Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1913-08-29


GEORGE B. ARMSTRONG.
1868. and after remaining upon the line
short time, at the earnest request ana
repeated solicitations Of George =. Arm
strong founder and father of the rail-
way postotlice service, entered the office
with him as his clerk
Mr.. Armstrong was located in Chi
cagO. Wby2 Because the great west
was the then rapidly growing territory
Of tnis country; it's railways building, its
business expanding, its towns increasing
ID size and importance more rapidly
{bnn in the east. Here he had greater
scope for his work. At his own request
a second officer was chosen to take
charge Of the railway pOstoftlces in the
east.
Backbone of Department.
The man who conceived and estab-
hshed the Railway Postotfice service Of
the United States was the late George
r. Armstrong OF Chicago. No other per-
S6fi had anything to do with formulating
the fundamentals OF this great service
as Il now exists and recently referred to
Icy former Postmaster General Hitch
cock as the backbone Of the department
For seven years he was its head, elab-
Grating the details as necessities arose
and extending the system throughout the
national domain, from the day in Au-
gust, 1854, when bis first postal car
was run, until his death in May, 1871.
MIR. Armstrong came TO Chicago IN
1854 as assistant postmaster under
Isaac Cook. Cook was a Democratic
politician and won his appointment as
one OF President Pierce's henchmen in
the young metropolis of the west. The
Chicago office was growing so rapidly
that he was literally overwhelmed with
mail matter and knew not which way
10 turn for relief Complaint after COM
plant was made TO the department until
someth ng had TO be done.
SO Postmaster Cook went to Wash
ington and laid his troubles before the
then acting postmaster general. Horatio
King. That official advised Cook to
9ppoint as his assistant an experienced
postottice man and suggested young Arm
strong as the proper person for the
place At that time the latter was q
clerk in the contract office Of the depart
ment at Washington. The appointment
was duly made and Mr. Armstrong
moved with his young family to Chicago
in 1854.
Order Out of Chaos.
His powers as an organizer and his
thorough expert knowledge as a postal
"AA-Nttih SUM U6NdAlt apparent. III WAS
not long before order had been restored
out Of chaos and the Chicago Office was
recognized as one of the most efficiently
managed postal eenters in the nation.
Nhen Gen. Grants army-known as
the western army--camped at Cairo. that
office, which before then had been n
small postottice, suddenly became one of
the most important Gem Clark %
carr, N his highly entertaining book on
tho Railway RTnH
lows in regard TO this incident:
As recognition of his nolitical serv
ICES III the election of Gen. Logan to
congress and the success of the Reprh-
liean ticket, President Lincoln made IA
vii I. Linnegar postmaster at Cairo. He
knew no more Of the duties of the office
than we in northern Illinois. besides he
had no Armstrong to teach him The
Office was small and the business light
rs | remember, he had three clerks. Sud
denly. within forty-eight hours the Cairo
postofiice one of The smallest in the
United States. became one of the great
est Mail bags were thrown in hy the
hundreds and by the thousands. filling
up the rooms, projecting out OF the win
dQWS and piled up on the plat orms The
western Union army had come to occupy
caro- and the region round about l my
self was there and SAW the appalling CON
'spride of 1869. Poor Linnegar. entire.
~ bewildercd, could Go nothing but fele-
graph to the postmaster general at
Washington for help. A few postoffice
clerks. detailed from the cities. were TAX
en- to Cairo, hut they coull do nothing
without an effective head. 1t was a mat
ter Of surprise and qualification when
George b. Armstrong appeared Never
was such a man more needed and never
was 8 man better equipped for such an
emergency.
Order Once More.
The upshot of the matter was that in
san incredibly short time-+the congestion
was relieved. the letters were distributed
and delivered and the clerks had then
only to take care Of the mail as it came
in upon the trains and from the army
There was nor the slightest difficulty
in taking care of the enormous volume of
mail that came in after Mr. Armstrong
had disposed of the congestion He sub
mitted to Gen. Grant his plan to prevent
= recurrence of thetropble by requesting
an correspondence intended for Grants
southwestern army to he addressed to-
the individual. giving in the order named
his company. his regiment. his brigade
sr5,s7 his division. Ger. Grant issued the.
order at Afr. Armstrong request and
4 i,srba ffar the mails, srnoYed with the.