New-York tribune., 1919-04-25

TO give his special attention to the
wrecking Of the postal service in gen
eral by means of a special and particular
wrecking of the service on railway mail
cars The department had usually pro-
ceeded the principle that mail should
be sorted Gas much as possible) while on
wheels. The department had usually pro-
ceeded on the principle that if you sort
mail while it is moving you accomplish
two things simultaneously: the sorting and
the moving. Mr.. Burleson developed an
uncomfortable passion for sorting mail
standing still. 1t broke out him in four
principal symptoms
First, he reduced the number of railway
postoffce cars. Trains that used to carry
railway postoifice cars now carried them no
longer, Trains that used to carry two rail
way postotice cars now carried one, The
reduction was drastic
4 Little Line
Refore Mr. Burleson got into his stride
there used to be a railway postotce line
running through Muskogee in Oklahoma,
from nenison north to Kansas City. 1t
was little line ia aize 1t consisted Of
half car, OF half Of combination car.
One end OF this combination car was for
baggage reserved TO the railway. The
other half was fo9 mail, reserved to the
Postofice and carrying clerk 1t started
from Dcnison early in the morning, and
it rcceived mail at Denison and at all
points north of Denison, destined to
Muskogee and to all points north Of
Muskogee, and it sorted these mails; it
worked" them it went. At 12:45 it
arrived at Muskogee There it threw off
the mornings mail for Muskogee from Den
son and from all points between Denison
and Muskogee, and there it took on the
mornings mail from Muskogee for all
points north; and it then proceeded fifteen
miles northward to an important point
called Wagner. Wagner is junction
point. Much mail has to be thrown off
there. BY the time this railway postoffice
reached Wagner it had been working"
its mails, it had been separating them and
distributing them and tying them up into
different packages for different destina-
tions, ever since o'clock in the morning.
This was before Mr.. Burleson saw it.
sit was little line, but he saw it. He re-
vised it to make it as follows:
The train starts from Denison in the
early morning, just as before But the
railway postotiice is not on it, The space
formerly occupied by the railway postoffico
is still there. The combination car is still
there. The baggage end of it is still
travelling right along; and, securely at
tached, the mail end is still travelling
right along, too, but it is empty 1t car
ries no mail and it carries no clerk. Mr.
Burleson, the worlds champion economist
has ceased to rent it, It is travelling va
cant. 1t accepts no mail but the baggage
end is accepting mail Yes. 1t is accept
ing it on two conditions. 1t must be mail
for points north of Muskogee, only for
points north Of Muskogee, and it must come
in closed pouches. This mail is not sorted
1t is not worked. 1t lies in it's closed
pouches in the baggage end of the COM
bination car, travelling as baggage un-
touched. And so we come to Muskogse
IN Economy Train
Here VIC used to provide the people of
Muskogec with their mornings mail from
Dcnison and from all points between
with it no longer. They will get it on
later train in the late afternoon, They
will have to put up with their personal
private loss. We Me an efficiency and
economy train, Efficient and economical
for the Postotlice Department. We spo
c'alze on mails not for Muskogee, hut for
points north of Muskogee. Therefore it is
only at Muskogce that we become rail
way poatollicc, There, however, wo do he
come one. The mail end Of the comhina.
ton car Is now opened up. The closed
pouches IN the baggage end arc carried
into the mail end. Tho markings mail
from Nuskogep for nolns north ia put
aboard railway poslal elork takes
eNaVge fhe railway posioAlea gets to
work II onens the pouches II starts
sorting And the twain proceeds toward
WAAoNefi