The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1905-12-21

other thousands of postofice clerks
and city carriers, as we'll as the
recently appointed corps of R. F. d.
carriers, and the army of good-looking
girls who look after matters in the
majestic Department Building at
Washington.
For the purpose of administration, the
department at Washington has divided
the labor of the Postmaster General
into four great subdepartments. The
Rural Mail Service is assigned to the
Second Assistant Postmaster General,
and with him we will deal hereafter.
The United States proper is divided
for convenience into eleven divisions,
each presided over by superintendent.
These men, eleven in number, report to
the general superintendent at Washing
ton, whose Office is In close touch with
that of his chief. We are located in
the tenth division and the division
headquarters are at st. Paul.
Postal lines are named for the ter
minals between which the clerks run
the name of the railway has its part
in it. For example, between the Twin
Cities and Chicago-the railway post
Office running over the Milwaukee road
is known as the Chicago and Mime
apolis; over the Northwestern and
through this city, the Chicago, Elroy
and Duluth; over the Wisconsin
Central the Chicago, Abbottsford and
Minneapolis, and over the Great
Western, the Chicago, Dubuque and
Minneapolis. The Great Northern has
the fast mail service to the coast
and to Winnipeg. The coast railway
postofice is known as the st. Paul and
Havre, while its two splendid new
Winnipeg flyers are called the st. Paul
and ST. Vincent; the Canadian line is
known as the Winnipeg and Emerson.
I have seen this train leave st. Paul
in fourteen sections, but the mail car
had gone on ahead as an extra, with
its splendid crew, and fifteen or twenty
tons of mail, which has grown in three
years from nothing, to that amount,
daily.
Clerks are recruited by means of a
civil service examination, which is open
to any man under thirty-ive years of
age of good moral character and robust
constitution. The examination, while
it has DO part in demonstrating the
efficiency of a candidate, yet serves its
purposeandi is most wise and benefcent
institution. l was appointed before
the days of civil service, and I know
that as rule the men who entered the
service then, were disappointed office
: seekers who took this Office because ii
gave them place at the public crib
but with a string attached to it which
? they abhorred-work, and expecting
{ either that the administration woulC
!, change and throw them out, or thai
) they could obtain a little stronger
! cinch on their congressman, and thus
get better job with no work attached
They did just as little work as possible
studied not at all and kept both eye'
on the masters table looking for {
bigger crumb to fall.
Now, all this is changed-boys from
the farm and smaller towns are enter
y ing; and knowing they may remain al
4 their lives, fit themselves for tn
q arduous labor ahead of them, and tn
4 business and social world profit
n accordingly. / want to say that had i
f not been for the civil service, the sci
r. vice could never have attained tn
! position it maintains today. One o
b our postal experts told me little NOR
:. than year ago in Washington that i
10 all the world but one mail service e1
"a ceeded ours, in point of efficiency
2 that of Norway and Sweden. and eve
II with regard to these we were in som
- particulars more advanced than the,
ID but on a general average theirs wa
n. the more efficient.
it When man enters the service he
in first assigned to the substitute or exit
b. list. He works on any line in tt
ID division where for any reason, sicknes
le death or private business, the reguls
clerk desires to lay off. When VI
as cancy occurs the superintendent re
y, ommends the appointment of his mo-
i'd experienced sub as "probationer;;"
of remains in this grade six month
he receiving four hundred dollars for b