The Ann Arbor Post Office

The last issue of the Ann Arbor Register had the followiug excellent writeup of tlie Ann Arbor post office. There is mucli inforination contained in the article that will be new to many people of the city and vicinity : "Now that tliere has boen or soon will be a change in the administration of the national {Overnment, and as a result, a change in the Ann Arbor post office is to follow in due time, it will be of interest to many to know soineoiiiug of the Ann Arbor postoltice. Ai least we ure safe in saying that it will be of interest to the score, more or less, of eandidates nul uumerous friends of each. Few people especially those who have not giyen the matter a single thought, realize how mnny persons are required to handle the great volume of business done at the Aun Arbor office. There are twenty-two in all with recular commissious trom the got'erument. Xiie work is so thorougbly systematized by the Postal Department that everytliinj; fioes alons; like clock work so long aa each one does rightly the particular work alloted to him. The following is the complete list of all the Officials with iheir proper titles and the salaries they receive : s. v. Beakes, Post Master 3800 on W.W. Watts. Chief Clerk i loo Ou F. A. Hovvlett, Moncy Ordt-r and Slump Clerk ' .. .... 800 0(1 Miss Mary bulllvan, nistributingand Reglstry oierk 800 00 E I. Taylor. Mailing Clerk .. . süu (w GltíU Trowbrldiee, AS8t. Jlniling Clerk .. 400 00 Charles Duim, General Oelivery. Clerk -ÍU0 00 Miss Sarau G. Come, General Dellvery Clerk 4D0 tí) Howard Cofflu, Carrier No. 1 850 00 Charles Mey er, ■ a söo ou ■lames O'Kaue, " " 3 SöO (KI Earl Ware, " " 4 850 00 W.F Armslrong, " 5 S50 00 Frank O'Hearn, " " 6 g.ju OJ George Klum, " ■' 7 S.50 00 Wm L. Baxter, " 8 S50 00 ('hriü. K. Dounelly, ■ " 9... 850 Ou Karl C. Kirn, " " 10.. .. 850 00 Wm.J. Miller, " 11... 850 00 JLIns makes nmeteen of tlie twentytwo, aud tlieir salaries imount to $1(3,850. In addition to the above, tliere are two substitute carriers who supply any vacancies caused by the absence trom any cause of the regular carriers. Such absences niay be caused t3' sickness, leave of absence, or by the recular fit'teeu day vacation which each carrier is allowed each year witli full pay. Daring the time that the regular carrier takes h ia vacation, the uubstitute is paid at the rute of if(iOÜ per year. At all otlier tiines wlien the substitute lilis the place of the regular carriers, he receives the same pay as the regular carrier. The two substitutes are Nu. 1. Ben Ü'Neil, and No. t, George Sanzi. In c.ise of any ehange or resiguation of any of the regular carriers, ttie substituies are the ones f rom which a selection must be made ior promotion. The last on tlie list is Frank Whitlark, the special delivery mesfenger. His income dependa wholly upou the nurnber of special delivery letters sent here by people vvho desire inunediate delivery of tlieir mail. Frank is paid 8 cents for each letter of this kind delivered. The hours which the various clerks and officials are required to put in eacli day depends largely upon the amount of work to be done. At present but one or two put in more than ten hours each day. By recent law, the carriers are not permitted to devote more than eight hours each day to the delivery of the mails on their routes. Mail not delivered within their length of time each day must be returued to the office. A too frequent failure to distribute all that should be deliverpd woald render the carrier subject to dismissal. It is due the mail carriers in this city to say that not one of them has ever stood in any danger of losing his position froni any lai-k in this respect. Tlie carriers have the most disagreeable part of the work. Tliey must begin their morning collection at 6 o'clock in the morning, and must be at the office until 7:35 o'clock in the evening. No differeuce wbat the weather, whether hot or cold, wet or dry, or whether the snow i a foot deep, they must mak e their route and make it on time, and they usually get there, several of the present iorcè haying Eaithfully filled the duties of their office since the first day of July 1888, wben the carrier system was first established in this city. "in order to obtain some definite idea of the volume of work done at the Ann Arbor office, Postmaster Beakes recently had each carrier make an accurate count of the number of letters gathered up in one forenoon's colleotion. He was surprised that the number ran beyond 8000. When it is considered that so large a mail is sent out from here, one must not be surprised if occasional errors occur."