The Saint Paul globe., 1905-02-05

have the familiar cane and ring fakir
OF the county fair out of business in a
day if he Only cared to exert his skill,
for what earthly chance would the man
| who sells chances to capture canes and
| money and knives and other things,
stand if the mail thrower should get
busy with them? The man who can
stand twenty feet away and heave a
| pound package Of frst-claSs mail into
the half concealed mouth of a flimsy
bag, and hit the right bag every time
all day long, would prove losing in
vestment for any ring fakir on earth.
| He would simply clean the business of
the fakir in an hour.
Through the hands of this artist the
| Chicago package passes and strikes the
! bottom of the bag with plunk among
other mail matter that has filtered into
! the bag during the earlier hours, or
since the last mail was made up for
| Chicago.
This process goes on steadily until
the time comes for closing the mail for
the East. Great Northern train No. 4
is the next objective point, and pack
ages and pouches destined for it must
be rushed on board before train time.
This happens to be 8 o'clock at night.
and in order to make it properly the
reception of mail is stopped at o'clock
In order to allow the pouches to be
made up.
The Chicago package of letters is in
pouch addressed to the Havre and
Spokane railway postoffice. This is
really the mail car that runs from Spo-
kane to Havre, Mont, and is in charge
of mail messenger. If the sorting
has been done with great exactitude.
that is, If the mail in the pouch is all
for Chicago or Northern Illinois points
reached most directly by the same
route as that taken by the Chicago
package, the pouch will remain undis-
turbed for the time being,
AT Havre the pouch is turned over to
the messenger who has charge as far
as Larimore. Nothing has happened to
the package so far, but at Larimore
another exchange takes place, and the
st. Paul messenger assumes control.
He opens the pouch, separates the
letters from the postal cards, and adds
such other Chicago mail as has been
collected at various points on the line.
When this city is reached the Chicago
mail is pouched and addressed to the
Chicago and Minneapolis railway post
office, and if the train is on time there
is just ter minutes until the pouch is
safely aboard the mail train of the Chi
cago, Milwaukee & St. Paul. This train
is slated TO leave at 1880 at night.
about forty-five hours after the Great
Northern took up the journey at Spo-
kane.
This train is due in Chicago at IL
o'clock the-neXt morning.
Clerks Busy on Car
In the intervening hours the mail
clerks on the car are busy. They take
the Chicago mail, for instance, and di-
vide lit according to districts in the
city. Every carrier has his limits Of
distribution, and the clerks know the
extent of each beat to a degree of ex-
actness that would astonish the general
run of persons. Long before the train
is in the last of the letters have been
sorted and classified and arranged for
easy delivery to the carriers.
When the stop is made in the Canal
street station hundreds of carriers ap-
pear at the car, and to each one is de-
livered his heap of mail.
This is done to save time because, if
it was necessary to take the mail to
the main postoffice, serious loss of time
would result. The carriers arrange the
letters according to their routes and
start in the distribution.
BY noon the. South Water street mer-
chant has his letter from Spokane, and
if he desires he can make reply to ii
and get the reply into the fast mail
the same night.
All this history of the Spokane Chi
cago letter is the usual one for United
States mail when things go right, but
there is another side to the story. Sup
pose the East-bound train runs into a
drift in North Dakota, and is stalled
then what happens?
The train is a mail train, and under
the contract with the government 1T
has an important connection to make
in st. Paul. If il fails to make the
connection the Milwaukee train will not
wait and delays must result.
No such thing as delay is contem-
plated by the postal authorities, and no
excuses are taken. If the train misses
an important connection the company
is fined heavily. Suppose the train was
stuck in the drift and when 1t finally
arrives In St. Paul, it is twenty-four
hours late. 1t is counted a lost train
and the fine is somewhat heavier. For
tunately this year the snow has been
light on the Great Northern, which is
the official northern mail route of the
government, and delays of this kind
have been lacking.
Needs Special Crew
But if one should occur it would
cause trouble of various kinds. In the
first place, the mail would have to wait
for another train equipped with the
same kind OF a crew as handles the
mail on the regular train. All mail
trains are not supplied with men who
know the districts in Chicago as the
one on the regular train is obliged to
| know them.
Thus, there may be a delay of hours
| before the Western mail can get start
ed on the home stretch.
The rule of the government is very
strict on the subject of delays. Some
trains are fined for being five minutes
late at important junction points where
connections into a different territory
are supposed to be made
A delay. no matter how slight. must
be reported, and if it is sufficient to do
any damage. there is merry row made
over 1t.
The rule is relaxed in other cases,
| and no penalty is imposed for being a
| dozen hours behind schedule.
| When the government makes con-
! tract with a railway TO carry the mail
| the road agrees to maintain schedules
and to submit to fines if they are not
| maintained.
The pay of a road is twofold. In the
| first place it gets a certain amount for
the number of miles il hauls mail.
| Second. the government pays certain
amount for each pound that is carried
| by the company.
| In order TO determine the amount of