Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-12-23
LOCALLETTER CARRIERS
TWO HAVE HAD THIRTY-FIvE
YEARS SERVICE.
Most Of Them Are Entitled to Wear
Superintendent Bells
Opinion Of His Force.

know the extent OF the service or nave any
idea of the duty performed by these men
who trudge through the streets, day and
night, picking up and delivering mfssives,
that bring sometimes joy and sometimes
sorrow to the thousands Of people in Wash
ington.
The letter carrier service of the Washing
ton city post Office covers practically the en-
tire District of Columbia. There are 255
carriers, of which number So do nothing but
collect letters and packages from the vari-
Gus boxes. Out of this number 40 are, &C
cording to the department, mounted"
For this mounted service the department al
lows $25 month for the care of the horse
The carriers are apportioned as follows:
Main office, 122; station A, 10; station B, 40;
station D, 13; station F. 10; station G. 81;
2; Benning, 2, and station K at Langdon 1.
In addition to these regular carriers there
are 3S substitutes, who take the place OF
men who are sick or desire a few days va
cation.
Many persons have doubtless noticed on
the arms of most of the letter carriers a
black braid or star of black, silver or gold.
1t is not generally known, however, that
these bra1dS and stars are the signal of
so many years honorable service in the
work of the Post Office Department. There
are Al who are entitled to wear one black
star for five years service; 66 are entitled
TO wear two black stars for ten years SER
vice; % are entitled to wear one red silk
star for fifteen years service; are en-
titled to wear two red silk stars for twenty
years of service; II are entitled to wear
one silver star for twenty-five years SER
vice; 3 are entitled to wear two silver stars
1or thirty years of service; only are en-
utled TO wear one gold star for thirty-five
years service. There are SO, who by reason
or less than five years service, wear no in
sigma.
One of those entitled to wear the gold
star is Albert Carew, who was born at
Rochester. N. Y, November 90 1872 He
was educated in the public schools of that
city and when the civil war broke out he en-
listed at the age of sixteen in Company E.
Second Z. s. Artillery, on the Tth day of
January. 1850. He served during the entire
war and was mustered out of service Janu-
airy Z. 1865. Immediately upon his entering
civil life, Mr.. Carew entered the postal SER
vice in this city as letter carrier and since
that time he has made an honorable record
Inc other man entitled to wear a gold
star is p. A. Wilber who is also veteran
or the Union army. Mr.. WILDER enlisted on
the lst day Of January, 1862 in the 56th
Regiment. Pennsylvania Volunteer Infan-
battle of Bull Run and was exchanged a
lew months later. 1t is interesting that
when Mr.. WILDER was appointed to the let
ter carrier force five men made the collec-
tioiRs Tor the entire city.
The work of carriers ably directed by
Maj. Bell superintendent of the delivery
at the local post office, has been mapped
out with military precision and it is seldom
that the schedule as arranged by Mai Bell
is not carried out to the exact minute
In the residence section of Washington
three deliveries are made each day and
seven or eight collections. In the business
district there are four deliveries and
eleven collections. For the purpose of han
ding the collections there are 1870 letter
boxes and 273 boxes for the collection CT
packages.
TIn 4
riers, and this continues during the entire
night, is devoted entirely or almost so to
making collections. These men go on duty
at o'clock in the afternoon, and are usu-
ally through at 1 80 in the morning but
under no circumstances is carrier permit
ted to work over eight hours on one trip.
The carriers assigned to deliver mail report
at o'clock am, and are usually through
time, however in order that they may not
work more than eight hours In twenty-four
these men are required to swing" or be
off duty between the deliveries.
The letter carrier who has seen thirty or
thirty-five years service has no advantage
either In salary or in hours or in anything
else over one who has been in the service
only three years and an effort is being
made to have this arrangement changed.
In his first year carrier gets $780, in the
second year and third Year 81 600, and that
is the highest he is paid under the present
law In speaking of the requirements of a
"A good letter carrier must be an excel
lent walker. He must be intelligent and
obliging. He must have the ability to keep
his mouth shut He must be temperate in
his habits. He must have a good DISPOSE
ton. He needs good disposition above all
things. 1t is incredible how, in the course
of the days business, the temper of this
man is tried. | was ca D .er for six years
and l know, therefore, what 1 am
talking about. The trouble that the people
who only get occasional letters cause to
carriers is astonishing.
"A woman, for instance, expects some
mail-the first probably for number of
months. On the day 1t should be due she
is on the lookout for the carrier. She
meets him at her door.
" L am waiting for that letter. she says,
smiling.
4 have no letter for you, madam, the
man replies.
"'Oh, yes you have. There is some mis-
take, Just look through your bag again.
:" L am sorry madam says the carrier,
pretending TO look through his bag, but
there is nothing for you today.
1.-THE next day she is waiting again.
Got my letter. she asks.
Not yet he returns; and the woman
scowls.
ION the third day, getting nothing, she
IS angry. She accuses the carrier of ne
glectng his business, of being carless, of
making mistakes. He must calm her good
He must sympathiZe with her
natural disappointment. He must tell her
what to do in order to make sure that the
department has committed no error in her
Use. He must conduct himself as discreet
ly a diplomat. 1t is the people who
seldom make use Of the mails who find
fault as a rule. They who use the mails
often are aware of the departments efici-
ency. and have nothing but praise for it
and its employees.
Letter carriers, as the years go by. be-
come remarkably expert in reading hand
writing. 1t would be interesting to put the
average business man and the average
carrier at a pile of almost illegible letters
and see by what an enormously big per-
centage the carrier would beat the business
man in deciphering the writing
Letter carriers are discharged as a rule
for two causes, stealing and intoxicatton.
For the first cause the man goes at once.
but for the other he is given a second trial.
1t Is astonishing how satisfactory the work
of carriers is, and how seldom it is neces-
sary to call them to account The car
riers of this city are admitted to be the
neatest in appearance of all the carriers
of the country.
From the many years service so COM
mon among our men, 1t is easy to see that
politics plays no part in the post Office.
Here good faithful work means promotion
Our messenger boys often At themselves
for the civil service examination, take II.