Southwest Washington labor press. [volume] (Hoquiam, Wash.) 19??-19??, 1924-08-29

Records Of bravery and Of heroism
equal to the deeds Of daring perform
ed by those patriots who have faced
shot and shell of an enemy country
are not lacking among the army of
employes Of the United States gov
eminent. While the hardships en-
eountered and the loss Of life are
mot so great in numbers as those re-
corded in actual warfare, neverthe-
less they bear mute testimony to the
valiant service rendered BY these
faithful servants of the people, bent
on performing the onerous and diff
cult tasks assigned them.
And the praises Of thesesheroes are
not sung in either prose or poetry.
They are not broadcast throughout
the land. There is no Congressional
Medal Of Honor bestowed on them;
'lpo decoration Of any kind awaits
them. There Is not even 50 much as
q citation for bravery and meritorious
service performed in the line of duty.
But those faithful employees of
Uncle Sam never complain. They are
not seeking notoriety. They are be-
ling content to carry on their daily
llabors without thought Of reward
other tb1n that which goes with the
consci BUSINESS Of duty fulfilled.
There Is no class Of employees of
the government that faces more ac-
tual perils Of life and limb and are
subject to more vicissitudes of the
elements in their daily routine than
some Of the men who carry the mails
over some of the more difficult of the
star routes. These men are not paid
salaries but work under contract
awarded under the law as a result of
competitive bidding. It might be said
that they differ from all other gov
eminent employees in that they fix
their own salaries.
When it is pointed out that during
the past two and a half years So car
riers have lost their lives while in
the performance of duty, it will be
seen that the tasks assigned them are
hazardous in the extreme.
There are star routes scattered
Throughout the country where "seas
of mud" are considered of slight mo-
ment and where the perils encounter
ed from ice packs and foes many
times result in death or serious and
permanent injury.
To the city dweller a reference to
the mail man brings a picture of the
gray-coated carrier who delivers his
letters and packages unhampered to
any great extent by wind or weather.
But the denzien of the rural district
thinks of him as the driver Of horse
drawn or motor vehicle, whose arrival
is regarded as an event in the daily
life of the occupant of the farm, put
ting him, as it does, in touch with the
outside world and with his fellow I
men.
In January of this year, Reinhold
Dream, carrier on the star route be-
tween Buffalo and Murchison, South
Dakota, fell a victim to duty. For
several years Dreahn had been MAX
ing twice-a-week trips between the
two hamlets, encountering all sorts
of weather conditions but never fail
ing to carry out his part of the con-
tract with the Postofice department. |
He had started from Murchison as
usual on a certain Saturday and when
he did not put in an appearance the
next day at Buffalo, a search was
made for him. He was found just |
one mile outside of town with both |
hands and feet frozen. He was dead
when discovered and it is estimated
he had been exposed to the intense
cold for over Is hours. The theory
advanced for his death was that, be-
coming exhausted from a hard days
work and while attempting to crank
his car, he fell and was not able to
recover his senses before he sue
cumbed to the cold of the night.
Records of the Postofice depart
ment show that among the most dan
gerous and difficult routes served by
rural carriers and star route con-
tractors are those extending from
Newport to Otter Rock, Oregon;
Ellison Bay to Detroit Harbor, Wis
cousin; Rocky Bar to Atlanta, Idaho,
and from Sandusky to Kellys Island,
Middle Bass and Put-in-Bay, Ohio.
On the Rocky Bar-Atlanta, Idaho,
route, the service is performed in the
winter season by carriers travelling |
on snowshoes, packing 80 pounds Of
mail. Not infrequently, carriers on
this route have been caught in snow
slides and swept to death. Only q |
year or two ago, a carrier lost his
life in this way early in January and
his body was not recovered until late
the following June.
The route from Ellison Bay to De-
troit Harbor, Wisconsin, and from
Sandusky, Ohio, to nearby islands
must be operated over the ice in the
winter and in the fall when the lake
is frozen. During the spring thaw
it is extremely difficult and hazardous
to carry on the service. A number
of carriers have lost their lives in
endeavoring to transport the mails
between these points.
Probably one Of the most hazard
Gus experiences that ever befell one
or more Of Uncle Sans mail carriers
was that Of the Hitchcock brothers,