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1、【英文读物】The Postal ServiceFOREWORD No other branch of the Federal Government furnishes employment to so many men as the postal service, particularly that branch of it in which letter carriers and clerks are used. In every city vacancies occur frequently, by reason of death, resignation or transfer, an
2、d the prospects of employment are always good for intelligent young men of studious habits. To secure an appointment in the postal service, as in other fields of labor, one must prove his fitness for the job desired. Uncle Sam requires that this shall be done in an open competitive examination, and
3、usually there are hundreds, in the large cities thousands, competing in the same examinations. Taking New York City as an example, the annual appointments to each position average between 200 to 300, while the eligible lists usually contain 1,000 to 1,500 each. From this it will be seen that only a
4、small percentage stand any show of appointment. Those that do succeed are the men who took pains to prepare themselves for the test by a careful study of the subjects required. The purpose of this book is to help the candidate to “brush up,” to direct him in self-improvement, and point the way by wh
5、ich any person of ordinary intelligence, willing to devote his leisure moments to study, can pass a good examination and get within striking distance on the eligible list.CHAPTER I. CRADLE DAYS OF THE POSTAL SERVICE. No Branch of the federal government more strikingly illustrates the wonderful growt
6、h and extension of Uncle Sams business than the Postal Service. Its history is the history of the commercial and industrial development of the nation, for it has kept abreast, so far as supplying the means of quick and reliable communication is concerned, of the onward march of progress. It ought to
7、 be the desire and the aim of every man and woman who purposes to take up the postal service as a life career, to know something of its history, its gradual evolution. Only in this way can they form a just estimate of its relative value in the scheme of government, and without such knowledge they wi
8、ll be merely perfunctory human machines, void of that close personal attachment so necessary to success in any undertaking.A review of the history of the postal service in America has all the interest and charm of an old romance dealing with the life and customs of a bygone age, particularly when de
9、picted by one whose heart and soul is wrapped up in the service, by one6 whose career in itself is the best proof of what studious habits, devotion to duty, and loyalty to the department can do for a man in the postal service. That man is Edward M. Morgan, Postmaster of New York City, who, starting
10、as a letter-carrier in 1873, came up through the ranks, grade by grade, until he was entrusted with the management of one of the two largest post offices in the world.Beginning of the Postal Service. Mr. Morgan in speaking of the history of the postal service says:“The post office played but a minor
11、 part in the early affairs of New Amsterdam. For many years after the consummation of the greatest real estate deal on record, which secured from the Indians the whole island of Manhattan for twenty-four dollars, most of the slight correspondence that was carried on was forwarded in the care of chan
12、ce travelers, or mutual friends of the correspondents. Later the necessity of some sort of receiving place was felt and what was known as the “Coffee House Delivery” came into use. Letters were addressed to some popular coffee house or tavern, where, upon receipt, they were “posted” in a conspicuous
13、 place in the public room where they remained until by chance or gossip, the persons for whom they were intended learned of their arrival.7New Yorks First Post office. “That system in time came to be regarded as unsatisfactory, and in 1692, when New York, as it had then come to be called, was still
14、a quiet village of about five thousand inhabitants, the village authorities passed an act or ordinance establishing a post office. This was followed by the founding here, in 1710, of a “Chief Letter Office” by the Postmaster-General of Great Britain, shortly afterwards, arrangements were made for th
15、e delivery of mail from Boston twice a month, and propositions were advertised for the establishment of a post to Albany. The interesting feature of that advertisement, to us who are accustomed to the speedy locomotion of to-day, was that the mail was not to be carried by coach, or boat, or even on
16、horseback, but on foot. The records are hazy as to the location of the first official post office in New York City, but according to an advertisement that appeared in a paper of the period, it was removed in 1732 from the quarters it then occupied to “the uppermost of the two houses on Broadway, opp
