and of each size of the several kinds of mail-bags on hand at the beginning of and received during the month, of those furnished to other post-offices, of those in actual use in his post-office, and of those remaining on hand not in use, but ready for distribution. Blanks for this purpose will be furnished from time to time on application to the Second Assistant Postmaster-General, Division of Mail Equipments.

Sec. 685. Surplus Stock to be Kept apart from the Current Stock.—Each postmaster at a depository for mail bags and locks must be careful to keep apart from the mail bags and locks required for current use of his post-office all surplus articles of that kind, and to consider them as deposited for distribution in such manner as may be directed by the Department. For all mail bags and locks so distributed he will obtain receipts, which are to be transmitted immediately to the Department. He may withdraw mail bags and locks from the surplus stock on deposit to supply wants of his own post-office, but not to supply other post-offices, without special instructions, except in emergencies admitting of no delay. For mail-bags so withdrawn from deposit, his certificate in the former case, and receipts in the latter, must be transmitted to the Department, where, when received, they will be entered to his credit.

Sec. 686. Legitimate Use of Mail-bags Restricted to what.-The legitimate use of mail-bags is restricted to the transmission of mailable matter while under the care, custody, and control of the Post-Office Department, through its postmasters and other authorized agents. Their application to any other uses than those of this Department is illegal and strictly forbidden. The stealing, purloining, converting from proper use, or conveying away, to the detriment of the service, of any mail-bags, is an offense by law, punishable with fine and imprisonment. See section 1241.

Sec. 687. Canvas Sacks may be Taken by Publishers, when.-Whenever, in any post-office in the large towns and cities, there is an extreme necessity of extending to publishers the privilege of taking canvas sacks to their printing-offices to be there filled with printed matter for the mails, the postmaster must keep an exact account with each publisher of the number of sacks taken from and returned to his post-office on every occasion. Besides the account kept in the post-office for that purpose, pass-books should be used between the several printing-offices and the postoffice. No sacks should be delivered for any publisher, except on presentation of his pass-book, in which he is to be debited with the number of sacks intrusted to him and credited with the number returned; and for the due return of all sacks so intrusted to him each publisher shall be held responsible.

Sec. 688. Waste or Abuse of Mail-bags to be Prevented. It is the duty of postmasters and other agents of this Department to prevent, whenever in their power, any waste or abuse of mail-bags; to reclaim them from improper hands; and to give information of every instance of theft or illegal use of mail-bags coming to their knowledge.

Sec. 689. Mail-bags not to be Purchased by Postmasters.-Mail-bags of every description are required by law to be purchased by the Postmaster-General, under contract male with the lowest bidder, after advertisement for proposals. They are not to be purchased by postmasters or mail-contractors, and no allowance will be made for mail-bags purchased by them without special instructions from the Department.

Sec. 690. Mail-catchers, how Furnished.-Mail-catchers (for use where they are allowed by the Department) are furnished on application to the office of the Second Assistant Postmaster-General, Division of Mail Equipments.

Sec. 691. Application for Mail-bags, etc., to State Reasons.-Every application for mail-bags and mail-catchers must state fully the reasons which make an additional supply necessary.

Sec. 692. Mail Locks and Keys, by whom Furnished.-Mail locks and keys are furnished from the office of the Second Assistant Postmaster-General, Division of

Mail Equipments. Applications for mail locks or keys must always assign the reasons therefor.

Sec. 693. Care of Mail-keys-Penalty for Loss.-The careful use of maillocks and the safe-keeping of mail-keys are essential to the integrity of the postal service. The mail-key must never be exposed to public observation nor placed where it may be lost or stolen. It must not be suffered to pass, even for a moment, into the hands of any person not a sworn officer of the Post-Office Department. The safe-keeping of the mail-key is one of the expressed conditions of the official bond of every postmaster. The loss of a mail-key, as it may afford peculiar facilities for stealing from the mails, is an act of carelessness likely to be more pernicious to the service than almost any other a postmaster or agent of the Department can commit. It is therefore deemed sufficient cause for removing the postmaster or agent so offending, enforcing the penalty of the official bond of the former, and even in certain cases for discontinuing the post-office.

Sec. 694. Mail-keys to have a Specific Number.-The mail-keys bear, each of them, a different number stamped upon them. Every postmaster or employé to whom such keys are intrusted will be charged there with and held to a strict account therefor. On the receipt of any such mail-key by a postmaster, he should make a record, to be kept in his post-office, of the date of its receipt and of the number stamped upon it. Whenever such or any other mail-key shall afterwards be referred to, . in any communication to the Department, its number must invariably be specified.. Every casualty whatever concerning a mail-key must be promptly reported.

