The Washington times., 1914-10-30

| are sent out just tne moment Wnen
| they should be back. If they are late
without a reasonable excuse they are
| demerited.
Conveyors Do All Work.
The handling of this special delivery
letter is a sample Of the whole system.
Parcel post and other packages are con-
| veyed on endless belts; and either over
these belts or by means of the sweep
off conveyor any piece of mail coming
into the postoffice may be sent to any
spot in the work room without the
sender doing more than lift his hand
to place it on a belt or a shelf Most
Of the apparatus Is overhead, thus
leaving the floor free for tables and
cabinets.
The exquisite care with which Uncle
Sam guards registered mail is empha-
sized in the washington postoffice. Let
try division are carried in conveyors,
like the others. but locked steel box Is
used instead Of the open basket. The
letter IS exposed only long enough
for the address to be read, and then
goes into the red and blue sack which
distinguishes registered mail.
The Washington postoffice. with its
splendid equipment, has no trouble at all
with the parcel post. The great belts as
semble and distribute the packages.
regular carriers going to a special sec
ton by the overhead route. Uncle Sam
also has installed a great refrigerator
for the protection Of perishables, and
whatever garden truck. eggs. and other
stuff of that character lies over for the
night-which is very little-goes at once
into this enormous ice chest, where
| nothing can spoil.
Can Watch Clerks Unseen.
To convey some idea Of the magni-
tude Of the intricate machinery which
! moves the hundreds Of thousands ot
articles in this great workshop. it may
be said that one mile Of lookout sta
tions surround the workers on the foo.
OF the Washington Postoff1ce. These
| are inclosed galleries extending about
| the four sides Of every section or di
| VISION. where postoffice inspectors may
be placed to study the work Of the
| through Sits cut in the steel sides
! which look like shutters, but they
| cannot be seen themselves, as the gal
| leries are dark. The postoffice clerks
are not necessarily under continual
espionage. but whenever suspicion
wrong, every movement made by every
clerk in the building from the moment
he enters until the time he goes home
| can be put under surveillance.
| TTc6iUcul w HSOH WCllL " tIc ITcbS
Gallery for his new postmaster Of Wash
fngton and appointed Otto Praeger, cor
respondent of the Dallas News and the
Galveston News. Mr.. Praeger has proved
| to be q business man Of high ability and
he Is making the Washington Postoffice
| a business institution.
Washington, for example, is the only
| first class postoffice in the country that
has no assistant postmaster. When
Postmaster Praeger took possession of
the new building he found a magnificent
large room assigned for the use Of the
postmaster and a smaller. but equally
luxurious room for the assistant post
| master He took the smaller room for
himself, abolished the office of assistant
, postmaster and placed the chiefs Of d.
visions in the large room. bringing them
down from the mezzanine floor. to the
greater convenience Of everybody.
| Where you have an assistant post
master says Mr.. Praeger, "either he
| or the postmaster Is doing all the work.
Where you have a working postmaster
you don't need any assistant postmas-
/ ter"
| Mr. Praeger is working postmaster.
He conducts the business Of the office
as If he were the head Of a large es-