How a Letter Travels- Scenes in Postal Service
vx
Is iMvmi liv tho reirtstrv clerk to thu ready tho fishery bIiows ti notnblo Improve-
HEN n letter, paper or other 1 oforo tliolr arrival placed In tho ear all knowlcdgo of tho regular Junction points, person delivering them. This form of ment, apparently duo to this work. Dur-
commiinlcntlon Is deposited man on nnnu intended lor tliolr route. but must know how to reach tho various mtln 3 kept separate from the balanco and lug mo present year, mo wont coming to
for transmission through tho Tho first duty of tho postal clerk Is to get olllccs by unusual lines In caso his train
mulls. It misses through many his car In shapo for work. Sacks aro ar- Is unablo to form a Junction with Its ordl-
hands before It arrives at Its destination, ranged, tho c.tses labeled nnd tho sacks of nary connections. A wreck or washout may
mill nverv hand Is known and watched from mall storod In one end of tho car In order - dlsarrango tho postal routo Junctions In
tho time- of tho receipt of tho letter until
Its delivery. Tho first man to rccolvo tn
letter from tho box Is tho collector, one
of a corps of men whoso duty It Is to col
loct tho mall for delivery at tho central
olllco. Some of theso men go with horso
carls. Ily reason of their continuous sorv
Ico tho horscB learn tho location of tho
post boxes ns well as their masters, nnd
will walk ftom ono lo tho othor with un
erring Instinct, only disconcerted when a
now box Is placed on tho routo. At tho
ccntrnl olllco a forco of men sort tho collec
tions, separating tho letter from tho papers
nnd packages, placing tho former In order
for postmarking or cancellation of tho
Btnmps. In tho larger olllces UiIb work
Is dono by electric machines, a recent In
vention, which hns n capacity of suveral
IhousnndH of letters an hour.
Thon comes tho llrst of tho distributions,
which aro to continue until tho mlsslvo has
been placed In tho hands of tho person
to whom It Is nddrcsscd. Standing boforo
a caso of boxes on which nro marked the
nnmcB of states, of postal routes and of
an cntlro state, and the postal clerk Is
counted good who can got his mall to Its
destination with tho least dolay.
Tho mall with which tho clerk starts out
Is only a part of that which ho must
handle. At ovcry olllco on the lino pouches
nnd sacks aro to bo received and delivered.
On tho slower trains this Is dono while
CHECKING THROUGH MAIL.
tliosu sacks to bo delivered at tho ncaror
olllces bolng placed close at hand.
On tho car tho second distribution begins.
A full railway postolllco consists of a clork
In charge, two clerks of tho grade next
lower, two of a yet lower grade, with as
n.nny helpers as aro required. Tho helper
begins tho work by opening tho pouches and
sacks under tho orders of tho distributing
clork. First letters aro handled over an
other sot of enses. Hundlcs of letters con
signed to tho rnllway postolllco may con-
CANCELING STAMPS.
tho larger cities, tho mall clerk separates
tho letters the foreign mall usually being
sent to Now York nnd mall to postolllccH
not on llneB of railroads to tho nearest
olllco on tho railroad. Ilapldlty and ac
curacy aro thu chief attributes required of
tho mall clork. Ho must bo nblo to read
at sight and to decipher all sorts of charac
ters which pass with tho population as
handwriting. After tho caso separation
tho letters aro tied In bundles, each bun
dlo being marked with tho namo of the
olllco whero It is to leavo tho railway poBt
olllco to which It Is consigned.
Thirty minutes before an important mall
train leaves Its station In a largo city
there Is a busy sconu unacted at thu post
olllco. Clerks and helpers carry pouches
of lutturs to tho strout cars, which are
stopped for that purpose; a small army of
clerks and drivers hurriedly load waiting
wagons with sacks of nuwspapors nnd
each person gives a receipt for tho pack-
ago when it Is received. Tho pouches con
taining tho registered mall nro never per
mitted to pass out of tho sight of an em
ploye of the government.