Sec. 695. Exchange of Mail-keys by Railway Mail Employés.-In all cases. of an exchange of routes between employés of the Railway Mail Service, there must also be an exchange of mail-keys between them, so that every mail-key shall always be retained in the particular office for which it was originally furnished by the Department, and never be taken away for use elsewhere.

Sec. 696. Receipts to be always Taken for Mail-keys.-No mail-key shall ! be transferred or exchanged except to a successor in office, nor be furnished nor loaned without special instructions from the Department. No such key, not obtained directly from the Department or from a predecessor in office, shall be kept or detained, but promptly returned to the Department, with a full report of facts in relation to it. If a mail-key be received from a discontinued post-office, or elsewhere, it must be sent without delay to the Department by the postmaster receiving it, stating when and from whom it was received by him. Whenever a retiring postmaster turns over a mail-key, he must obtain and transmit to the Second Assistant Postmaster-General a receipt for the same, specifying the number stamped upon it, in order that he may receive due credit on the books of the Department, and he and his sureties be released from all further responsibility therefor.

Sec. 697. Repairing Mail-locks and Keys Forbidden.-No attempt shall be made to have a mail-key or a mail-lock repaired; nor to pry into the internal mechanism of any mail-lock. No damaged or defective mail-key shall be kept in post-offices, but each one, as soon as it becomes damaged or defective, must be promptly returned ! to the Department with an explanatory letter. With every application for a new mail-key in lieu of one broken, the broken parts must be inclosed, and the number of the broken key stated.

Sec. 698. Defective Keys to be Reported to the Department.-When a mailkey is perceived to be much worn and becoming defective, timely notice should be given of the fact, always stating the number of the key, so that a new one may be furnished before the old one becomes entirely useless; the latter to be returned to the Department. Whenever extra keys are furnished they should be kept in reserve for an emergency, and be locked up in a safe place in the post-office, accessible to the postmaster and his assistant only.

Sec. 699. Brass Locks not to be Sent to Iron-Lock Post-offices.-In those :

post-offices where the use of the brass locks and keys is allowed for through mails, it will be deemed very reprehensible if sufficient care be not always taken to prevent such locks being used, instead of iron locks, on bags dispatched to post-offices where their use is not allowed, and where, of course, there is no key to open them. If, however, a bag secured with a brass lock be received at a post-office where there is no brass key allowed, the lock should not be broken or tampered with, nor the bag be mutilated; but it should either be returned unopened to the post-office whence it came, or be sent to some nearer post-office using the brass key, with the request to substitute an iron lock for the brass one. But in either case, the postmaster at whose post-office the irregularity occurred must be advised of it, and, if there be a repetition of it, be reported to the Second Assistant Postmaster-General.

Sec. 700. Proper Course when Defective Key will not Open Mail-lock.—If the only mail-key in a post-office be broken or so defective as not to open all the locks, the bags should be passed, unopened, to the nearest post-office, with a request to the postmaster to take out the letters, &c., for the post-office where the lock could not be -opened, and send them back by the mail-carrier outside the bag, in a sealed package, until another key be received from the Department. In such case any mutilation of the bag is inexcusable.

Sec. 701. Proper Course when Defective Lock cannot be Opened.—When a postmaster cannot open a lock securing a bag, because of a defect in the lock, and not of his key, he will then cut that staple of the bag to which the lock is attached, pro vided he has another bag and lock to substitute for them; but if he has no other bag and lock, he will pass the bag, unopened, to the next post-office, as in the case indicated in the preceding section.

Sec. 702. Fastening-Strap Never to be Cut.-The fastening-strap of a mail. bag should never be cut; but if ever done, the strap must not afterwards be spliced, but a new one put on instead of the strap cut. When the staple is cut asunder, the bag should have a new one applied before being used again.

Sec. 703. Economy in the Use of Mail-locks.-The mail-locks must be used with care and economy. Care must also be taken to equalize the exchange of locked pouches, and thereby secure to every post-office a return of the same number of locks sent from it. If at any post-office (not a depository) locks from unknown sources should accumulate in excess of its current wants, all such surplus locks must be forwarded with an explanatory letter to the Department.

Sec. 704. Unlawful Use of Mail-bags to be Reported to the Department.It is the duty of postmasters and agents of the Department to reclaim and transmit to the office of the Second Assistant Postmaster-General, Division of Mail Equipment, all mail locks and keys found to be in improper hands, or applied to any other than their lawful use, and to see that the law (section 1241) is enforced in every case of its violation known to them, by exerting due diligence always in collecting and reporting to the Department the facts and proofs to sustain a prosecution against the offender. Sec. 705. How to Address Communications on Mail Equipments.-All communications required by this chapter to be sent to the Department must be addressed to the Second Assistant Postmaster-General, Division of Mail Equipments. Such communications must invariably give the name of the post-office, county, and State from which they are sent, and must not embrace any other subject.