17、osite Beaver Street.” The year 1753 found it still in the same location. It was closed on Sundays, and at other times it was open for business from 8 A. M. until noon, excepting on post nights, when business was transacted until 10 P. M.8Annual Postal Receipt Less Than $3,000. “In 1786, during the a
18、dministration of Sebastian Bauman, the second postmaster after the close of the War of the Revolution, there was a regular schedule for the arrival and dispatch of mails between New York and Albany and New England, and also between New York and the South. Mail from New England and Albany arrived on
19、Wednesday and Saturday in winter, and on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday in summer. The income of the office at that time was $2,789.84. Compare that sum and the income for the twelve months ended September 30, 1911, when, for the first time in the history of the New York office, the receipts for any
20、 twelve consecutive months passed the twenty million dollar mark, being exactly $20,451,172.53.”Franklin First Postmaster General. It is an interesting and singular coincidence, overlooked by some of our historians, that the man to whom most credit is due, probably, for the organization of our natio
21、nal postal service was Benjamin Franklin, who did so much to encourage and promote the use of electricity, the other great medium for transmitting intelligence. Franklin was the first Postmaster9 General under the Revolutionary organization, before the adoption of the Constitution in 1787. He was ch
22、osen because of his earlier experience in postal matters, as postmaster of Philadelphia in 1737, and as Deputy Postmaster General of the British Colonies in 1753. He was removed from the latter office, to punish him for his active sympathies with the colonists. When Independence was declared one of
23、the first acts of his fellow patriots was to place him at the head of the Post Office Department. But the stern necessities of the Revolution called for Franklins great abilities to perform services of still greater importance, and Richard Bache, his son-in-law, was chosen to succeed him as Postmast
24、er General, in November, 1776. Mr. Bache was succeeded by Ebenezer Hazard, the compiler of the valuable historical collection bearing that name. He held the office until the adoption of the Constitution and the inauguration of Washington.Washington chose for his Postmaster General, Samuel Osgood, of
25、 the famous New England family. He had been graduated from Harvard College in 1770. He soon became a member of the Massachusetts Legislature, a member of the Board of War, and subsequently an aid to General Ward. In 1779, he was chosen a member of the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention, and two
26、 years later was elected a member10 of Congress. After four years in Congress he became first Commissioner of the Treasury. When he left Washingtons cabinet he was made Naval Officer of the Port of New York where he died August 12, 1813.CHAPTER II. WHAT IS REQUIRED OF CANDIDATES. Clerks and carriers
27、 must be citizens of the United States, physically fit for the service and temperate. They must be more than 18 years of age and not more than 45, stand 5 feet 4 inches in height in bare feet and weigh not less than 125 pounds without overcoat and hat. Some applicants who know they are below the wei
28、ght foolishly try to secrete about their person, beneath the soles of their feet, or in their hair weighty materials to make up the deficiency. Not one in a hundred ever succeeds in fooling the lynx-eyed examiners, but those who try, do succeed in getting themselves blackballed and are debarred from
29、 taking examinations in the future. Female applicants are not required to be of any specific height or weight. The age limits are waived in the cases of persons honorably discharged from the military or naval service by reason of disability resulting from wounds received or sickness incurred in the
30、line of duty, but they are waived only for such persons as have been physically disabled in the way mentioned.12Physical Conditions. Eye glasses are permitted during the examination, but very serious defective sight is sufficient to cause rejection. As also are defective hearing, or speech; persons
31、blind in one eye; one-armed, one-handed, or one-legged persons, or those having crippled arms or legs, or those suffering from asthma or hernia. Deaf mutes and persons with defective speech may, however, be appointed to the positions of mail clerk, distributor, and directing and forwarding clerk. Ap
32、plicants also are excluded from examinations for any of the following reasons:That he is, on the date of the examination, under the minimum or over the maximum age limitation.That he has any of the following defects: Insanity, tuberculosis, paralysis, epilepsy, blindness, loss of both arms or both l
33、egs, loss of arm and leg, badly crippled or deformed hands, arms, feet, or legs, uncompensated calvular disease of the heart, locomotor ataxia, cancer, Brights disease, diabetes, or is otherwise physically disqualified for the service which he seeks.That he is addicted to the habitual use of intoxic
