The times., 1901-05-12
THE RAILWAY MAIL CLERK
An indispensable Employe of the
Postoflice Department.
Some of the Important Duties Per-
formed by the Men Who Handle
Letters on Trains-a Hard-WorI-
ed Class of Government Servants

! Letters on Trains-A nrd-WOrI<-
i ed Class of Government Servants.
| Speaking Of the duties of the railway
mail clerk and the route agents. one of
the officials of the Postoffice Department
/ said yesterday:
| Route agents is the designation of a
very useful and indispensable class of
1 postofiice employees, who were hardly
/ known to the service in this country pre-
! vious to the year 1899 Their fntroduc-
! tion appears to have been contempora-
| neous with the employment of railroads
for the transportation of the United
/ States mails, and necessary consequence
/ of the adoption of this mode of convey
ance
The number of these agents has been
{ progressively increased in proportion with
the extension OF railroads. and they are
now employed upon nearly all these roads
| in this country, as well as upon many of
the steamboats, which carry the mails.
by the terms of contract with each
railroad company it is required to furnish
a suitable car for the use of the mail or
route agent, when so requested by the
| PostofIice Department. The agent occu-
pies this travelling postofice or mail car,
| receives and delivers mails along the
route: asserts, and gives the proper direc-
tion to all mail matter passing through
his hands; mails such letters as are hand
ed him, and accompanies the mails in
their transit between the postoffice and
the railroad station or steamboat, at the
terminus of the route
1T is too often the case that persons of
influence, in proposing a candidate for
this responsible post, greatly undervalue
the nature and Importance of the duties
to be performed, supposing that they in
volve merely the mocha nical labor of de-
livering mail bags at the different postof-
flee stations upon the route. The fact is
that the successful working of our postal
machinery depends in no small degree
upon the active, faithful, and intelligent
discharge of the route agents duties
Much care and thorough knowledge
of the topography of the sections
of the country through which the
route lies, as well as that of
more distant portions, are therefore
required for giving letters and other
packages a direction by which they will
reach their destination in the shortest
possible time And that essential preIim-
mary, the ascertaining where a given
package is to go, is matter not always
easy of accomplishment. For the most
Biography known as quail tracks are Of
tep taxed to their utmost capacity of
learning and experience in the endeavor
TO decipher the outside addresses of pack
ages which they are required to 'distrib-
ute without loss of time.
Furthermore. in consequence Of the
improvements constantly progressing in
many parts of the country, and the fire.
quent changes in railroad, steamboat, and
stage connections resulting from that and
other causes, what would be correct dis
tribution' one day might not be so the
next. The old adage, the longest way
round is the shortest way home, is often
literally true in the sending of mail mat
ter, for steam occupies less time IN ac-
comphshing circulation route Of hun
dred miles than horses in passing over a
direct one of twenty. on the other hand, /
il sometimes happens that a long route
by stage should be adopted, instead Of a
short one by railroad, owing 20 a want of
the proper railroad connections.
When all these demands upon the (
vigilance and ability of the route agent (
are exercised, 1t viii be obvious that IT +
would be difficult to estimate the amount (
of injury that the public might receive (
from the employment of careless, in I
efficient or iLliterate person III this po- /
sition.
Among the Postmaster General s in /
structionS to route agents is one reQuir- J.
ing them to receive and mail all letters I
written after the closing of the mail al /
the places where the writers reside, and
tended solely for the accommodation of I
those who are prevented by unavoidable {
from depOsiting their let
ters in the postofiice. has been used 10 a /
degree formerly never dreamed of by the
department. Tardy and indolent cOrre-
spondents, who can save a few steps by
taking their letters 10 a mail car or
steamboat instead of TO the proper place {
of deposit, a postoffice, find the hard |
worked route agent an invention admir- /
ably calculated TO facilitate the indulg
ence of their lazy habits, and do not /
scruple to avail themselves of the oppor-
tunity 20 the utmost extent.
There is also a numerous class. who
feelings of hostility toward their
postmaster for various reasons; not in
from the failure of their own
attempts, or those of their friends, to OBJ
tain the office which he holds. These
persons show their resentment by with
holding their mail matter from the post
office, and thus cheating the incumbent
out of his lawful commissions. In carry
ing out this plan, they make the route
agent an innocent accessory. by placing
ali their correspondence in his ear Just
before the departure of the train, thus un-
necessarily increasing his labor for the
sake of gratifying their own malice
Another class fully persuaded of the
truth of the principle that seeing is be-
lieying,' and unwilling to trust in any
thing less reliable than their own eyes, {
deposit their letters with the agent rather
than in the postoffice, in order to avoid
the innumerable perils which might be-
of the postmaster TO that of the agent.
These cautious persons are not satisfied
without ocular demonstration of the de-
parture of their letters. SO that If the let
ters should fail TO reach their destination,
they would still have the pleasing con
that they had done all in their
power to avoid such catastrophe.
Still another class contide their letters
to the route agent from a belief that let
ters. especially valuable ones, will thus
90 forward more safely and expeditions
". But this is n incorrect idea, for, in
.he first place, the pressure of other indis-
Densable duties. such as receiving, as
sorting. and delivering mails, may occu
oy so much of the agents time that he
viii find it impossible TO mail all the let
ers handed him, in which case they would
often suffer at least a days delay. And
as to the supposed safety of money let
-ers. when sent in this way, it may be
that in case of a serious COLI
sion happening to the train while the let
ers were still loose, the chances of their |
Oss from destruction or theft would be
much greater than if they were properly
secured in a locked mail pouch Important |
osses have occurred in this way, and. of
,ourse, they may happen at any time
A sUPERsTITIoUS INDIAN.
Crazy Snake Could Not Endure g