Twin city review. [volume] (Champaign, Ill.) 19??-1929, 1924-08-15

Uncle Sam has his heroes In peace
time as well as in war.
Records of bravery and of heroism
equal to the deeds of daring per-
formed by those patriots who have
faced shot and shell Of an enemy
country are not lacking among the
army of employees of the United
States government. While the hard
ships encountered and the loss of life
are not so great in numbers as those
recorded 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
cut tasks assigned them.
And the praises of these heroes 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;
no decoration of any kind awaits
them. There is not even so much as
citation for bravery and meritor-
ious service performed in the line OF
duty.
But these faithful employees of
Uncle Sam never complain. They are
not seeking notoriety. They are be-
ing content to carry on their daily
labors without thought of reward
other than that which goes with the
consciousness 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. 1t might be
said that they differ from all other
government employees in that they
fix their own salaries.
When it is pointed out that during
the past two and half years 30
carriers 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 encoun-
tered 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 picture of the
gray-coated carrier who delivers his
letters and packages unhampered to
any great extent by wind or weather.
But the denizen of the rural district
thinks of him as the driver of a 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
man.
In January of this year Reinhold
Dreachn carrier on the star route be-
tween Buffalo and Murchison, South
Dakota, fell 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 Post Office 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, 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 sixteen hours. The theory ad-
vanced 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 Post Office Depart
ment show that among the most dan
gerous and difficult routes served by
rural carriers and star route contrac-
tors are those extending from New
port to Otter Rock, Oregon, Ellison
Bav to Detroit Harbor, Wisconsin;
Rocky Bar to Atlanta, Idaho. and
from Sandusky to Kellys Island, Mid
die Bass and Put-in-Bay, Ohio.
On the Rocky Bar-Atlanta, ldoha,
route, the. service is performed in the
winter season by carriers travelling
on snow-shoes, packing so pounds of
mali. NOl lnlieluchtiy' N1A A'SAS ~
this route have been caught In snow
slides and swept to death. Only
year or two ago, carrier lost his lie
in this way early in January and ms
body was not recovered until late the
following June.
The routes from Ellison Bay to
Detroit, Wisconsin, and from San
dusky. 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 oil
carriers have lost their lives IN en-
deavoring to transport the mails be-
tween these points.
Probably one of the most hazardous
experiences that ever befell one or
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