as organized a force of Letter Carriers, or,
as they are sometimes called, "Postmen." All letters that are addressed
to the places of business or the residences of citizens, unless such
persons are renters of boxes in the General Post-office, are turned over
to the Carriers for delivery.

The force is organized under the direction of a Superintendent, who is
appointed by and responsible to the Postmaster of the city. Applicants
for positions in the force of Letter Carriers must, as a prime necessity,
be able to command a sufficient degree of political influence to secure
their appointments. Possessing this, they make their applications in
duplicate, on blank forms supplied by the Department. The applicant must
state his age, general condition, former occupation, experience in
business, his reason for leaving his last place, and whether he has
served in the army or navy. One of these applications is laid before the
Postmaster of the city, and the other is sent to the Post-office
Department at Washington. If the applicant is successful, he is
subjected to a physical examination by the surgeon of the Department, in
order to make sure of his bodily soundness. Good eye-sight is
imperatively required of every applicant. If "passed" by the surgeon,
the applicant must then furnish two bonds in five hundred dollars each,
for the faithful performance of his duties. This done, he is enrolled as
a member of the corps of Letter Carriers, and is assigned by the
Superintendent of the force to a station.

Together with his certificate of appointment, the Superintendent hands
him an order on a certain firm of tailors for an "outfit," or uniform,
which consists of a coat, pants, vest, and cap of gray cloth, trimmed
with black braid, and with gilt buttons. The cost of this uniform is in
winter twenty-four dollars, and in summer twenty dollars. It is paid for
by the Post-office Department, and the amount deducted from the first two
months' pay of the carrier.

Upon being assigned to a station, the Carrier is required to commit to
memory the rules laid down for his guidance. His route is then marked
out for him, and he is frequently accompanied over it several times by an
older member of the force to familiarize him with it. The Superintendent
of the Station is his immediate superior. From him the Carrier receives
his orders, and to him submits his reports.

There is a "time-book" kept in each station, in which the employes