Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-08-23
DRAW SMALL SALARIES
SOME OF UNCLE SANS employees
ARE POORLY PAID.
One Cent a Year Goes to a Wisconsin
Mail Carrier-GlOry, Not
Pay.
A CALCULATION.

Uncle Sam Is able to hire men cheaper
than the greatest trust on earth Men who
would scorn wages less than they have
been accustomed to receiving will eagerly
accept almost anything from the govern
ment for the sake of serving such a worthy
master.
Perhaps the most remarkable case of this
kind has recently been called to the atten-
ton of the Postmaster General. 1t is the
custom in the Post Office Department to
mail checks to various fourth-class post
offices once each quarter. and at the end
OF July the usual batch of checks was
made out. 1t was then discovered that
Frank Lynch. who carries the mail be-
tween Dodgeville, Wisconsin, and Mineral
Point nine miles away, had not receive a
check In the three previous quarters. and
hence 1t became necessary to include the
amount for a years work in his check.
The amount was exactly one cent. mas
much as our currency does not boast Of
quarter-cent pieces. Mr.. Lynch was unable
I" collect his salary quarterly. and ii will
be another year before he gets his second
check for one cent. He has not yet cashed
the check and does not intend to do So
though curiosity collectors have offered
him as much 500 for 1t.
This remarkable contract with the gov
eminent to carry mail nine miles each day
at one cent year, was made little over
year ago. Mr.. Lynch Will still have
three cents coming to him before the con-
tract expires, three years hence.
Both Dodgevile and Mineral Point have
railroads but there is none between the
two towns. The trip from one place to the
other Is so round about that 1t is out Of
the question. so passengers and mail are
driven across the country. Whoever has
the contract for carrying the mail feels
that he is certain of all the passenger
trade, for no one has yet had the courage
to compete for passenger business with the
a al orrfa
son the transfer OF the mall Is very proper
ly deemed a valuable privilege.
The One-Cent Bidder.
Every four years the Post Office Depart
ment invites bids and let's out the new
contracts to the lowest bidder who wishes
to transfer the mail Last year there was
the liveliest kind of bidding ever known for
the Dodgeville Mineral Point contract Sew
eral different men signifed their intention
of bidding for the contract. and the fight
was even carried to Washington through the
influence of Wisconsin politicians who wish
ed to the mail carrier as a factor in
getting votes. The talk became so frequent
that each bidder knew he would have to go
very low In order to get the contract. The
man who then held 1t had been getting
about $40 year for the work. 1t ia I'M
derstood that when the bids were finally
opened in Washington it was found that
the three lowest offers for carrying the
mali per year were i cent, ~ cents and
81 30. Frank Lynch. being the 1-cent bid
der. was awarded the contract for four
years.
He supplements this income by approx
mately 5000 year, carrying passengers at
80 cents each and baggage at half that
rate. In summer time most Of his passen-
gers carried in a so-caled stage and
the trip Is a very pretty one through the
Wisconsin hills. But In the winter time
the presence or absence Of snow generally
determines the comfort or discomfort on
the trip When there is sleighing the mail
carrier takes his passengers across country
as snug as a bug in a rug On pair of
bob sleds he has a long bodied boxed-in
affair which looks more like freight car
than anything else. In the center Of this
box Is a stove. and about the sides are
little door in the rear OF the car. A rousing
fire Is kept going In the little stove. and the
trip is made without the least discomfort.
No Easy Trip.
But when there is no snow on the ground
this nine-m!le trip Is quite different prop
ostion. The old spring wagon stage with
a few robes. Is brought into service Cur
tains are hung all around, as supposed
protection from the Wisconsin blasts but It
takes more than oilcloth curtains to resist
the penetrating qualities Of the cold up
there. A skin coat, and nothing but skin
coat, will keep out the cold When the
thermometer Is below zero and there Is no
snow on the ground that trip Of nine miles
can only be taken with suffering, as MANY
a traveller can testify.
1t is said-and probably truthfully-tbat
Lynch Is the poorest paid employee of the
government, and that his 1-cent check ia
the only one Of It's kind issued in years.