Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1903-08-26
TOO FEW MAIL CLERKS.
Names Summer Business Giving
Them a Great Hustle.

Them a Great Hustle.
| Perhaps no one class OF men, outside
| the traiEmen OF the passenger service OF
| the Maine railroads, have SO clear con.
ception OF what the summer visitor bust
ness of the State is, as the railway 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 rot what it means to
catch few moments for loafng.
Especially true is this last of the men
who are on what is officially known as
the Boston & Bangor route. 1t is over
this route that Hancock county's mail
comes and goes, aud IT 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 ar
engagements they could not stand the
work for any great length OF time.
To illustrate what they have to stand:
The night crew has to be at its car in the
yard at Boston at 8 O'Clock In the after
noon, 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 business houses. These let
tiers are usually done up in punches of
100 letters, and there are forty punches to
pouch. According to theory all the
mail, both letters and newspapers, which
is in the car when the train leaves Boston
must be worked over and distributed 10
its proper places, or thrown off at the
regular stations, before the train reaches
Portland.
That is In theory only, for in actual
practice 1t isn't that way. This is no
fault of the clerks on the cars, but is due
entirely to the lack of sufficient 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 mai
| is received. 1t is from the different div.
isions centering in Portland and is bound
to points in central and eastern Maine.
The clerks are game and tackle it, bat 1t
Is uphill work, aud 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 Bangor
they have been at work for from twelve
to fifteen hours, for this train is fire.
quently late, and every minute which it is
behind the schedule increases the hours
OF labor for the men in the mail car.
They are supposed to have time for
lunch on the trip down, but during the
rushing days of summer it is ''ten- one"
shot that they let the lunch hour go, con-
tenting themselves with sandwich or
chunk OF pie. They go to bed, but have
to get out early in the afternoon SO as to
get to the car and begin work, in order
that they may be somewhere near up with
the procession.
And what has been sa id of he crews Of
the night runs applies with equal truth to
those on the day runs.
When the summer schedule went into
effect in June one man was taken out of
each of these night crews aud put upon
the New York and Portland run, that is,
in the car which comes through from
Gotham to Portland on the Pine Tree
limited. In their places were put mex
perienced men. AS it requires, at least,
three months for man to become sutf-
GENTLY acquainted with the routine OF
the run, 1t can be seen that these men are
hindrance rather than help in the cars.
1t is this lack of sufficient crew, to.
gether with the great increase in the
amount of mail matter being handled
over previous years, which is making the
mail service SO poor, or, rather, slow this
summer.
The crews cannot handle it fast enough
to insure its reaching its destination at
the time it should. Frequently, because
of the inability of the crews on the
through runs to work out the great
amount OF mail which they have, letters
| are carried miles and miles beyond their
destinat ioD, and va u BILE hours e lost In
their reaching the one to whom they are
addressed.
1t is understood that Chief Clerk Mar
shall OF his district is doing all in his
power to have the number of clerks IS J.
/ signed to the district increased so that a
much better service can be given.