The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-07-26
Soldier Of Fast Age Tests
ST. PaulS Postal Service

, would know more of the quantity OF
this mail which required so many men
and wagons to carry; besides l was in
humor to watch the course of the blue
ribboned missive of marriage had IN
trusted to official care.
Arrived there l inquired of Mr.. ]. c..
Hadlick, superintendent of delivery,
further of the postoffice, it's jurisdiction
and employees. Briefly were the num-
bers of the latter given me. Besides
the carriers, there are 10 officials. liz
clerks at the main Office. % at sta
tons substitute clerks, rural car
riers, 8 laborers for janitor service,
moving heavy pouches, ETC.; mechan-
ic, box repairer and 2 messengers
all, including carriers, 355 postal en-
ployes directly connected with the ST.
Paul office.
It's Jurisdiction is practically cock
tensive with the city, although it in
cludes a little more territory; for in
stance the small municipality still in
existence and outside of the Sixth
ward, known as West st. Paul, which
was annexed to the ST. Paul office to
avoid confusion with the West st.
Paul comprising the Sixth ward.
Next I went to o. H. Negaard SUI
perintendent of the mails. who gave
me the facts of the magnitude of the
office business. a4B,
Let us take June, for example," said
Mr. Negaard. I'm this month we han
died of papers and magazines going
out of ST. Paul 6,99S,S26 pounds, put up
in 1854 sacks-postage paid by de-
posits of money by the senders in
the office. These deposits are kept up
constantly and the. aceruing postage
charges on this class of mail are de-
Quoted from them at pound rates. The
number of pieces of this class of mall
handled June, 1903, was 3,642,067, as
against 3,211, $50 pieces for June a year
ago-an increase of t430,817 pieces.
In June, 1903, we dispatched 6,S78
pouches of letter MAIL as against 1854
last year-an increase of Ala pouches.
In pieces the letter mail of this last
June was 2,357,70O, as against 1,7S5,900
last year in June-an, increase of 571,-
500 pieces.
Notwithstanding the vast quantities
and constant increase in mail matter,
the accuracy and speed of the office
are wonderful. Every pouch goes out
with a paper slip on it designed to re-
cord any possible error in routing or
marking or otherwise handling. In let
ter mail only one mistake in every
1908 pieces carried was recorded last
year. In other mail the mistakes are
even less-only one error in each 1885
pieces being shown last year. In per-
centages 1886 per cent Of letter mail
and 1898 per cent of other mail is cor
rectly handled. On the part of the de-
partment it is seen that error is Virtu-
ally eliminated. S- ia neQ
THE public is by no means as care
full as we are" said Mr.. Negaard.
There is a daily average of 2, 136 pieces
of mail matter which come into the ST.
Paul Office effectively, improperly, or
in some particular wrongfully address,
ed From June 80, 1902, to June 80,
1908, our records show as follows:
Returned to sender for error, 49,
415 pieces; corrected by office and for
warded, 2O9,523 pieces; sent to dead
letter office in Washington because
wrongfully addressed. 7,158 pieces; sent
to dead letter office in Washington for
insufficient address, 6,S81 pieces; held
for postage, 9,135 pieces; disposed Of
as waste, 1856 pieces; total for the
year, 779,778 pieces. This is the pub
hes record of error, and it requires
whole department of this off1ce-the
inquiry department, with six clerks-to
keep track of it. Nevertheless, it is
done-and well DONE"
Then, being anxious to see the actual
course of a letter from the moment 1t
was laid upon the table by the carrier,
| was shown by Mr.. Negaard to the
tables and canceling machines, the
mOduS Operand1 being thus:
The carrier brings in his mail, lays
it out of his bag upon a table, putting
the pieces in row with all the stamp
ed corners in line. They are picked up
in punches of fifty or sixty and taken
to the canceling machines. These are
run by electricity and are built to can
eel 10000 pieces an hour. Possibly one
of them would cancel this number of
postal cards, they being of the same
size and thickness. But letters are diff
ferent in size and thickness and prob
ably 10000 to 10000 per hour of letters
are all the machine will handle. These
machines areNnot owned by the govern
ment, but leased to it at annual rental
said to be about $500 year. The con-
tracts are made in Washington; exact
figures are not obtainable here. Then
the letters go from the cancellors into
the separators and sacks and thence
to the cars. obtained no sight of my
blue-ribboned letter, but on my arrival
home found this reply:
ITO Captain Comyn, who has hon.
ored me, these presents
Capt. Comyn: 1 do love you-de-
spite the anachronisms and peculiari-
ties of your reincarnation. But I will
not be married to you. For the reason
that by the light of that same moon
which you would have wax honey
WdruS so IOIlnW1lnly Tor you and me,
| have promised to be married to your
son, Reginald, whom / love more than
do you'll therefore intend to be your
daughter-and Reginald and / will
come and live with you. Ultimately,
we will fill your home with romping,
happy children, albeit first it will be
needful that you bear in patience for
awhile the squawk of the squally
grandbaby. send my love-and curt'sy
" n111. n 1crIt4 To- 81
Dorothy Vane"
had mailed my letter at 9 in the
morning. The above I received at in
the afternoon of the same day. Where
fore narveled at the swiftness of the
post Such things were not in King
Charles day. And Dorothy will be a
sweet daughter; which was often in
King Charles day.
John Bruce Comyn.