The Mail-Eating Train
A local postal disaster reveals that the 'fast mail' is literally destroying packages and letters in transit.
The post office force is busy today arranging for shipment to the dead letter office at Washington of the sacks of mail which have been thrown under the fast mail and chewed to pieces. An investigation of the stuff destroyed shows that large quantities of merchandise, especially ladies' wear, are being shipped into this section by mail.
“sacks of mail which have been thrown under the fast mail and chewed to pieces.”
The vulnerability of the mail system to industrial accidents highlights the reliance on rail infrastructure for commerce in the early 1900s. It serves as a reminder of the physical fragility of the supply chain before the era of modern logistics.
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