Tagged Fishes
It seems rnther an odd Idea to fasten
metal tags to marine Unites and then let
them loose In the ocenu with the Idea of
tho train Btops for passengers, but on the Identifying them as Individuals In caso they
special mall trains, or llyers, mall Is ro- happen lo bo cnught at a futuro time, but
celved nnd delivered without stopping tho this is what tho United States fish commls-
trnln. Kor this purposo an Imperfect device slon Is doing Just now with cod, 1.G00 of
Is used by which tho clerk seizes from n which have been duly tagged and released
projecting arm upon a polo nt tho height this year. No two tags aro alike, the
of tho car door tho pouch Intended for his markings on them being stnmpcd In a scries
of letters and num
bers, record of which
Is kept In a book in
such a manner that
if a tagged codllsh
turns up a moment's
reference to the
memoranda will fur
nish the history of
that particular
specimen, with date
of liberation, weight
and so forth. Kor
exnmple, a cod wear
ing a tag with the
raised Inscription
"S 100" has a com
plete identification
card, so that It
cannot bo mixed up
with any other fish
entered in the com
mission's ledger.
Only "brood dsn"
that Is, spawning
females aro tagged.
They are bought
from fl s h u r m o n ,
stripped of tholr
eggs at Wood's
I loll, Mass., and
llbornted In tho wnters of Viper
and Mound, after having thu tags
attached to them. Tho tag Is a small piece
of copper, securely fastened by a wire
pnssed through a tin near Its Junction with
tho body. It docs not matter which fin Is
chosen, though a back or tall II n Is best.
Tho tng Is very light and Its attachment In
the manner described does no harm what
ever to tho animal. During tho last feu
months tho fish commission has distributed
on end April 1, there wcro planted In Now
England waters 250,000,000 codfish.
This year the fish commission is going
to bag mnny thousand of young salmon,
nrtlflclnlly hatched for tho rivers of the
Pacific coast. Very small tags will bo used,
TRANSFERRING "REGISTERS."
PICKING UP A POUCH
Untn and at tho
somo tlmo throws
out of tho car the
pouch Intended for
tho olllco. Tho gov
ernment Is nt tho
present time experi
menting on a new
device for tho re
ceipt and delivery of
mall while tho train
Is In motion, as with
tho present device
pouches aro fre
quently torn by tho
hook which catches
them, and pouches
thrown from thu car
aro occasionally
d r a w n under the
wheels.
The work on tho
lecnl case continues
while the cur runs,
but other distribu
tions aru going on
nt tho b.'itiio time.
F rom tho "state
caso," whoro n clerk
Is separating the
letters according to
states, anothor clerk takes those In
tended for tho states close to that
through which tho train is passing
nnd again divides them according to
cities, counties or postal routes, only the
mail for distant states being placed In
pouches or sncks without more particular
separation.
Tho clerk who performs this work is thu
result of years of training. Ho starts Into
thu service as a substitute, holding that
position six months; then he receives an
nppolntment for six months, becoming a
clerk of the llrst class; when ho has re
ceived his purmanont appointment ho Is
known ns a clerk of tho second class nnd
his pay Is advanced accordingly. Tho fifth
claBS is tho highest which ho can hold
while on tho rond. Every six months from
the tlmo of his nppolntment ho Is required
to visit tho olllco of tho chief clerk of his
Jurisdiction nnd stand an examination, con
sisting of certain questions in regard to
tho service and tho distribution of cards
containing tho names of tho postolllces in
somo ono of tho states which aro "worked"
on tho lino on which he Is employed. He
must bo exnmlned on ono statu overy six
months until ho has served fifteen years,
when ho Is exnmlned but once a year. Some
remarkably good records aro made In these
examinations, ono clerk distributing cards
addressed to 1,002 olllces In tho statu of
Iowa In onu hour nnd ten minutes, mnklng
SORTING IN THE CAR.
the fishes being "fliigorllngs," about three
Inches long. It Is expected that In this way
It will be ascertained the nge nt which the
salmon como from the sea to spawn; also
their rate of growth and tho percentage of
tho fry that attain mnturlty. The work will
be carried on In the basins of the Columbia
and Sacramento.
Somo years ago a similar experiment was
made at tho fish commission station on
tho Clacknnins river, which Is a trlbutliry
to the Columbia, but, instead of tngglng tho
young fishes, the soft dorsal fins wcro
shaved off them with n razor before they
wcro released. When they came back to
spawn, three years, later, they averaged
twenty pounds In weight.
