The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-08-24

number OF the train IL Is TO be sent on; then
he signs mis- name and puts the date OF
tying the package Should be make a
mistake and send a letter by the wrong
way OF get the destination wrong. the next
clerk who opens the package will find It
and report it on the back OF the same slip
These slips all go 10 the division superin-
tendent's office. where a report OF errors Of
each man is made up every month and sent
TO him. If this mistake occurs frequently
The guilty clerk viii either be laid off for
some time or removed entirely.
81 ACCURACY DEMANDED.
The two things that the postofhce officials
work for all the time in this branch of the
service are accuracy and speed. And they
have now got it down to such fine point
that only one piece Of mail out of 1900 is
sent wrong What often seems useless to
the public in the work Of the clerks and
sooked upon as merely red tape is often the
prime factor in bringing about the efficlen-
cy now displayed Everything is watched
50 closely in the handling OF the mails
that there is no chance for a man TO be-
come careless The government not only
keeps TAB on these men while on duty, but
also keeps a close watch on them while off,
The clerks, when not working. must be
where they can be found at any time, and
should one of them desire to leave the city
while not on duty he is required TO notify
the chief clerk in charge Of the Office he
goes from. so If anything turns up he can
put On a substitute in his place. Postal
clerks are hired by the day, so that at all
times they may be called TO work. When
one Of them however. is required to work
during his lay-on time he receives his own
salary and that Of the man he is working
for.
The superintendent OF the division which
this city is in has his headquarters in Gin
,cinnau. But since the two largest mail
lines in the country run through here there
are two chief clerks. who have charge of
these alone, and they have an office in the
postofice building here. One of them has
chargs OF the line running between Pitts
burg and St. Louis, which is the second
largest line in the world. In this division
ne has over two hundred men under him.
The other line is the Cleveland and St
Louis. These are all called railway post
offices, and, while they run in conjunc-
tion with the railroads, there is nothing in
common between them. The postoffice Of
ficials make up their own mail routes. Four
hundred clerks go from this office, and they
are all exceptionally accurate, as is shown
IN the report of the examinations which oc-
Cured In the month of June, this year.
This statement shows that there were 169
clerks examined, that they distributed
1S9.O77 cards, and that of this number they
handled 1S7, ass correctly. The percentage OF
Correctness was 99.16. OF all of the exam
1natfons that occur here three-fourths are
voluntary.
II is said that there is no better temper
ance organization in the world than the
railway postal service for a man is strictly
prohibited from using any kind of liquor
before going on duty or while on duty.
And if he uses it to excess while not work.
fns. nd it is found out, it will not help
his interests for promotion. A man must
also i'm this service pay his debts. and if he
does not he will be removed AS one Of
the clerks said the other day. the govern
mont looks after the spiritual, moral and
financial welfare of the men. These clerks
must also keep up their physical condition,
and there is no man taken into the service,
ne matter how capable he is of passing
the examination, who weighs less than 135
pounCs and is not five feet six inches tall
When a man makes application TO take the
civi,-service examination he is sent a med
zeal certificate. and is compelled to undergo
a very rigid examination by some we'll
known physician. who fills out the certif-
cate and sends it back. There are also
two vouchers sent to the applicant. These
have to be made out by two well-known
.residents and are 40 assure the officials
that the man who desires to take the ex-
animation is a good citizen and Of
frst-eiass character.
CLERKS RESPONSIBILITY.
mt
The clerk in the mail car. for it is through
him that the letters reach their right des-
tination without delay. Upon the clerk in
the office the distribution OF mail for the
different lines falls, but he has nothing to
do with the various offices to which 1t is
directed. His duty is to start the letters
and packages in the right direction. and
the clerk in the railway postofice. or. as 1t
is officially known. the "R. P. o." sees
that they get there. That is the reason he
has to be familiar with Offices in different
sections of the country from that in which
he is running. AS, for instance, on train
No. IL, which comes into this city every
evening over the Pennsylvania line from
Pittsburg and goes on through 70 St Louis,
one of the fastest trains in the country,
the great bulk of the mail is west bound
and is for Texas. Missouri, Arkansas and
Kansas, and, in fact, all Western States
The local mail on any mail train causes
the clerks little work. The thing for a
postal clerk 10 know Is how TO get mail to
its destination by the shortest possible
way. In many cases there are two trains
going to the same point One may be an
east-bound train, while the other is west
bound. and they both may leave for this
point about the same time. Now, the clerk
has 10 know which one OF these trains gets
there first, and make his mail up accord
ingly. II he does not. and sends it by the
longest way, although it may be only q
few miles, IL will be counted an error
against him.
There are very few men who live in tbs
city that desire or get TO be postal clerks
so that the majority OF them come from
the smaller towns and from the country
In most OF the cases it is found that they
are young men who have grown tired OF
the farm and take this means OF escaping
from it. Those, too, who live in the coun-
try and small towns have more time L
study for such examinations than the maj
who lives In the city. and then the physica
animation bars many a city-bred man
The majority Of mail clerks are colleg,
mon huf fnav have also done puOupb ma n