University of Virginia Library

Machines Move The Mail

Sorters:

60 Letters A Minute

was sorted manually before
automation. Hundreds of
cubical slots gaped at us, each
one designated for a certain
geographical location.

"Zip codes helped speed
sorting," he said. "But still, the
most you could hope for was
30 letters per minute from
each employee. And, of course,
the rate varied from man to
man."

Machines now do the job at
a uniform pace, twice as fast as
could be done manually.

Eventually, the concept of
sectional centers will be
developed to an extent that
mail will be transported
directly to them instead of
having to first go through large
post offices like this one in
Washington. When these
centers are established, the
Washington office will have the
easier job of handling only the
city's mail.

Is there a chance that postal
service will improve? Mr.
McDay thinks so. "It'll take a
while for our people to get
used to the new system and the
automation," he said. "But
once they do, I think service
will get better."