Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1903-08-18
TOO FEW MAIL CLERKS.
Names Summer Business Gives
Ttem a Great Hustle.
Az Result, Letters Are Frequently Car
ried Beyond Destination.


Perhaps no one class of men, outside
the trainmen Of the passenger service
of the Maine railroads. have so clear
conception of what the summer VISITOR
business of the State is, than the rail-
way mail clerks. With the coming Of
the warm weather their work, which is
never light, begins to increase and for
about five months they know not
what it means to catch few mo-
nents for loafing. Especially true is
this last of the men who are on what is
officially known as the Boston & Ban
yor route. 1t is over this route that
Augustus mail comes and goes and 1T
is the one main route from the rest of
the country into the State.
So arduous are the duties of the
clerks on this run that they are only
required to work every other week,
though being paid for all time. Under
different arrangements they could not
stand the work for any great length OF
time.
10 illustrate what they have to
stand: The night crew has to be at us
car in the yard at Boston at 3 O'CLOCK
in the afternoon and from that hour
until the train leaves are busy sorting
out mail for points along their run.
This crew gets the great bulk OF all the
Maine mail from the big Boston pusl-
ness houses. These letters are usually
done up in punches of 100 letters ana
there are 40 punches to a pouch. Ac-
cordinp to theory all the mail, both let
ters and newspapers, which is in the
car when the train leaves Boston
must be worked over and distributed
in it's proper places, or thrown Off at
the regular stations, before the train
reaches Portland.
That is in theory, only, for in actual
practice it isn't that way. This IS no
fault of the clerks on the cars, but is
due entirely to the lack of a sufflclent
amount of help. Letters are being
picked up along the run and the clerks
being only human, can do so much
and no more. At Portland another big
batch of letter mail is received. 1t is
from the different divisions centering
I'm Portland and is bound to points in
central and eastern Maine. The
clerks are game and tackle it, but it
is uphill work and their success is not
always of the best.
This has been clearly demonstrated
the present summer by the fact that
scarcely morning passes that this
crew does not reach Bangor with a
number of packages of letters which
have not been opened in the car
BY the time the crew arrives in Ban
gor they have been at work for from l.
to Is hours, for this train is frequently
late and every minute which it is be-
tl,o
of labor for the men in the mail car
They are supposed to have time fol
lunch on the trip down, but during the
rushing days of summer it is a "ten
one" shot that they let the lunch hou1
20, contenting themselves with a sand
witch of a chunk of pie. They go t.
bed, but have to get out early in the
afternoon so as to get to the car ant
begin work, in order that they may b.
somewhere near up with the process
sion.
And what has been said of the crew:
Of the night runs applies with equa
truth to those on the day runs.
When the summer schedule wen
into effect in June one man was takel
out of each of these night crews ant
put upon the New York and Portland
run, that is in the car which comes
through from Gotham to Portland OIL
the Pine Tree limited. In their place:
were put inexperienced men. AS i
requires, at least, three months for s
man to become sufficiently acquainted
with the routine of the run, it can b.
seen that these men are hindranc'
rather than a help in the cars.
1t is this lack of a sufficient crew, to
gether with the great increase in thu
amount of mail matter being handled
over previous years, which is making
the mail service so poor, or, rather
slow this summer. The crews canno
handle it fast enough to ensure it!
reaching it's destination at the time i
should. Frequently, because of the in
ability of the crews on the through
runs to work out the great amount o.
mail which they have, letters are car
ried miles and miles beyond theil
destination and valuable hours are los
in their reaching the one to whom they
are addressed.
1t is understood that Chief CLERK
Marshall of this district is doing all ir
his power to have the number of clerks
assigned to the district increased Sc
that a much better service can b,
given.
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