The swaying of the train around a curve makes little difference, as the
clerks in a short time learn to follow every motion of the train. A
quick decision, ready eye, and economy of movement as a superstructure
to a good knowledge of his duties, are the invaluable qualities of a
successful railway postal-clerk; and one so equipped soon outstrips his
lagging seniors and associates in grade. As the train approaches a
junction, preparations are made to "close out" that part of the mail to
be delivered at that point, the sacks are tied, the tags or labels
having been attached before starting. The clerks at the letter-case are
rapidly taking the letters from the boxes tying them into packages, and
separating them into piles, which are dropped into their proper pouches
and locked, and so on until all is ready. Let us examine these packages
of letters and at the same time describe the slip system. On the outside
of each package for redistribution, and also inside each direct package,
that is, containing mail for a single post-office, is placed a brown
paper slip, or label, about the size of an ordinary envelope, bearing
its address or destination, which may be that of a post-office, a group
of post-offices supplied therefrom, and labelled "dis." (the
abbreviation of distribution), or for a railway post-office; this slip
also bears the imprint of the name of the clerk who sorted into the
package and is responsible for its correctness, the postmark with date,
and a letter, as "N." for north, or "W." for west, indicating the
direction the train is moving at the time. A similar slip is also placed
loose in each pouch and sack.

The errors discovered in the packages of letters, or among the loose
pieces in the pouches and sacks, are endorsed on the proper slip, signed
and postmarked by the clerk in the railway post-office receiving it.
These errors may be the result of carelessness, ignorance, or