The Washington times., 1902-12-07
STREET GAR MAIL
BOXES TO Be TRIED
Government Plans to Facili-
tate Collection System.
WASHINGTON MAY BENEFIT
Letters Can Be Deposited While Cars
Move Along at a Moderated
Rate Of Speed.

The plan Of rapid transit" (street
carr mail collection. as fully explained
in The Times some months ago. by which
all the street cars Of the country will
probably before long be equipped with
ingeniously constructed mail collecting
receptaCles available for use by the pub
lie on moving street cars. will soon be
put to a test by Postmaster Merritt on
one or more Of the lines of cars in this
city.
The plan offers some striking advan-
tages in the way Of facilitating the col
lection Of local letters. and Postmaster
Merritt is to be commended upon having
the Government select Washington as
the place Of its initial trial
Il is understood that negotiations viii
in a few days be entered into with the
Washington traction companies looking
20 their consent TO the use Of certain
number Of cars for the proposed postal
experiment. and should these negotia-
tions be successful. it is not unlikely
that within a month or two. the people
Of this city win witness the first prac-
ftcGl demonstration OF system of troll
ley postal collections, whose growth is
probably destined to be co-extensive
with the electric railway system OF the
country
Features Of Service.
The leading features OF the proposed
new mail service may be thus explained:
The public will 50 about posting letters
on the street cars in the same way pre-
cisely that they now go about boarding
the cars TO ride. As the car approaches
the street corner, the would-be mail de-
pOsitoT viii step from the sidewalk TO
meet It. when the motorman, at few
PAGES from him. Will down break" Just
as be does at present, when one is about
to ride. but only. in this case. as for a
quarter stop" Of the car. The time re-
quired, will. by an accurate calculation.
be but four seconds, owing to the struc-
ture OF the new street car letter-catch-
er," and the instantaneous yet nicely
graduated action Of the perfect modern
car break. In this time, however. the in
tending mail depositor will be enabled
TO deposit his letter into a long and
wide "drop-letter SLOT" running Gown
ward and along the guard rail OF the car.
and extending distance Of some four
or FIVE feet. This slot or mouth" will
be perfectly clear or flush. having no
covering whatever. and. while the ele-
ments may freely beat into It. the least
moisture viii be diverted from the com
partment for the letters by Interior me.
chanical arrangements.
AT the time when the deposit OF the
letter is 20 be made the car is to be run
at the moderated rate Of speed at which
Il is now usually run when a male pas
senger is about to board It without it's
stoppage. The "right-hand' crossing viii
be the mailing crossing" the presence
alone OF a wouId-be mail depositor there
will at once distinguish him from a car
passenger.
Routes to Be Rearranged.
The street letter boxes are to be used
as much as ever, OF more. The central
feature OF the scheme is that the routes
Of carriers and collectors are 10 be re-
arranged so as 20 cross and recross as
frequently as possible the neighboring
car lines. so that the men may th,,s
rapidly and continuously empty the cor
ner boxes and promptly dispatch their
contents TO the postofice, either on a
car line directly connecting Herewith or
some line from which the mail viii be
shUnted all day by mail transfer agent
20 a postofice connecting line.
Incidentally. the new service viii pro
vide the public with mail collection ma
chinery by which. al any hour Of the day
or night, OF al any point In the city or
its environs, an ordinary or a special de-
livery letter may be Immediately dis
patched 20 the nearest distributing CEN
ter.
The =2w mail system will diner fun
damentally from that In use in Hartford.
Conn, and one or two other smaller
cities. where ordinary street corner
boxes are used on street cars. The
"McAllister' apparatus. as II is called f.
IS practically a "letter-catcher." admi,- .
ting OF that more or less instantaneous .
taking Up Of letters by the moving troll /
ley car that likens IL. in principle at \
least. TO the malI-catchor, for taking up /
mail bags. on the general railroads.
Plan to Be Tried.
So Important is the system TO be tried .
regarded by the Postofce Department
that 20 was only after an exhaustive
study Of st by postoHce experts. includ-
ing Major James z. Bell. OF the Wash
ington city office; Charles Hedges. OF
the free delivery division. and T. ". Nc
Gregor. OF the Postofice supplies di-
vision, that It was decided to allow a
practical test OF its merits I'm this city.
Postmaster Merritt is desirous that
the idea shall at least have a full and
fair test, and, IN the ev nt Of this test
proving satisfactory he viii probably
make an effort 10 have Washington given
the benefit OF the new trolley collection