The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-01-22
WONDERFUL BRAIN WORK.
Mail Clerks Memories Are Heavily
Taxed i'm the Service.

From the Chicago Record Herald.
Millions of people are complaining
nowadays of being taxed financially,
but an army of men in the employ of
Uncle Sam are burdened with a mental
practice unheard of, as regards ex-
tent, in any other country of the
world.
Things that railway postal clerk
must remember have increased in such
volume that one would think every
cell of his brain would be filled with
the name of postoffice or railway
connection, and the wonder is that the
clerks mind does no falter under the
pressure. Despite these facts cases of
insanity among this class of public
servants are rare.
One Chicago postal clerk maintained
for several years a record of q, 900
cards (Which take the place of letters
in examinations with an average per
cent of correct distribution of a frac-
ton over 80 per cent. He knew how
to reach that many offices in several
states by the shortest quickest route,
and he knew the correct location of
each Office in it's state.
clerk on the New York and Chi
cago Railway postoffice must know the
correct location of every postofiice in
a group of states made up of Illinois,
Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana, MINNESOTA
South Dakota and Nebraska In these
seven states there are 1917 postoffices.
Not only is the, clerk required to be
on hn Al es1lna ,fy.I,
means the correct location of the post
offices in each stare, but he must know
how to reach the whole 1900 post
offices from one or more stations.
A clerk running between Chicago and
Minneapolis underwent no fewer than
seVenty-eight examinations in fifteen
years, learning 49, BOG offices in fifteen
different sections of the United States.
In some of these examinations he was
required TO make a Chicago city dis
tribution which means that while run
ming over the country at the rate of a
mile minute he must distribute let
ters to the carriers of the Chicago de-
livery. He must know not only where
every public building and leading mer-
camille house is located, but also how 10
divide the numbers on q particular
street so that he can 'tie out" his let
ters to the correct carrier. according
clerk made thirteen examinations in
ten months with an average correct
distribution of 99.SS per cent. In TWEEN
ty examinations he came out of nine of
them with a clear 100 per cent. each.
Think of such task, taking into
consideration the puzzling similarity of
names that are used to designate post
Offices Then. too must be considered
the fact that there are hundreds of
xVhnpa IL, Oh l.
OF the same name. For instance, in
the states named above there are five
postofiices named Hamilton. six
Grants, four Garfields, four Geneyas
four Smithvilles. four Spartas and five
JeffersoHs. and SO. on. In some in
stances there is a postoffice of the same
name i'm each of the seven states, As
one may imagine, this only tends to
confuse the average mind Periodi-
cally the clerks are examined at rail
way mail headquarters. Packs Of
cards, each card bearing the name of
postofflce. are furnished a candidate
for examination. He takes q position
in front of a case of pigeonholes label
ed with the names of different railway
pOstofiices throughout the country. He
throws" the cards. distributing them
to proper routes, just as he would
packages in postal car. After he
cards and charges up the errors the
clerk has made and gives him his per-
centage OF correct distribution The
clerk also Is examined on general and
standpoint" or station schemes at diff
ferent times.
There are some features about the
work that one would think would rem
der it impossible for "A clerk to main
tain his lay of the states, which he
nynnntnh n I....4
a run which lands him I'm Chicago to
connect three leading railway post
Offices running between Chicago ana
New York. with but little notice he
may be taken off the run and be
brought to Chicago In the afternoon
instead of 2:2O a. IN. Notwithstanding
this interruption he goes on with his
work. with but few errors.
The examiners whose duty II IS to
supervise the examinations have diff
ferent ways of explaining the wonder
full capacity of the clerks to remember
the names of postohices and their loca-
lions. Most of the examiners are old
postal clerks, who have put in time on
the rail- They say that many of the
clerks commit TO memory the names
and locations and routes as a school
boy learns a defamation. There are
others. however. who rely almost en-
tlrely on an association OF IDEAS. III
clerk Is rusty" In "A certain route he
takes a mental journey to the place.
He figures It out that II he were to go
there he would go to such and such
a place and there buy ticket over a
certain line. He fixes this In his mind.
and when II comes up again he remem-
bers the depot at which he bought the
ticket. and then the line he wishes to
use comes 10 mind.
II ~ asserted at railway mail SER
vice headquarters that there are clerks
who have reached the capacity OF their
minds in the matter Of remembering
names. They now remember so many
that u would be absolutely impossible
10 learn another state or part Of =
state. n would seem that Of the mill
lions OF cells in their brain machinery
mono are lrff 30 nl. all having been
taken up boz tho prosecution Of the cx-
ariiuE duties imDoeed by their occu'
patton.