The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1910-12-21
Hitchcock Now Working Mail
Clerks Almost to Exhaustion

lets. On some ROADS clerk makes
fifteen catches and deliveries within a
distance of thirty miles. And he must
do it with uniform accuracy, whether
IL be in snow or rain, sunshine or
darkness.
There is a knack in tossing mail
which exceeds that in dealing cards
which the expert gamester possesses.
No gloves can be worn in winter. The
clerk is playing upon a big instru-
ment before him. and a false note. a
letter tossed wrong. may cost his job
He is watched by government inspec-
tors. He is not like a musician play
ing the same piece over and over,
which has been practiced a thousand
times His score changes every fourth
Of a second and is never alike on two
successive days. His brain works just
as fast. There are no bones in his
head to love. Neither is there any
solid ivory. His brain is of India
rubber, with a spring gun attachment
which can shoot in any one of $4,000
directions much faster than rife
clerk is marvel to the psychologist.
They call us clerks, but we're just
laboring men," said one of them.
| Once in a while sub" wanders
! into a car and asks the foreman where
the desk is, at which he is to work.
! He is met with a stare.
Go long. sonny. Hop on that
bunch o. sacks. Quick" is the answer
/ he gets
Besides having to know all of the
offices in five states and how to reach
them, the clerk also has to know some
thing about the big cities through
which he passes, enough in fact, about
the streets so that he can district com.
pletely a city's mail while whizzine
toward it on the tail of a locomotive
After the first big stop a regular
then it is work fast and furious until
about ten miles from the end Of the
run, the clerk begins to see day
light" through the piles before him
Then he begins TO lock out" The let
ter mail is all sorted and distributed
If he is lucky the clerk may get a
few minutes in which to wash and
change clothes. He is not through
when he leaves the train. Then his
trip reports must be made out. He
may have a Ave hour wait before his
return run begins, or it may be twelve
but he turns into bed exhausted. Il
he happens to be in indianapolis an(
his home is elsewhere he turns into z
neat mailman's dormitory on the
fourth floor of the federal building
When he gets home from four Of
six days run it usually takes two
days to get Strengthened out physi
cally and mentally and ready for worl
again. He has been subjected to ir
regular hours and meals and loss o
sleep. But perhaps. nowadays, he ha'
to crawl out of bed the very mex
morning and 90 out on an entirel!
different run in the place Of maj
who is off by injury, resignation o.
discharge. instead of substitute be
ing hired.
But in case the mail clerk gets hi
half on and half off, here is how h.
spends part of his half OFF" II,
studies his postoffice. He keeps hi
schemes of distribution" corrected
according to weekly orders ant
changes in schedules. Each schem
representing a state, has from 100
to 1880 postoffices. Clerks do no
bother with the long scheme book
which Uncle Sam issues, while on tn
run. The purchase long alphabetical
!, slips at their own expense, which Civ
the dope" more quickly in case o
the quickest way. Sometimes tn
longest is the quickest. He must kee
up on the black book" of postal law
and regulations. He must keep
complete record of every piece of res
istered mail which passes through hi
hands. Nearly every Indianapolis ma
clerk has barrel or two of stub
stored away in the cellar or attic, 70
he is not at liberty to destroy hi
records. and besides, he wants to kee
them for self protection.
Railway clerks are born. not mad,
and it takes seven years to develop
: good one. even if he starts with tn
best degree of inherent ability. Sa
aries average $1,000 yearly. When tn
clerk takes his state examination h
: stands before case of miniature p
geon holes and throws from 900 I
1900 cards correctly at the rate {
about thirty minute. But when
3 is a finished clerk he is throwing re;
when he lets out link, and paper
thirty a minute.