Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-12-06
TO GIVE IT A TRIAL
PosTMAsTER MERRITT TO TEST
THE McALLIsTER SYSTEM.
Proposed Collection Of Mails by Elec-
trio Cars-Device for Catch
ing the Letters.

Postmaster John II. Merritt will shortly
make a practical test In Washington Of
what Is known as the trolley mail collec-
ton system. or a new system Of local mail
carriage. which will possibly bring into
play all the city and surban trolley cars.
Efforts will be made to arrange with one
OF the local traction companies for thor
ough trial Of certain mail devices designed
to gather up letters along the routes Of
street railways and deliver them at once to
the general post Office. The 'McAllister"
mail system. as 1t is called. will operate in
the following manner:
ANY one having a letter to post whether
in the city or in the suburbs. may, under
the operation of this system, drop 1t into
slot or mouth" on the side OF the first
passing street car and thus have 1t carried
at once to the distributing tables at the
general post office. The citizen desiring to
post letter on a trolley car will go about
1t In precisely the same way that he now
goes about boarding a car to ride. AS the
ear approaches the street corner. he will
step from the sidewalk to meet 1t. The
motorman. at q few PAGES from him, VIII
'down-break," just as he does at present
when one is about to ride, but in this case
only to the extent OF a quarter stop OF
the car.
The letter. Catching Device.
The motion of the car. however. will not
be very sensibiy moderated, since the time
required will. by an accurate calculation,
be but four seconds, owing to the structure
OF the new street car letter catcher" and
the instantaneous vet nicely graduated &C
ton Of the perfected modern car brake. In
this time, however, the intending mail de-
positor will be enabled to deposit his letter
into long and wide "drop-letter SLOT rum
ming in q downward direction and along the
guard rail Of the car and extending dis
lance of some four or five feet
This slot or mouth" will be perfectly clear
or flush, having no covering whatever, and
while the elements may freely beat into It,
the least moisture will be diverted from the
compartment for the letters by interior me-
chanical arrangements. At the time the de-
post Of the letter IL made the car Is to be
run at the moderated rate OF speed at which
1t Is now usually run when a male pas
senger is about to board 1t without Its
stoppage. The "right-hand' or 'far-side"
crossing will be the mailing crossing" the
presence alone OF would-be mail depostor
there distinguishing him from a car pas
senger.
The street letter boxes are to be used as
much as ever, or more. The central feature
Of the scheme Is that the routes Of carriers
and collectors will ultimately be rear
ranged SO as to cross and recross. as fire.
quentiy as possible, the neighboring car
lines thus enabling the men to rapidly and
continuously empty the corner boxes and
post office. either on a car line directly
connecting Herewith or some line from
which the mail will be shunted all day. by
a mail transfer agent, to a post office con-
Meeting line
Incidentally. of course, the new service
will provide the public with rapid transit
mail collecting machinery by which. at any
hour Of the day or night and at any point
in the city or its envtrons. an ordinary
letter or special delivery missive may be
Immediately dispat ched to the nearest dis
tributing center
Postmaster Merritt's Desire.
Postmaster Merritt. 1t is understood, is
DESTROYS OF giving the hand collection plan
a full and fair trial. at least. and should
the results be satisfactory. he will proba-
bly, seek to have many of the car lines Of
Washington equipped for this service. 1t is
thought the car companies Will cooperate
in the matter because 1t would involve no
trouble nor loss of time to them, while I'LL
timately yielding them Substa initial rates
as mail carriers. 1t Is stated that the aver
age time consumed by each car per trip
would be, owing to the number of the cars,
but four to eight seconds.
Before the proposed test was sanctioned
by the department, the system was fully
examined by a committee of experienced
officials, consisting of Mr.. Charles Hedges
of the free delivery service, Major James
Z. Bell. superintendent of the Washington
city division, and T. W. McGregor super
intendent of free delivery s1Ippljes