34、ating beverages to excess.That he is enlisted in the United States Army or Navy and has not secured permission for his examination from the Secretary of War or the Secretary of13 the Navy, respectively. Written permission must be filed with the formal application.That he has, within approximately on
35、e year, passed the same examination for which he again desires to apply. This restriction does not apply to persons who, having taken one annual examination, desire to take the next annual examination, although a full year may not have elapsed.That he has been dismissed from the Federal service for
36、delinquency or misconduct within one year preceding the date of his application. Whether or not an application will be accepted after the expiration of a year from a person dismissed from the service rests with the Commission, and each case of this character will be considered on its individual meri
37、ts.That he has failed after probation to receive absolute appointment to the position for which he again applies within one year from the date of the expiration of his probationary service.That he has made a false statement in his application, or has been guilty of fraud or deceit in any manner conn
38、ected with his application or examination, or has been guilty of crime or infamous or notoriously disgraceful conduct.That he has been discharged for desertion from the military or naval service of the United States under section 1998, Revised Statutes.14Clerks and Carriers Are Bonded. Each clerk an
39、d carrier when appointed to the service must furnish bonds in the sum of $1,000. In most first and second class cities there are surety companies that make a specialty of supplying such bonds for persons on entering the postal service. The charge, which is paid by the employee, is twenty-five cents
40、per annum for a carrier and fifty cents for a clerk. In addition the carrier must furnish his own uniform and cap, which averages from $15.00 to $20.00 a year. The only other expense imposed upon a clerk is thirty-five cents for his badge, and this is returned to him when he leaves the service and s
41、urrenders the badge.CHAPTER III. SALARIES AND OPPORTUNITIES. The salaries for postal clerk and carrier are the same throughout the union. Starting in at $600 the first year, the man who is efficient and has a clean record is advanced to $800 at the beginning of the second year; the third year he goe
42、s to $900 and so on to the sixth year when he reaches the maximum for this branch of the service, $1,200. But there are opportunities beyond this to clerks of exceptionable ability, and to carriers, too, if they elect to be transferred to the clerical branch, as is evidenced in the brilliant career
43、of Postmaster Morgan of New York, referred to in the opening chapter. Transfers are permitted from carrier to clerk, or visa versa, after three or four years service.Promotion For Good Clerks. In cities having sub-stations, clerks are eligible to promotion to assistant superintendent, and then to su
44、perintendent, with salaries ranging from $1,300 to $2,500. They may also file applications with the postmaster through their station superintendent for transfer16 to another branch of the service, such as registry division. No other examination is necessary, the places there, as also on the windows,
45、 inquiry department, and on money order windows being given to clerks who show meritorious service. The only promotion examination given is to the money order division, which is not to be confused with positions at money order windows. Besides involving grave responsibilities the clerks in the money
46、 order division are subject only to day work and have no night shifts.Hours of Labor. Employees in all branches of the federal government are required to work only eight hours a day. The hours, however, may not always be consecutive. Postal clerks, for instance, work usually in three shifts. The hou
47、rs vary but the following may be taken as an example, allowing one hour for meals:First shift, 10 A. M., until 7 P. M., second shift, 4 P. M., until 1 A. M.; third shift, 12 midnight until 9 A. M. If clerks are required to work overtime they are given compensatory time or leaves of absence during th
48、e week corresponding to the number of hours overtime. This also applies to Sunday work.Carriers are not allowed to work overtime and when they do “demerits” are registered against them. While17 a carrier is at the call of the government, so to speak, more hours in a day than is a clerk, his hours of
49、 actual duty are the same, eight. They have “swings,” or periods of intermission, between deliveries when their time is their own and they are permitted to go where they please. Regular carriers make deliveries only, and are rarely, if ever, called upon to make collections.Violations of the rules and inefficiency are punished by a system of “demerits” ranging from 1 to 500 according to the degree of the offense. “Demerits” in any considerable number naturally