The Red Cloud chief., 1913-09-11

Just how much the telephone soO ~ |OO
and the typewriter have done toward swelling
the vast postal activity OF today. but that they
have Outranked all other influences IN this direc
ton cannot be gainsaid.
What 10 capable Of being traced Is the bulk
OF the first class mail. which has grown since
these two instruments Of latter day intercourse
have come into widespread use. and the figures
arc astonishing. In period OF three years the
railways supplied the post once with an increase
Ia mileage Of nearly IL per cent. this indepen-
IDENTIFY Of the volume Of the postal matter car.
ried and the figures have been mounting stead.
lily since these we're taken for comparison In
1910. In 1907 the railways furnished the post
once ss7.667.l66 miles OF transportation and In
1910 the total reached q mileage Of 426. 1913 109.
This 10 pretty fair indication Of the part the
trunk lines play in getting letters to their desti.
nations and incidentally emphasizes the need of
more rapid means OF transportation for letters
and registered parcels going beyond tho limits
OF the city: Compared with the telephone service
ana the letterpfoducing typewriter the Limited"
trains a. an agency OF Intercourse trail over the
Landscape. relatively speaking. a. II weighted
with leaden heels.
Before It is possible to appreciate what Is COM
ing In the future to make postal intercourse
quicker between business centers Of the country
It 10 necessary to consider the germ of revolu.
ton az It ia developing within the urban limits of
big cities. Perhaps you know that there is a
mall tube service here In Manhattan which has
been doing effective but restricted duty for some
years This 10 an installation extending from
the main once downtown to Harlem.
This tube is only eight inches In diameter. and
mali despatched to the uppermost limits Of the
route must be reayed . number OF times before
reaching its destination. The eght.inch tube 10
too small to take pouch OF the regulation size
and the letters must be packed In the container
and taken out and again packed for forwarding
In passing ON from station to station. The i'm.
pulse 10 compressed air. and the tube is utilized
only to supplant the most ieisurely transfer by
wagons. etc. The horse-drawn vehicle 10 the pre-
vaiiing mode OF getting the mail moved from
point to point. Fortunately motor vehicles will
soon sappaant these horsedrawn AFFAIRS and to
that extent there will be . marked Improvement.
But this change 10 not the one needed most.
Some months ago Postmaster Morgan and Q
commission appointed by the federal postal au-
thortties took up the question Of bringing the
postal facilities here up to date. and they pro-
posed the installation OF double mail tube serv.
Ice which should connect the branch post ofnces
at the two great railway terminals. the Grand
Central and the Pennsylvania stations. together
with . supplemental line reaching down to the
main post ONCE In the heart OF the business sec
tion OF New York. The proposed tubes are to be
~ inches In diameter and capable Of handling
the regulation mall bags This would do away
with the present loss OF time In repouching and
would Immensely increase the hourly mail trans,
porting capacity.
Today between the Grand Central and Penn.
sylvania stations the wagons run nearly the full
twenty.four hours In order to carry the 1000 or
more pouches Of mail involved 1t IL estimated
that these bags have an average weight OF 100
pounds and this means that 200 tons OF postal
matter must thus be handled and disposed of
over this route every day This OF course does
not represent the total Of the ctys service by
any means and does not include the transporta
ttOn OF mail from downtown to and from these
railway centers OF shipment
The new line would do this work speedily
would not be liable to Interference by reason OF
blocked streets or weather conditions. and the
bags would be despatched from point to point a,
q rate ranging anywhere from twenty-five to sew
enty-hve miles an hour as occasion might re
Quire. The problem before the local authorities
ia to decide which system OF a number submitted
Ia the one best fitted to meet Manhattan's
needs
Bids have been submitted already and the
schemes are either pneumatic electrical In
their method OF propulsion, All Of them have
been tested either practically or experimentalIy
and apart from their individual merits each aims
TO do away with existing surface wagons and "a