From this experiment ono or two very In
teresting conclusions were drawn. If all
but five errors and handling 27.1 cards n
minute. Tho best record on Iowa was ono
error in tho distribution of 1,880 enrds. In
...u uAiiiiiiiiaiiuua on oinor slates 100 per
tain missives Intended for several states,
bo tho lottora llrst go to tho "state case,"
packages. Tho ruuh Is exciting to ono whero tho boxes aro labeled with tho namo cent has been made frequently, cards being
who does not often seo It, but throughout of every state In tho union except tho stnto handled nt tho rate of 27 per minute. The
tho superintendent of tho ninlls has cstab- through which tho postal routo runs. Tho average tlmo of tho postnl clerk on his enr
llslied such n perfect system that few sacks stnto caso contains nlso tho names of tho Is from flvo to six hours, ho bolng on nbout
or pouches nro taken to tho wiong train. Important cities, mnll for theso bolng sep- thirty hours nt a stretch with from twn n
mure is uiiowiur examine in hiiuiiiious urnicu iroin uiu biuiub m which wiuy uiu
oiiiiiii
three days off botween each trip. On tho
nays wnen no does not go out
peeled to study tho chnnues I
guldo nud post himself on his dull
out this study advancement Is Impossible.
M'lw.u !!, I ..
.. , U ""veB mo Postal car In station nt
tho larger cities It
DISTR1UUTING IN A CAR.
a circular all along tho coast of New Eng- f tho artificially hatched frv had H.irvlvml
it ho is ex- V Vi .i , . m mu nruuciniiy natctied rry Had survived
n tho postal , ' reaU08t "f lhnt whe"ovu.r aca wltu n"l been captured It Is obvious that 1,000
utles wfth " f. COmeS . th0Jmn,ls ot a Herman of them would have contributed 20,000
DISTR1HUTING AT POSTOFFICE.
llfo at tho railway depot. Hero a transfer situated. Tho "local caso" Is the most
clork has been busy nil timmlng rocolvlng importnnt part of the railway mail clerk's
sacks nnd pouches which are not to bo sont work. Horo lottors nro to bo soparatod
to tho postolllco, but are to bo placod upon according to tholr postolllco dlroctlon, some
connecting tinlus. At the tormlunlB tho to bo dollvored to tho olllces named and
railway mall clerks begin work from two soiuu to be transferred lo other rnllway
to four hours before thulr trains are to postnl lines. In tho latter caso tho clerk
leavo thu station. Tho transfer clork has In charge muat not only have an accurate
goes to tho contral
postolllco, whoro a
forco of clerks ngaln
distributes It. This
tlmo tho distribution
Is with reference to
tho cnrrler routes.
Tho carrlors take
tho mall from theso
distributing cases
and oncu more sep
arato It. This Is Its
last distribution bo
foro Its delivery.
Tho carrier's dis
tribution consists of
placing thorn In tho
order In which tho
P o r s ons nddrcsscd
nro renched by him.
Gonernlly tho mall
for persons residing
on one street are tied
togothor nnd the let
ters nnd papers nro
ready for their des
tination. Registered letters
nnd packages pass
through a slightly
different process,
When they aro de
livered nt tho office
of mailing n receipt
F I
DELIVERING A POUCH,
or other person he shall remove tho pleco
of metal and send It to tho commission
Wood's Holl, togothor with a
brief statement as
to the date on which
tho fish wns caught,
whero it was cap
tured, its weight
before dressed, its
length and tho con
dition of Its roe.
Tho object of the
tngglng is to ascer
tain tho rnto at
which a cod grows,
tho frequency of Its
spawning and the
extent of Its travels
In tho ocean
Knowlcdgo of this
kind has nn obvious
bearing upon fish
cultural problems
nnd there Is evory
reason to bollevo
that tho futuro of
tho cod flshory on
the New England
const must depend
mainly upon artific
ial hatching. The
hnichlng of cod eggs
nnd tho planting f
tho fry In thosa
waters has been
carried on for sev
eral years ami nl-
uuumiH m innn linn mr mnrintt au ii
iimnui ui iiici, oniy ono oni oi it'll oi mem
returned nnd was taket.
STORING POUCHED MAIL.
