Evening star., 1912-07-21
POST OFFICE SUPPLY DIVISION,

fair. In addition to the regular post of.
flee supplies the supply division now has
charge of sending out the supplies fol
the newly established postal savings
banks and large quantities of this ma.
terial are leaving the building daily
In practically every instance the suppl,
division merely fills the position of me
dium between the government printing
as the supplies practically all come from
those two sources. A few things. how
ever. are manufactured in the build.
ing proper Of these the most interest.
ing is the making of canceling stamps
These are the stamps the impress OF
circular in shape and bearing the name
of the city and state where stamped
They are all made here in Washington al
the division of supplies. Each post office
one inch deep. This is flied with a rub.
ber-like substance and allowed to set
When cold it can be removed with the
fingers, being flexible. This stamp is ther
set in the head of the stamping holder
and Is ready for use. The flexible sub.
stance is used in making these stamps
for the reason that it will stamp on al
most any surface, smooth, rough OIL
round, thus enabling the empIoye using il
to stamp almost any type of package.
* *
w ME not uuite dS HlucN OI ildHu-
factory as the stamp-making plant the
room in which the postal
Postal service scales are made and
c, repaired can yet be put in the
oeoieS' same class. From this room
between twelve and thirteen thousand
scales are sent out each year. Some OF
these are new. others are new only in
part. All scales are sent here when they
become broken or get out of order. and
are taken to pieces and reassembled. APP
proximately 3OO0 typewriters and adding
ma chimes are also repaired during sim
gle year
On the fifth floor. in the executive Of
fees, is an extensive fling system. Here
nearly DOO0 current files are maintained.
one for each post Office in existence. In
these files are kept copies of the requisi-
tions sent in by the post office in question.
The acquisitions are made out with copy
ing ink or pencil, the forms being printed
the same way. When they come i'll, in
stead of making an invoice. after the or
der has been filled and checked, copy
Is made in press book, and sent out
with the order. Much unnecessary labor
is thus saved.
Aside from the floors used for executive
Offices and filing orders. the remainder of
the space is given over to storing the
supplies. On the sixth floor is all the
stationery used, on the third floor the
blank forms and on the second the blank
paper. Among the more common blank
forms. that is. from the standpoint of
popular knowledge, are to be found the
change of address blanks, those notifying
the addressee that a letter or postal sent
him lacks a stamp and several others.
These. standing in stacks as high as a
mans head and the width and length of a
room, contain millions of blanks. Orders
sent 20 the government printing office
E. l. &. 81.
In the matter of blank paper this comes
in all kinds and sizes. and is used almost
entirely in those instances where post
offices print their own blanks and forms.
as do several of the large ones.
On the second floor IS the entrance
leading TO the tracks used exclusively by
this division. The build
Train ing is located practically
r at the railroad tracks at
AV"uS' Union station. and just
to the side of what is known as *
tower, the largest switching tower at
Union station. From the regular yards
runs spare track to the divisions door,
and on this is usually to be found two
or more freight trains waiting to be load
ed or ready to leave.
In connection with the division OF sup
plies there is board Of inspection, whose
duty it is to inspect all material coming
into the building in order to ascertain
that it is up to requirements, correct as
to form, etc.
The supply depot as IL stands today Is
a far different affair from the supply di-
vision as it was carried on years ago
According to James b. Cook, superinten-
dent of the division of supplies, the frs,
mention ever made of supplies for the
postal service was In 1910, when it was
stated in the report of the Postmaste
General for that year that blanks of al
kinds are furnished on application at the
general post Office or at the post offices
In -" naming several post offices in the
various sections of the country. 'anC
they are not to be procured at any other
place at the public expense
1t was in 1872 that Congress passed ar
act authorizing the Postma ster General tt
establish blank agency" In 1850 the
work of this agency" was recorded as
having been of unusual magnitude, al
though the force consisted OF only thir-
teen employees, of that number one being
superintendent, seven assistant super
intendents, one clerk, one assistant mes
senger and three laborers. 1t was in 1SS;
that the blank agency became the divis-
ion of supplies. Since that time It has
had thirteen superintendent, and its
force Of employees has grown until at the
present time there are eighty-five. while
1t superviSeS the expenditure of nearly a
million and half dollars annually.
In keeping up such an enormous supply
depot as this one for the postal system
the thought of economy
watching has to be kept constantly
n.,: in mind. as small in
crease in the purchase
price of q single article even may mean
the expenditure of several thousand dol
lars additional. An example Of just what
this can mean one way or another is
shown in an address made by Supt. Cook
at a convention of postmasters. Apropos
of several letters which had been sent
to Postmaster General Hitchcock. in
which the writer's, postmasters. reported
that they had made no reauisition for
twine on account Of using what came
around packages of letters received at
their offices. Mr.. Cook said that much
money could be saved if third and fourth
class postmasters would follow such an
example.
Il find, upon investigating" said Mr..
Cook, that at each of 1853 third-clasS
post offices there is an average of twenty
five pounds of twine used a year. That
amounts to 1925 pounds, which. at 8
cents pound. represents $1OI7s. that