The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1907-04-25
MAIL N THE WILDERNESS E.
Peculiar Features of the Postal
Service in the Far North.
SMALL SALARIES PAID
Offices Eagerly Sought For--Distinc-
ton They Confer on Holders
Trying and Dangerous Position
Along Remote Seaboards in Win
tcr-nistributionin Former Times.


Along Remote Seaboards in Win
tcr-Distributioni in Former Times.
There Is much rejoicing in this COL
ony among the postmasters, as the
salaries of all under $40 year are
to be increased so per cent. In New
foundland everything is done On
small scale, the prime minister get
ting but $4,000 a year, while the
great body Of postmasters receive
from SO to $40 per annum as sal
aries.
There are 1,4S3 settlements
around our coast line and on Lab
rador, and these are served by OH
| postoffices. Of these only twenty
| two receive 500 or more and only
| thirty-six are voted more than $50,
says St. Johns On. F) correspond
ent of the Chicago News. The big ma
| jority are in the 1870 or under"
class. The explanation of the in
crease of so per cent. for these Is
| that ten years ago the colony went
| through a financial catac1ysm which
nearly terminated it's solvent exist
ence, but by adopting policy OF
drastic economies, retrenching in
every branch of the public service, 1t
survived. Since then it has been
prospecting wonderfully, has now
5000 as a cash reserve and is in
such assured solyency that the Gov
eminent is beginning a policy of re-
storing salaries to their old time
| figure and Is starting with the post
masters.
In country like this, with It's peo-
pie located in almost inaccessible
co"es and harbors round coast line
5000 miles in extent, the postal
problems are curious and sometimes
startling. In one hamlet some years
ago an eccentric old clergyman had
his housekeeper appointed postmis-
tress so that he could exercise a SUI
pervision over the mails, and he only
permitted the delivery Of any CORE
spondence outside of what he con-
sidered important and pressing once
a year-on Christmas Eve. Then he
personally distributed the accumula-
ton among his parishioners, who
were summoned to his house for this
purpose, his plea being that 1t dis
turbed their minds too much for
them to get letters or papers every
week. In another place it was the
practice of the postmaster, who also
centered in his person all the other
public functions proper to the place.
to open all letters and read their con-
tents and then hand them to the
parties to whom they were addressed.
Even to this day it is the practice
on the remote mail routes, for the
courier to visit each Office on his
route in turn and dump out the
whole mail, when the postmaster
there will select such letters and pa
pers as he thinks are designed for his
locality and hand him over the rest to
take to the next station, where the
same process is repeated. In winter,
II there is a prospect of seal Or carl
bou hunting the courier dumps his
mall into a snow cache at some con-
venient point and goes off on this
quest, returning in a week or two, as
the case may be, picking up his bags
again and taking UP the interrupted
service as If nothing had happened,
and generally without a protest being
evoked. Last December a postmaster
was tried for robbery Of a money let
ter. and 4 search of his office reveal
ed piles OF mail matter lying there,
some eight years old, and all of
which could have been delivered to
the addresses quite easily, as they
visited the Office at intervals.
In some of the hamlets education
is virtually unknown and the advent
of a schoolmaster was usually fol-
lowed by his undertaking all the cor
respondence for the community.
1t seems impossible to conceive of
office seeking" for such places at
such salaries, yet such is truly the
case, and as much wire-pulling is
done to obtain one in a fishing settle
elsewhere. Holding the post office is
the recognition of learning and en-
and the postmaster is
one of the lights of local life. Ali
things are of relative value and in
communities where the justices of
the peace are barely able to write
their names the ability to assume the
control of one of these little Offices is
highly regarded.
The post Of mail courier on these
remote seaboards, especially in win
ter. is very trying and dangerous.
Along the dreary wastes Of Labrador,
with dogs and sheds, these daring
men draw the little and precious par
GELS of letters-notb ing heavier can
be carried-aS far north as the re-
hottest Moravian mission post on the
shores Of Hudson Strait sometimes
perishing of fro5tbite or exhaustion.
and at others OF drowning in the riy-
ers and inlets that have to he
crossed