Members of Congress, farmers, and merchants relating to attempts to ship farm produce by postal trucks. Arranged alphabetically by commodity.

Records of Pneumatic-Tube Service

The transportation of mail by pneumatic tubes was initiated in 1893 in Philadelphia with the construction and use of an experimental line of 6-inch tubes between the Main Post Office and the East Chestnut Street Station. Because of demands to extend the service in Philadelphia and to establish it in other cities, the Post Office Department appointed a local and a general committee in 1900 to investigate and report on the advisability of extending the service. A formal report was submitted to Congress on January 4, 1901, which by an act of April 21, 1902, authorized the use of the service. Since July 1, 1904, provisions for pneumatic-tube-service contracts for Boston, New York City, Brooklyn, Chicago, and St. Louis have been included in the annual appropriations for the Post Office Department. GENERAL RECORDS. 1892-1919. 26 ft.

36

Correspondence, reports, contracts, and miscellaneous records relating to the establishment and operation of the pneumatic-tube mail service; records and correspondence concerning the invention and ownership of pneumatic tubes; correspondence, surveys, studies, and blueprints relating to the extension of the service from the New York General Post Office to a station in Brooklyn, and from the Boston General Post Office to the North Postal Station, to the South Terminal Railroad Station, to the Essex Street Postal Station, and to the Back Bay Station. Also included are statistics on the weight of mail delivered; reports on the proposed extension of services; advertisements for and correspondence related to bids to carry mails by pneumatic tubes; maps and blueprints of the routes to be used; and reports on the installation of air-cooling apparatus in the Boston General Post Office. Unarranged.

ORDERS. 1902-6. 1 vol. 1 in.

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Original orders authorizing the establishment, change, or discontinuance of pneumatic-tube service in Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Chicago, and St. Louis. The orders contain the name of the contractor, the names of stations along the route, the mileage between stations, the rate of pay per mile, and the total amount paid per annum. The volume also includes advertisements for contracts, proposals for carrying the mails by pneumatic tubes or similar devices, and instructions to bidders. Arranged by route number.

RECORDS OF THE PNEUMATIC TUBE COMMISSION. 1912-14. 1 ft.

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The Commission to Investigate Pneumatic Tube Postal Systems, usually known as the Pneumatic Tube Commission, consisted of two members of the House, two members of the Senate, and Second Assistant Postmaster General Joseph Stewart. It was established by Congress on August 24, 1912, to investigate the desirability of governmental ownership of the pneumatictube service then operated under contract in New York, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Brooklyn, and St. Louis.

The Commission's records include its minutes and final report; reports, memoranda, and photographs on the operation of the pneumatic-tube service; correspondence and memoranda on related patents; and copies of contracts. Unarranged.

Records of the Division of Post Office Quarters

The responsibility for post-office quarters not in Federally owned buildings was shared by the Office of the Postmaster General, the Solicitor for the Post Office Department, the Chief Inspector, and the Supervising Architect of the Treasury Department until June 10, 1933, when Executive Order 6166 assigned the function to the Division of Building Operations and Supplies of the Bureau of the Fourth Assistant Postmaster General. In October 1933 the Postmaster General ordered this function transferred to the newly created Division of Post Office Quarters.

This Division leased or rented quarters for post offices, post-office garages, and railway terminals; authorized allowances for rent, light, fuel, water, and equipment required in such quarters; and reviewed reports prepared by postal inspectors relating to such quarters.

GENERAL RECORDS. 1916-42. 3 ft.

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Correspondence, reports, and exhibits relating to an alleged combination among equipment companies to control prices; correspondence and reports relating to the maintenance and construction of post offices; administrative issuances; and divisional work progress reports. Arranged by subject or type of record.

RECORDS RELATING TO LEASES. 1916-32. 3 ft.

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Postal inspectors' reports relating to the valuation of postal quarters (post offices, stations, branches, terminals, and garages); postmasters' reports about local leases; hearings of a Senate committee on post-office leases; correspondence and reports concerning leases for the St. Paul Commercial Station and Chicago Post Office; architectural specifications and floor plans of the Boston Back Bay Station and the Chicago Federal Building; and a 1916-25 register of leases approved by the Solicitor for the Post Office Department. Arranged by type of record and thereunder chronologically.