Sec. 706. The General Superintendent of Railway Mail Service.-The Postmaster-General has vested the general supervision of the distribution and dispatch of mails at post-offices and in transit upon railroad and steamboat routes in the General Superintendent of Railway Mail Service, with headquarters at Washington, D. C., and in the Superintendents under his directions.

Sec. 707. Division Superintendents.-For the purpose of securing effi ciency in the dispatch and distribution of mails, the United States has been divided into nine divisions, each of which is in charge of a Superintendent, as follows:

FIRST DIVISION.-Comprising the New England States.-Headquarters of Superintendent, Boston, Mass.

SECOND DIVISION.-Comprising New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and the Eastern Shore of Maryland.-Headquarters of Superintendent, New York, N. Y. THIRD DIVISION.-Comprising Maryland (excluding the Eastern Shore), North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.-Headquarters of Superintendent, Richmond, Va.

FOURTH DIVISION.-Comprising South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Missis. sippi, and Louisiana.-Headquarters of Superintendent, Atlanta, Ga.

FIFTH DIVISION.-Comprising Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee.-Headquarters of Superintendent, Cincinnati, Ohio.

SIXTH DIVISION.-Comprising Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, and Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and the Territories of Dakota and Wyoming.—Headquarters of Superintendent, Chicago, Ill.

SEVENTH DIVISION.-Comprising Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, Texas, Colorado, the Indian Territory, and New Mexico.-Headquarters of Superintendent, Saint Louis, Mo. EIGHTH DIVISION.-Comprising California, Nevada, Oregon, and the Territories of Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Utah, and Washington.-Headquarters of Superintendent, San Francisco, Cal.

NINTH DIVISION.-Comprising the through mails via Buffalo, Suspension Bridge, Toledo, and Detroit, the lines of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad, and the Lower Peninsula of Michigan.-Headquarters of Superintendent, Cleveland, Ohio. Sec. 708. "Offices"-Post-offices for Distributing Mail in Transit.-The Postmaster-General has designated all railway postal cars and mail apartments in cars

and steamboats as post-offices for the distribution of mail-matter in transit. To distinguish these traveling post-offices from ordinary post-offices, they are designated in the regulations as "Offices."

Sec. 709. Employés of Railway Mail Service. In the Postal Regulations the word "employés" is used to designate all railway post-office clerks, route-agents, and mail-route messengers. Local mail-agents retain their present designation.

Sec. 710. Appointment of Employés.-Appointments to the railway mail service are made upon the recommendation of the General Superintendent. All appointments are originally made for six months only, and at the expiration of that time, if the record and final examination of the person temporarily appointed are satisfactory, he receives a permanent appointment. All promotions are made upon the recommendation of the General Superintendent, based upon the report of the Division Superintendent as to good conduct, faithful service, and efficiency, and all such reports must be accompanied by the employé's full record, including case examinations and facing-slips.

Sec. 711. Uniform for Railway Mail Employés.-Postal clerks, routeagents, and mail-route messengers shall not be required to wear uniform other than a cap or badge. (Act of March 3, 1879, section 1, 20 Stat., p. 357.)

The uniform cap required by this section of the law to be worn by employés is regulation navy, three inches deep, 14 inch front, with black corded silk band; cloth to be full indigo dark navy blue; lining of cap to be silesia, and oil-glazed cover; the cap to bear upon its front the letters "R. M. S." in silver, surrounded by a gold wreath. The Postmaster-General is satisfied that the adoption of a uniform for the railway mail service has been productive of great good to the service by elevating its tone and inspiring a feeling of manly pride in the corps, which has greatly increased its efficiency. While the law forbids him to require any uniform to be worn other than a cap or badge, and no distinction can be made between those who wear the entire uniform and those who do not, he believes that the interests of the service will be promoted and the safety of the mails increased if all the employés, of their own free will and accord, continue to wear the entire uniform formerly required—a uniform which any man should be proud to wear in view of the honorable record which the railway mail service of the United States has made since its organization.

Sec. 712. Division Superintendents not to recommend Appointments.-Division Superintendents must confine themselves in their recommendations for promotions in the railway mail service to the fact as to whether, in their opinion, the person recommended would make an efficient employé, and must not recommend, directly or indirectly, any person for appointment.

Sec. 713. Assignment of Chief Head Clerks.-Division Superintendents may assign to duty (when necessary, subject to the approval of the General Superintendent) as chief head clerks of railway mail service, such employés as in their judgment are best qualified to discharge the duties expected of them, and the duties of such chief head clerks will be to make examination of the men under their charge; to see that they perform all the duties required of them promptly and thoroughly; to see that the schemes furnished are kept corrected, and that all orders issued by the Division Superintendent are promptly executed. All irregularities, insubordination, inefficiencies, and lax morality occurring on routes under their charge must be reported to their Division Superintendent at once,