamer lies at Pier IS and waits until
the postofIice officials notify it that
mail steamer has been sighted off Fire
island
1t takes from three 10 four hours for
a steamship to make the trip from the
time the Fire island lookout sees her
to quarantine. Capt. Butler of the
Postmast er-G General who is the com
modore of the steamboat men in New
York waters, makes due allowance for
this, and at the proper time, with a
force of clerks and porters from the
general postoftice. starts down the bay
to meet the incoming steamer d. quar-
antne.
About the time that the steamships
tunnels are seen off Fort WadSworth
the Postmaster-General is making
wide circle preparatory to steaming
alongside the big liner The liner slows
up. but does not stop. and the smaller
boat gets quickly into position, tenders
are put out, lines thrown and both
steam to quarantine. This is where the
hard work begins on board the mail
boat The center section of the upper
part Of the Postmaster-General lifts up
like a trapdoor, and through this
hatchway a chute is rugged to the hur-
ricane deck of the steamer. and it is
clear of any obstruction from the en-
CINE room forward to the entrance aft
to the fo'c's'le Here the mail has all
been piled in readiness.
All fast" says the officer of the
liner. Ready. Let 'er go, Capt. But
Ter says, and by the aid of two sturdy
seamen on the liner the bags are lifted
into the chute and shot down into the
big hold of the Postmaster-General
AS fast as the sacks come down the
chute the porters drag them away and
the postal clerks sort and list them
Sometimes there are not more than 300
sacks. and again there are 800. When
there is a very heavy mail it is impos-
sible to sort it all as it comes into the
hold. AS quick as the last sack is off
the liner the chute is unrigged, lines
are cast off and the Postmaster-Gen-
eral steams up the bay. followed by the
liner 1t would seem that the liner
should make better time than the
smaller joat. but she never does.
BY the time the Postmaster-Ge
rounds the Battery into the North river
the sorting is finished When the first
landing, Pier Is, is reached, the mail
for New York city proper is loaded on
baggage trucks and pushed upon the
pier, where it is placed in waiting mail
wagons. AS soon as it is off the boat
the Postmaster-General starts for the
second landing. the Pennsylvania pier
at Jersey City, where mail for the
South and all states that can be most
quickly reached from this point is
turned over to another set of officials.
Then the mailboat proceeds to the third
landing, at the foot of West Forty
Second street. New York, and here
yields the last of the cargo. all the
mail that is to go out on trains that
leave the Grand Central station.
All that has been told from the time
of the meeting of the steamers up to
the end of the task at Forty-Second
street. consumes on an average one
hour and thirty minutes. The time ii
saves in the delivery of letters varies
from four hours To two days. according