BLUEPRINTS, SKETCH PLANS, AND ESTIMATES FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF POSTOFFICE BUILDINGS OR EXTENSIONS. 1911-30. 12 ft. 41

In addition to the blueprints, plans, and estimates there are copies of Form No. 1414, prepared by postmasters, giving information about the number of employees and the space in and condition of Federal buildings; questionnaries completed by postmasters on the space accommodations necessary for proposed Federal buildings; a few city maps showing notations of old and proposed postal stations and garages; and a few reports of leased property occupied by the Post Office Department. Arranged alphabetically by name of State.

RECORDS RELATING TO DEDICATIONS OF POST-OFFICE BUILDINGS AND OF CORNERSTONES. 1933-42. 12 ft. 42 Post office histories, containing dates of establishment, discontinuance, and reestablishment, name changes, names of postmasters and dates of their appointment, statements of postal receipts, and descriptions of the newly constructed post-office buildings; correspondence with postmasters and Congressmen relating to dedication ceremonies; lists of pending ceremonies; copies of dedication speeches; and postal inspectors' reports. Arranged alphabetically by name of State.

Records of the Division of Equipment and Supplies

In accordance with an order of the Postmaster General dated November 1, 1905, all clerks in the Post Office Department engaged in handling supplies and in work incident there to were transferred to the Division of Supplies under the Bureau of the Fourth Assistant Postmaster General. The Division was responsible administering the appropriation for all supplies purchased and furnished directly to the postal service.

On July 1, 1913, the Division of Equipment, which had operated the mail-bag repair shops and the mail-lock shop in Washington, D. C., was transferred from the Bureau of the Second Assistant Postmaster General to the Bureau of the Fourth Assistant Postmaster General and combined with the Division of Supplies. The name of the Division was not changed until October 6, 1921, when it became known as the Division of Equipment and Supplies and was made responsible for the manufacture of mail bags. In 1933, by order of the Postmaster General, the Division of Equipment and Supplies was redesignated the Division of Building Operations and Supplies. The former title, Division of Equipment and Supplies, was restored when the Postmaster General on June 18, 1943, reorganized the Bureau of the Fourth Assistant Postmaster General along functional lines.

The Division was mainly concerned with the preparation of specifications for supplies and equipment; the review of bids and subsequent recommendations to purchasing agents; and the receipt, storage, control, and issue of stock and operating equipment. The records of the Division that have been retained illustrate the "housekeeping" activities of the Post Office Department.

RECORDS OF PRINTED MATTER ORDERED FROM CONTRACTORS. 1899-1902. 1 vol. 2 in. 43

The volume shows the order and item numbers, name of contractor, and quantity ordered, cost, and date of request for books, forms, and cards. Arranged by order number.

COST REPORTS. 1915-24. 1 ft.

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Monthly reports of work performed in mail-equipment shops, showing the types of work, the number of employees and labor hours, and the labor and unit costs for each job. Arranged chronologically.

CORRESPONDENCE RELATING TO FIREARMS AND AMMUNITION. 1924-27. 4 in. 45 Relates to the ordering, use, and disposition of firearms and ammunition for Railway Mail Service employees. Arranged chronologically.

MISCELLANEOUS RECORDS. 1868-1911. 3 ft.

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Records arranged by the Post Office Department to illustrate the operations of the Division. Included are samples of bids, requisitions, and contracts for equipment and supplies; memoranda relating to proposals for repairing and maintaining post-office buildings; applications for positions; letters of recommendation; leave records; lists of employees; and correspondence concerning the disposition of waste material. Interspersed in this series are references to records of the Disbursing Clerk, which relate to acknowledgments of checks and vouchers, pay rolls, settlement of accounts, estimates of appropriations for repairs, deficiency estimates, contingent expense accounts, and receipts for payments. Arranged chronologically.

