[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 192 (Thursday, December 17, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S13380]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO RICHARD R. JENNINGS

 Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I wish to congratulate Richard R. 
Jennings of Wilmington, MA, for the honor he received from the 
Smithsonian Institution at the American History Museum earlier this 
year. Mr. Jennings was recognized for his long service with the Railway 
Mail Service. The 85-year-old Mr. Jennings is one of the last survivors 
of one of the most important innovations in the history of mail service 
in the United States.
  Mr. Jennings was honored as part of a postal service exhibit at the 
American History Museum last summer. In addition to the recognition he 
received, the Smithsonian also recorded Mr. Jennings's memories of his 
years as part of the Boston-to-Albany and the Boston-to-New York ``mail 
by rail'' routes--part of a network that was so important to U.S. mail 
service before the airlines took over much of the service.
  The Railway Mail Service began in the mid-19th century but grew in 
importance as the railroads became dominant in transportation until the 
mid-20th century. ``Mail by rail'' was quite successful--dramatically 
increasing the speed of delivery of mail, especially over long 
distances.
  Mr. Jennnings and his fellow Railway Mail Service clerks were 
considered the elite of the Postal Service's employees. And for good 
reason. Their jobs were exhausting and dangerous. They were required to 
sort 600 pieces of mail an hour in a speeding train that could wreck--
and occasionally did. The potential for danger certainly added pressure 
to an already difficult job.
  In addition to changing our postal system, the Railway Mail Service 
was the source of an expression well known in the United States. Empty 
mail sacks and sacks filled with damaged, misaddressed or otherwise 
unsortable mail were referred to as ``bums.'' And before the trains 
would leave the stations along their routes, rail clerks would often 
shout ``throw the bums out.''
  Mr. Jennings served this country in important ways, not only as a 
postman in the ``mail by rail'' network but also as a sergeant with the 
U.S. Army Medical Corps in Italy and North African during World War II. 
There, as much as with the ``mail by rail'' service, Mr. Jennings 
helped to ``throw the bums out.''
  Mr. Jennings deserves our thanks for his unique and great service to 
our country. I congratulate him and his family and I share their pride 
in him and his important role in the history of our country's Postal 
Service.

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