Evening star., 1902-01-02
MAIL BAG REPAIR SHOP
AN INDUSTRY IN THIS CITY NOT To
w Bs
BE O6ERIs0OKED.
Thousands of sacks Made and Repair
SVA
ed Each Year-A Big Lock
Factory.

| ufacturing Industries ief the capital are
enumerated" said a postal official to a
Star man this mosningp."and that is what
is officially knownoas the mail bag and re-
pair shop of the Post Office Department,
| situated on stregt near 9th.
While it is true that the operatives in
the shop repair the mail bags sent in for
that purpose, they also manufacture
pouches, locks. keys and dozen other
| articles used in the mail equipment of the
/ service. a-t .--=-,7
| "A manufacturing establishment which
| dtsburses goodly share of $275o00 annual
| ly in Washington is not to be considered
| of slight industrial importance. Employ
| ment is given to 250 men and women, at
wages varying with the skill of the opera
| tive, among whom are many mechanics and
| machinists. kept at steady employment dur
| ing the best part Of the year. About S12o,,-
900 is annually disbursed for labor alone.
| Last year the mail bag operatives "a
| the shop manufactured over l4OO0 maui
| pouches and repaired 1,440,000. The lock
makers turned out 20.503 locks, of what is
| known as the Eagle lock, of familiar s1Sht
| on the mail pouches, as the public sees
| them tossed in and out of the postal cars,
| and repaired $1,000. In addition they made
| $4,000 letter box locks and repaired and
| made many thousands of registered mali
| locks special locks. keys, mail pouch fas-
| teners, key chains and scores of other use
| full articles appurtenant to. pouches ana
| locks
| Farewell to the Leather Pouch. 80
I'm fact, when locks and pouches need
repairing they are all sent to Washington
! Even the post office letter scales come here
/ to be patched up SO that you will get
| your moneys worth of postage, several
thousand annually finding their way to the
| big building on street,
''Tke government purchases about 120;-
l nTn hes, l1yr in, ldd
| those made here, and they are of canvas:
| The day of the old heavy leather mail
! sack, with its patched and iron-riveted
| sides, has passed forever, though such OF
| those still in use which are in serviceable
| condition are retained to die natural deaths
| from wear and tear. All of the new bags
! are made of light, but very strong, cam
J vas, looped and fastened at the top with
| a self-acting snap and strap, which Is
easily locked, the bag being closed at the top
! in fashion not unlike the family clothes
| bag containing the weekly wash This
| mode of fastening is simple and vastly
superior to the old style of strap and sta
| pies. and they make lighter, neater and
more easily handled pouch than the one
| in former use.
| transportation on it's mail sacks at so much
| per pound, empty or filed. the lighter the
| sack the less the charge. The aggregate
lessening in weight of all mail pouches
| used is thousands of pounds, consequent
| saving to the government and that much
out to the railroad companies.
A Big EocIs] Factory.
| 'sIn addition to the Above appropriation
| there is an additietal appropriation of SD
| 600 for the manufacture and repair of
| locks, four-ffths .pf which amount is dis
| bursed in Washington for labor.
'On street in this city the lock and key
| for every letter box in the United States
| are made as web asfian other mail locks
4 ba fGpStGre1 lock and
| that viii soon tmadenhere. Every letter
| box lock and key ana every registered
| lock and key has ITS history, is looked af
traced at any tfiiie.. 80 such Individual
record. however, IS kept OF the mail pouch
! locks and keys, az they are not of the rel
ative importancs sef the, letter box and
IF Congress .wauld. gise the department
an appropriation f5r 4 sdhfffab1e~ building for
+ the mandfaeturs' '4 m6iliea udpnent,, IWash-
,dustry which w9uldaemploys from 800 to 400
| hands. depending upon the requirements of
the service. TIE department could easily
and advantageously make AZ Of Of its own
] mail pouches instead OF only ,6G0 annual
| ly. as at present, if it had building with
adequate space, as cutting the canvas and
putting the pieces into bags require plenty
| of elbow room.
1--WE are now making at the C. street shop
| the best street letter box lock as yet turned
! out. number have been in use in Boston
| Tor over year ana none nave come Dach
| to the shop for repairs while of the other
| locks we fx thousands every year Our
| own hands make as good mai pouches
| as any contractor, and Washington would
| profit to the extent Of disbursing substan-
| tial yearly sums in channels Of labor and
trade where 1t would do the most good.
| The manufacture of mail pouches is now
| let on four years contract, but. with an
! adequate force and a suitable building we
would rather make them ourselves in
/ Washington -H.-
| During the Spanish war we made at the
! c street shop hundreds of tents Of all sizes
! for our soldiers, and we did the work we'll
| While We may never again be called upon
| to meet a similar emergency. yet with
| large airy building In Washington occu-
! pied by a trained force Of canvas makers
government work, our capacity for turning
| out tents would be limited only by the
| force we could put to work. Additional en-
ployment would be given to residents Of the
| capital and the government could get its
| supplies of this kind with the least delay"
appIVES EOR REIEASE