The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-02-20
MAIL CLERKS ON
LONG DEATH ROLL
Cortelyou Reports to Congress on
Perils and Casualties of
Railway Mail.
BY w. w. Jermane.

BY W. w Jermane.
Washington, Feb. 2O.-It is a sad
story, one Of dsath and serious injury
to large numbers of men, which is told
by Postmaster General Cortelyou, IN re-
ply to the resolutions of inquiry re;
garding casualties to railroad mail
clerks introduced in the senate by Sem
ator Tillman. Mr.. Tillman, in asking
for the passage of his resolution, ex-
planned that he had been reading nu,
merous newspaper reports of railroad
wrecks, in which mail clerks had been
killed or injured, and that he felt con-
gress should have at it's disposal all the
information available on that question,
with view to enacting suitable legis
lation for the protection of this. class
of government employees, should such
action be advisable.
| Mr. Cortelyou reports that during the /
wear 1901 there were 8,97S railway pos
tai clerks in the country, and that dur
| ing that year there were 825 railway |
accidents, to trains hauling postal cars.
Seven clerks were killed outright, six
ty-three seriously injured, and 229
slightly injured. ~ Il
The Death Roll.
The figures for succeeding years do
not give any idea of the total number
of accidents. Only those in which
clerks were injured being reported.
In 1902, nine clerks were killed,
eighty eight were seriously injured, and
500 slightly injured. In 1908, twenty
two were killed, seventy eight were Sc
riously injured, and 1913 slightly injured.
were seriously injured, and 348 slightly
injured. In 1905, twelve were, killed,
1875 seriously injured, and 1856 slightly
Injured. Or, in five years, sixty-four
clerks have been killed, 444 have been
seriously injured, and 1868 slightly in
jured.
The Tillman resolution was directed
especially to the character of construc-
tion of railway postal cars. He wanted
life and injury were due to peor..
built cars. In late years it has been
the, policy of the government to demand
:. that mail cars be built in part of steel,
anil Mr.. Tillnan wanted to know how
such cars had withstood the shock of
accidents as compared with the old
- wooden cars. The report of the post
= master general gives all this informa-
( ton. .@~
The Mail Cars. :
The old wooden cars cost from $4,000
Y to $4,000 to construct, and the steel
cars cost from $1,000 to $4,000. The
E former weigh about $4,000 pounds and
the latter from 100000 to $4,000
pounds, according to the quality of steel
used.
= At the close of the last fiscal year
u. there were 1,173 postal cars on all the
10 roads Of the United States, 1856 OF
70 which were built since 1898, when the
q, specifications Of the postoffice depart
IS IS ment, demanding stronger cars, beg:a1
20 to apply. In May, 1904, these specif
% cations were revised with view to ad
10 ditional safety for postal clerks, and tt
=, meet the demands Of the fast mail serv
's ice. One hundred and eighteen posta
-, cars have been built since the revised
i, plans went into effect, to say nothing
- Of forty old cars which have been re
built to meet the specifications.
One all-steel car, built by the Fri,
road several years ago, has not yet beer
IN a wreck. Two all-steel cars are nov
being built for the New York, New
Haven & Hartford railway. The Penn
r sylvanla road is also to build stee
car. The Santa Fe company has con
tracted for, thirty-nine mail cars, eigh
constructed with an UNDERTAKING O
pressed steel, ~sheathed with steel, an
the steel floor a layer of cement wi
be laid, and on top Of that laye
OF felt, with strong wooden foorin
Steel as Protection.
The statistics submitted by Mr.. Co.
telyou show that when the mail cal
built after the government specifics
tions have. been in wrecks, they hav
4 escaped with slight injury, as compare
with that done the baggage cars tt
engines and the smoking cars. The lo
Of life among postal clerks has been co
respondingly small in accidents whe:
cars Of this sort were a part Of ii
wrecked train. \sr.- .
There are 500 cars in use that we
built more than ten years ago, or b
L fore the government specifications,
sued in 1898, had had time to go in
full effect. Nearly all of these ha'
since passed thru the shops for gener
repairs or for rebuilding. But it
obvious that cars built as long ago
1869 and 1870, as some Of them wei
>.,, and in the years Immediately aftt
wards, cannot be made accident-prot
H. even by going thru the shops, and it
~ quite possible that congress may ia
.@~ up the question of radically hasteni
the retirement Of such cars and t
building Of those of more modern tyr
i built in 1859, three in 1870, one in 49,
81 six in 1872, eight in 1873, one lin 49,
five in 1875, four in 1877, eight in 49,
twelve in 1879, fourteen in 1880, fo1
- teen in 1881, sixteen in 1882, twent
five in 1883, twenty-seven in 1884, six
1885, seven in 1886, twenty four
1887, nineteen in 1888, forty-nine
1889, forty-four in 1890, twenty three
1891, ffty-six in 1892, forty three
1898, seventeen in 1894 and ffty-thl
in 1895
If there is to, be such action in ct
gress, the Tillman resolution Of
curry will be the starting point for
The record of deaths and accidents
"A a serious one, and the senate, at lea
seems willing to do something to short
tie it, if possible. @
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