The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-05-10
LIFE OF RAILWAY MAIL CLERK.
A PeriIous and Wearing Position
His Is.
New York Herald.

New York Herald.
Congress after much hesitation on the
subject has at last granted a lump sum of
$1,000 TO the family of every railway mail
clerk killed in the line of duty. the law
will extend its first benefits To these who
lose their lives during the present ytar, and
from this time on will bestow an equiva-
lent OF pensions. small though it Ee. upon
the widows and children of a class If Uncle
Sans employees which il exposed TO eX
traordinary perils Indeed. there are no
other government servants, barring SOL
derS and sailors in war times, pArhapS-
whose occupation is nearly so dangerous.
There is no other occupation in tie world
that is so peiilous as that of our Srailway
mail clerks. They number about 5000, and
ordinarily they get something like, $1,000 a
year, though tEeir pay varies somewhat
with length of service 1t is not much,
considering the fact that they are con-
stantly exposed to chances of deata
During the last year. which broke the
record for casualties, they were mixed up
were killed. eighty eight of them we're Sc
riously injured and COZ of them were slight
ly injured This record was nothing very
extraordinary, however. In 1901 mail clerks
were caught in SIS accidents, in which sew
en- were killed, siXty-three seriously and 90
slightly wounded.
The variety of perils to which these brave
men are exposed is astonishing. "A short
time ago, in northern Ohio. a train of pos
tai cars was dcrailed and two of them
were thrown into Sandusky bay. with ten
drowning was almost miraculous. On an
other recent occasion, near Oswegh, Kan,
a train was blown from the track by a tor
nado and the postoffice employees we're
riously injured. Another train on Che Dem
& Fort Worth line ran into Il washA
out, the mail car was telescoped, by the
baggage car the wreck caught fire. and the
imprisoned clerk was burned to death. In
several recent cases postal cars have been
held up by robbers and riddled With bull
let's.
tol are all dangers to be encountered by the
railway mail clerk. Inasmuch as they
spend their lives in travelling, they are
bound to be mixed up in accidents occa-
sionally, and whether they suffer or not is
a mere matter of chance. Quite common
ly they do suffer, partly because the mail
car is placed usually behind the, tender.
where 1t is reasonably sure in case of col
lision to be smashed into lxindling wood be-
tween the tender and the baggage car. Re-
Gently, however, an effort has BEN made
to alter this arrangement, placing the bag
gage car between the tender and The mail
car. and thus it is hoped that the number
of casualties will be lessened.
1t is a very strange and interesting fact
that liability to accidents has greatly in
creased on the railroads of the United
States. and is to-day greater than ever be-
fore, Notwithstanding the marked improve
ments in methods of operating railway
lines. The reason is simply that lines
have multiplied, gridironing the country in
every direction, while the trains run faster
perior construction of roadbed improved
ecllislon-proof cars and the protection af-
forded by the admirable block system, the
number of accidents per mile of railroad
has actually increased.
OF this striking fact the record o. casual
ties in the railway mail service: affords
proof the percentage of killed and in
jured among the travelling postsl clerks
having steadily risen. Last year. al
ready stated, it broke the record, with
total of 399 killed and wounded, or just
about per cent. of the entire personnel.
AT that rate it would appear thai a rail-
way postal clerk in twenty-five Years of
service is practically certain to be injured
at least once in an accident on the rail,
while his chance of being killed during that
period is about one in forty
Hence, the Importance OF providing some
equivalent of pension for the families of
clerks who lose their lives. This Jaw now
provides that $1,000 shall be paiG to the
killed in the line of duty or who dies
within one year after an accident In which
he has suffered disabling injurS. Sup
posing that he is disabled, but IS lucky
enough not TO die, he receives full pay
injury.
Few railway mail clerks last more than
twenty years in the service, their work
being done under such high tension that,
even IL they escape death or disabling in
jury. they are soon worn out. At all times
they are expected to defend the mails with
their lives, attacks upon postal cars by
robbers being not infrequent.
III the clerk refuses to open the; door OF
his car in response to a demand oy high
waymen, he must be prepared for an i'm
mediate fusillade of bullets, followed per-
haps by explosion of dynamite. OF
course, it is always the registered mail
that the robbers want particularly.
Mail cars to-day are very different vehi-
cles from what they were fifteen years ago
much more commodious, and buSlt to re-
not proof against dynamite, but IN many
instances they have been able 20 with
stand determined attacks by high svaymen.
For the transportation Of mail the govern
ment pays so much per 100 pounds, plus
| from SIS to $50 a day per car. according
| to the length of the vehicle. Tho appro-
priation for this purpose for the, current
| year is IS, l04, $780,
Trains consisting of mail cars only are
now run between important points. The
| New York and Chicago fast mail comprises
ordinarily six postal cars, and carries
| twenty clerks. 1t is, in fact a large post
office ON wheels travelling at fifty miles an