Records of the Division of Rural Mails

Rural free delivery was instituted on October 1, 1896, and statutorily established by an act of April 28, 1902, as a branch of the Office of the General Superintendent of Free Delivery within the Bureau of the First Assistant Postmaster General. On May 9, 1903, the Postmaster General transferred to the Bureau of the Fourth Assistant Postmaster General the Division of Free Delivery, the Superintendent of City-Free-Delivery Service, and the Superintendent of Rural Free Delivery. The Office of the General Superintendent of Free Delivery was discontinued on May 27, 1903, and the remaining offices and services of the Division of Free Delivery were organized into separate divisions.

On April 30, 1910, the Postmaster General directed that the star-route functions of the Division of Contracts in the Bureau of the Second Assistant Postmaster General be transferred to the Bureau of the Fourth Assistant and combined with the Division of Rural Free Delivery under the title of Division of Rural Mails. The Division was responsible for the operation of rural-delivery service and for the appointment and supervision of rural mail carriers. The Division was transferred to the Bureau of the First Assistant Postmaster General in 1929; to the Bureau of the Second Assistant Postmaster General in 1932; and back to the Bureau of the First Assistant Postmaster General on July 1, 1942, where it was coordinated with the other delivery services in the Post Office Service.

A description of many of the early records of the Division of Rural Mails may be found in series entries 52 and 53 of Preliminary Inventory No. 36, Records of the Bureau of the First Assistant Postmaster General, 1789-1942. Since the publication of this inventory many more of the Division's records have been accessioned by the National Archives and they all are now grouped with the records of the Fourth Assistant Postmaster General and described below. Most of these records cover the period 190329, when the Division was within the Bureau of the Fourth Assistant.

GENERAL RECORDS.

1915-34. 94 ft.

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Letters received, copies of letters sent, memoranda, postal inspectors' reports, cost reports, orders, statements, instructions, petitions, and occasional maps relating to the establishment, extension, and discontinuance of rural mail routes and to the administration of the Division of

Rural Mails. Arranged in four groups: (1) by classification number, 192238 (see appendix V); (2) alphabetically by name of State and thereunder alphabetically by name of county, 1915-18; (3) alphabetically by name of State and thereunder alphabetically by name of post office, 1930-31; and (4) alphabetically by name of State, 1932-34.

INDEX TO RURAL-FREE-DELIVERY ROUTES. 1896-1943. 35 ft.

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An index on 6" x 8" cards showing the following information on the individual rural-free-delivery routes: date and number of the Postmaster General's order of establishment, name of the Congressman in whose district the route was located, length and terminals, a summary of the postal inspector's recommendation, date and type of changes, and date of discontinuance. The names of the first rural mail carriers are occasionally given. Arranged alphabetically by name of State and thereunder alphabetically by name of the post office from which the rural route began.

RECORDS RELATING TO ACTS PROVIDING FOR FEDERAL AID TO POST ROADS. Sept. 1912-Mar. 1917. 10 in. 49

Correspondence with the Department of Agriculture and State and county governments, concerning the distribution of funds and plans for the construction, improvement, and relocation of roads; surveys and studies relating to post roads in Alabama, Iowa, and Texas; and a chart showing "Operations on Post Roads Designated for Improvement Under Act of August 24, 1912. Unarranged.

Federal aid for the construction and improvement of post roads was provided under the Post Office Department Appropriation Acts of August 24, 1912, and March 4, 1913, and the Federal-Aid Road Act of July 11, 1916.

FORMS. 1902-10. 2 ft.

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Forms used for letters, inter-office memoranda, serial memoranda, general orders, instructions, questionnaires, and lists, and posting media used by the Office of the General Superintendent of Delivery System and the Division of Rural Free Delivery. Arranged in three groups: (1) 190610, numerically by form numbers; (2) 1902-7, chronologically; and (3) 1909, unarranged.

REJECTED PETITIONS FOR RURAL MAIL ROUTES. 1912-15. 2 ft.

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Petitions, reports, and correspondence related to proposed rural mail routes in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Louisiana, and Minnesota. Arranged alphabetically by name of State and thereunder alphabetically by name of county.

RECORDS RELATING TO RURAL MAIL CARRIERS. 1901-20. 14 ft.

52

Letters received, copies of letters sent, applications and petitions relating to the eligibility, appointment, reinstatement, transfer, promotion,