Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-07-28
MAIL BAG REPAIRING.

Mail bags. their care and repair. are
an important feature Of the postal sys-
tenn Just what an item
Millions they make in the scheme of
handling the mails may be
u oo6S. realized in a small way by
considering:
That two millions OF these bags pass
through the mail bag repair shop every
year.
That, averaging a yard and half of
canvas to each bag. three millions OF
yards Of cloth are handled by the work
ers in the renovating rooms.
That IL this cloth were ripped and
sewed in one piece it would cover an
area OF more than a square mile.
And that if laid end to end the bags
handled In one year would make giant
ribbon more than lib miles long, and II
sewed three wide would make strip
of carpet reaching nearly from Wash
ington to Baltimore.
Mail bags perform the two-fold duty of
protecting and furnishing a convenient
means of transporting the mails.
The mail bag Is hurled from rapidly
moving trains. dropped from wagons.
kicked around and roughly treated gen.
orally, anu all because there can De not a
moments delay In getting the govern
ment's mail transported on schedule time,
and there is no room for niceties in the
handling.
Naturally. mail bag can stand just
SO much abusive treatment. and then it
wears out. Like anything
Timely else, however, that adage
c4:4 "A stitch in time saves
nine is as apt in connec-
ton with mail bag as any other mend
able thing. Consequently. Uncle Sam
has special division which looks to the
care of his mail bags, and sees to it that
they are given such care as will insure
the longest possible life, usually from
twelve to fifteen years. Some bags, how
ever, are useless after q single trip.
This division is known as the mail bag
repair shop. and is located in the same
building as that occupied by the supply
division of the Post Office Department
LIST and X streets northeast of which IT.
has the two top floors. To this shop come
practically all the worn-out, torn and
generally disabled mail bags used in the
entire service There Is a sub-agency in
chicago which does the same kind of
work but by far the greater portion is
done right here in Washington
caring for mail bags is an occupa ton
Wnicn has grown to the proportions of a
regular profession. About 1o5 people are
concerned. while special machine shop
is Kept constantly busy repairing the
machines and finding new methods by
which the work can be improved
Inere are many trials in the life of the
ordinary mail bag. Constant hard usage
Will wear holes, contact with nails re-
suits IN snags. something will happen to
the closing string. Any one Of these
things means that the bag must be re-
paired because there must be no chance
Tor the mail to spill. The need Of repair
ing Is left to the discretion of the postal
force all over the country. When they
find bag which they think needs mend
ing they send it to the nearest collect
ms center for such work. There it is held
until sufficient number have been re-
ceived to make it worth while shipping
them on. at which time they are sent
direct to the repair shop in this city
Upon their arrival here they are taken
+" the top floor of the building There a
force Of laborers looks
Inspection them over, discarding
pu...a, those unfit for further
"oe''' use. and those which do
not need mending. From there they go to
an inspector" He goes over the entire
lot again and makes final classification.
From him they are taken to- the floor be-
low and distributed according to the
character of work to be done. according
to whether machine work or hand-darn-
ing is called for.
Two kinds of bags repaired. One,
the mail sack, is made out Of canvas and
is used for such mail as does not have TO
be put in locked bags. The other bag IS
the mail pouch, having a leather bottom
and a top to which a lock is attached.
The work of repairing the sacks is done
by women. while men repair the pouches.
In order TO keep up with the constant
food OF disabled mail sacks. thirty ma
chinists are kept constantly busy. while
twelve darners work by hand Fifteen
men are needed for the pouch work.
IN mending a mail sack no effort is
made to attain any artistic effect what
ever. Durability is the sole end sought.
The machine carries stout string, while
the hand member carries her stitches back
and forth over the hole until 1t has been
entirely fil!ed.
A visit to the repair shop must neces-
sariIv include a visit to Hattie Maddux,
who bears the title OF
Hattie ''stringer." Blind for forty
year., Hattie Maddux has
MduuuA' nevertheless been in the
repair shop for twenty-three years. dur
ing which time she has strung up many
thousands of mail sacks. With deft fin
gere she picks up a sack previously
mended, feels 1t TO determine whether Or
not it needs new string, and II 1t does
runs It through with the rapidly OF one
blessed with keen eyesiSht. An ordinary
DAVIS work for Hattie Maddux is about
200 bags.
The bags which come to the repair shop
annually to be mendcd number about
cocoon All OF them are not Inended,
however In the process of examination
many are condemned as being absolutely
unfit for further use. while still others
are considered as not needing repairing.
AS to the work actually done, the num-
Der OF pouches mended in a single year
amounted to 19O515, while the number
of sacks reached to 1. 1854 In order to
keen abreast of such a constant stream