The Portland daily press., 1900-07-21
QUEER POSTAL DISTRICT.
Within Ground Area of from 40 by
400 Feet.
(From the Chicago Tribune.)


The smallest postal district in the
world is under the roof of the Monad-
mock Building at jackson, Dearborn and
Van Buren, streets, in Chicago. The
building alone comprises a separate and
distinct district in itself. At the same
time the volume Of business there is the
largest OF any Of the sub-stations or even
districts in the city, save that of the
Board of Trade station. In this immense
seventeen -storied structure, which covers
the small ground area of 400 feet long by
70 feet wide, nearly 5000 eople occupy
the 200 rooms. When it is considered
that the population of many towns cov-
er1ng many miles of area do not reach
that figure, some conception of the popu-
la tion OF the MonadnOck Building may
b had. The comparison Is a striking
one, and serves to show what a large
number of people can be crowded into a
small space. 1t is also an example Of the
economy in ground space that has come
to be necessary in this commercial Gage
And out of this economy has come the
system Of skyscrapers that the larger
cities, and especially Chicago, have been
forced to build
The Monadnock Postal district was es-
tablished on May l. though a money
order, stamp and registered letter station
was established there more than two
years ago to meet the demands made by
that section of the downtown district
Prior to May the deliveries of mail in
the building were made by carriers work
ing out of the central station at the foot
of Washington street. on the lake front.
They would have to route their mail at
the main Office and then carry it to the
Monadnock Building. The rapid increase
IN the volume OF mail Overburdened the
carriers to such an extent as to cause the
frequent use of auxiliary service, and the
expenditure of money in car fare allow
anoe In transporting the heavy mails
from the central station to the building.
In order to relieve the situation an inyes-
t1gat1on was made, resulting in the re
OmmendatIOn by Supt. Garrity to Post
master Charles u. Gordon that the four
carriers serving in the building from the
main Office be transferred to the MOnad
mock station, and that the mails be de-
spatched to them by wagon messenger
Ih1s recommendation was approved bv
Postmaster Gordon. The building there
upon was made q separate district and
the carriers were transferred on May l .
The schedule Of the wagon service was
arranged so as to make close connection
with the carriers deliveries 1t provided
for sixteen dispatches daily from the
central office to the MOnadnOck Building
and twenty from She building to the CEN
Gfal OUc6, except on Sundays, when the
number is only three to and two from the
sub-statiOn and district.
The carriers schedule in the building
provides six deliveries every day except
Sunday, and is so arranged as to enable
the men to begin their deliveries practi-
cally the same time as they did when
serving them from the central station
In these six deliveries the carriers dis
tribute on an avearge %, 900 pieces of mail
daily III the great office structure. At
least 70 per cent Of the mail received there
for delivery is addressed without room
number. The difficulties and delays that
would naturally grow out of this cOndi-
tlon can readily be seen. The carriers
who serve the district are old ones. how
ever, and have reduced the apparent
drawback to a minimum Seldom is a
mistake made in the distribution.
Long training and service in the postal
department. have made these carriers
adopts, establishing O system that insures
accurate delivery OF mail to the persons
to whom 1T is addressed Every old or
new occupant OF the buil1ing Is known
to them, And when a new person comes
into the build1 ng, no matter how hum
Die or high in POSITION he gets his mail
promptly. Such names are secured by
bIle carriers on their respective floors and
added TO the list. Those who leave Che
building are also kept up with and their
mall is forwarded to their new addresses.
In fact, the district, though small in area,
IS a separate and distinct post office in
itself, and the same routine is found
there as in the central office. 1t only
differs in degree.