Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1905-03-10
BITS OF WASHINGTON LIFE.
minor Scenes and Incidents Sketched
on the Spot.

10 the engineer and fireman" saws a
| correspondent or the New York Even
lHG Post, railway mail clerks, because
| OF the position Of the car near the
front of the train. ana usually inmedi-
| dtely behind the engine. are in yrea: Ger
| danger in case of collision, or an ordi-
! nary accident than any ether persons
or the train.
| Inc PostOt.ice department has given
much study to car construction. Mas
| Ter builders have been freely consulted
| as preliminary stco looking to the
| revision and plans and specification of
| postal cars to meet the modern need
| lIr h12her rates Of speed and to safe
| guard against casualties when acct
dents occur. The department experts
| believe that they now have a car
| which is second 10 none in fulfilling it's
purposes. standing order in the rail-
way mail service makes il incumbent
upon clerk when he sees anything
! about his car which renders it unsafe
| t" report at once.
| The proposal to have all-Steel car
| construction has been considered i'm the
department. hut ate, examination it
| was decided that 4 wood and steel con-
slructi"n is better. One railroad COM
pany, however mas asked permission
/" build an all steel car to which the
department has assente.i. When put
into service this car will be carefully
compared with those now in use.
The record Of casualties in the rail-
| way mail service has shown steady
increase. with two or three exceptional
/
twenty-seven accidents resulting in the
ieatEs of two clerks, the seriously in
jG;ing of ten and the slight wounding
Of four. The record year Cor accidents
was 1901. whnn SO trains carrying pos
| tai ears suffered more or less serious
mishapS, though only seven clerks were
killed, sixty-th"ae badly hurt and 229
| slightly injured. The record of deaths
vas higher in 1908 and 1904 than in any
previous years.
1T has been possible through legis-
latiOr for the last three years to pay
$1,000 to the next of kin Of every clerk
killed while on duty, or dying within
a year. from causes directly traceable
| to injuries so incurred. \ substitute
killed in the line Of duty is put on the
same footing as regular clerk.
Few government employees have
| more tedious and nerve-racking work
| than railway mai! service clerks. They
are required 10 learn the names of
thousands Of towns along their routes.
| which they must know without the
slightest hesitation, so that any piece
of mail may reach its ultimate desti-
| nation safely and swiftly. OF a total
OF 11,132, S40230 pieces of mail matter.
| exclusive of registered letters and
| packages handled by the railway
clerks last year. there We're only 1,531. :
$40 errors in distl ibutiOn charged
| against them. There were 1,l45. 541
errors in distribution checked against
.pOstOffices, whe.e the clelk ks have bet
ter facilities. ard nearly always more
time in which 10 do their work.
| Irvine Giubb was spokesman for q
delegation of Colorado citizens who
Visited Washington for the purpose of
| urging that the national government
aid certain irrigation and other pro-
| jeCtS of special interest to agriculture
| lists of the Centennial state. Congress-
man Wadsworth is chairman of the
committee to which the appeal was
made. SIS Colorado so poor" he
asked, that it needs aid of this kind"
| Mr. Grubb was staggered for Il mo-
mont but he gathered himself togeth-
er and burst forth in this fashion:
''Sr: we had two years of Bloody
| Brides Waite. then we had two years
of populism; then about four Years of
fusion: after that came Peabodyism.
and now we have Adams. Gentlemen.
] am amazed that you should ask me
Il question like that" The appropria-
ton was made by the committee. and
| the Colorado men say that Grubb's
speech won the committee.
| Speaker Cannon'S all but inda-
cipherahle handwriting got Congress-
mHn Cushman into Il mess a few days
ago. The Washington representative
| got Il note from the speaker, but was
| unable to make out more than two or
three words. Then he showed it to
several friends, and between them
| they read it all but the last three
words. In despair he called on Mr..
Cannon and told him Of the difficulty.
| Said the speaker: you showed this let
ter to several people. you say" ooh.
yes, Mr.. Speaker. / tried every way
to read it before troubling you about
| the matter. None of us could make
| ont the last three words, though
"Why." said Mr.. Cannon, "ihe last
| three words We're personal and conf
| DENTAL you chump.'
| "When the country was towering on
the brink of war with Srain.' relates
| the Washington Post, "a western
senator. himself hoping that hostilities
might be averted. had very intelli-
gent constituent. From him the sena-
tor received a letter some days before
Congress cast the die, which breathed
hostility in its every line. He was
evidently fretting under delay and de-
manded that Uncle Sam drive Spain
Off the western hemisphere forthwith.
! President Mckinley was then seeking
some peaceful outcome. The man
out West had no patience with the
| President or those senators who, too.
We're striving for peace. The bellicOse
clanor of this constituent touched the
senator's sense of humor.
My good friend. I am glad to hear
| that Won have cuch q putriOtic Snrit >