The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1900-07-19
STREET CAR MAIL BOXES.
Mr.. McAiIister's Plan Again Being
Considered.


The Postofice Department is again con-
sidering the plan OF George ID. McAllister
for utilizing the street car service of the
large cities for the collection OF mail. This
plan has been under consideration by the
department at various times for several
years.
While ii is conceded that there are val
liable suggestions in Mr. McAllister's
scheme ii is regarded as impracticable
for the present at least. In every large
city the street ear systems are now util-
lied in connection with the mail service
Pou.nes ere transported by the cars and
wherever it is considered advantageous
special mail ears are run, in which clerks
assert the mails. stamp the letters, distri-
butte them and perform all the duties Of
railway mail clerks IN railway postofices
in the steam railroads. Mr.. McAllister's
plan eoatemplatesr the placing Of letter
boxes on all the street cars in the country.
This. so the department officials say. is out
OF the question. Few people board cars
with letters to mail. Even IL they knew
that by boarding a car they could deposit
their letters and save a few minutes in
getting them to the postofiee there are
very few persons who would care TO pay
earfare for the privilege A man wanting
to mai. letter would naturally prefer 10
drop It in a street box. from which there
are frequent deliveries, rather than wait
at a come. until car came board Ii and
pay his fare for the privilege Of mailing his
letter on the car. 1t would be out OF the
question to ask the street car companies
10 stop heir cars to allow people to mail
then letters.
The street-car service is already utilized
by the department for the transmission Of
the mails In several ways. Pouches are
sent from the main Office t. stations by the
street cars and. whenever -ossible, the sta
toms are located on the s;.eet car lines for
this purpose. Then there are the street
railway pOstoffices in which mail, collected
by the ca-riers and forwarded from the
stations. is assorted ready 10 be plaesi on
the outgoing trains by the time The street
railway mail car reaches the railroad sta
tiOn. and also cars where the carriers de-
pOsit their mail as they collect il from the
boxes.
In SINE cities the carriers collect the
mail from boxes of the route o: the rail-
way mall car and deposit il in large box
al 4 convenient place Nnen the mail car
passes .Eis box the clerk jumps out. col
lects he mail from the box. places II In
the ca ed the car goes on. In some cities
where the service is especially good. mail
is arranged in the cars for the outlying
routes as the car goes from the pOstofiice
toward the suburbs. BY the time il reach
es the suburbs the mail has been assorted
according 20 the routes and the car is met
at different points by the carriers, each o.
which receives his bundle Of mail and dis
tributes il, making his collections at the
same time and by the time the car returns
he is ready TO deposit The mail collected AMI
get another bunch for delivery.
Mr.. McAllister has sought TO obtain re--
Ognition from the department for having
been the first 10 propose the idea OF the
street-car mail system. This credit prOba-
bly, properly belongs to Civil Service Com
missioner Harlow, who when he was
postmaster az St Louis. was the first to
demonstrate the possibilities Of the street
railway mail system. Under ~SsGand As
sistant Postmaster Nelson the service
was greatly extended. Mr.. Nelson was so
much impressed with the utility OF the
service that from his efforts to extend the
service il became known as Nelson 5
lad