The weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1878-1881, 1880-07-27
THE PosTOFFICE EMBReGLIO.
The ..Miner" Has Its Say I'm Return.

sented TO our readers to-day we are surprised
to see that the writer attributes our article of
yesterday to a sentiment of hostility on our
part towards a gentleman for whom we have
always entertained, aud still entertain, the
NEST kindly feelings the most sincere re-
spect. Professor Smith surely knows that a
portion Of the journalists duty is to serve as
pubic fault finder; and knowing This, if lie
imagines the duty TO be anything but a most
ungrateful task we beg to assure him of his
mistake. For some two or three weeks we
have had dinned into our ears complaints
concerning the postotfice management. Those
complaints finally reached such d climax that
they could nc longer be ignored and as we
did not feel ourselves called upon to intrude
upon the postnlaster's privacy in a personal
interview, we laid the matter before the pub
lie as We were desired and expected, and as
we think it was our duty, to do. In so doing
we very much regret that we unintentionally
fell into an error, for which we now hasten
to make the amende honorable. The noctur-
nal nature of our employment as editor OF a
morning paper imposes upon us the necessity
Of late morning hours, aud consequently we
are never about the streets at 7, or even at s
O'Clock in the morning to notice at what hour
the Office opens. Writing from memory, we
made a mistake III giving s instead OF 7 as
the hour of opening. The Office opens at Z
a. m. every day but still this makes no diff
ference with the point we we've trying to es-
tablish, viz. that under present Office hours
the working people are practically debalred
from the benefits Of the office. Men working
for wages must be at the scene OF their daily
labor at 7 o'clock; so even if the Office
opens al that hour they are no better
of than ii the hour were S, as we stated
in unintentional error yesterday. Replying
to other points made against us by Mr.. Smith
we will say that in stating yesterday that the
office was open 'for one hour only" on Sun
day, We were speaking altogether of the gen
eral delivery, and our remarks referred erclu-
sirsty to those who get their mail at that win
low. If Mr.. Smith read cur article with any
care he must surely have understood that our
remarks could have 10 other application, and
if he did thus understand them then the at
tempt to pervert them into an application to
y e"S 81 w. hao g. iSSoo " al oA
fair method of controversy. AS for the mat
i ter of lock boxes it is true that the outer door
, remains unlocked until 9:30p. H., and thatthe
| owners of lock boxes can have access to their
t mail until that hour. But how is it on Sun
day? Sunday afternoon is the only period of
S rest or recreation afforded The hard-working
business men of Butte, after the onerous du-
| fiao ~ t1n "oal- tpt tIn o,;r~,rnrt IS nvo
this short resting spell is destroyed by the
constraint of being forced to be at the post
Office within the space of one prescribed hour;
D or else to foreso until the following day the
a examination of the business letters coming in
u by the evening mail. In other towns of
e Buttc's size the owners of lock boxes have
Il access to the same at any hour of the day or
y evening on Sunday.
> As for the price of box rent, we have again
and again called attention to the fact that
;, call boxes were reduced to the very low price
- Of one dollar per three months; AND further
more we have urged our readers to rent boxe'
as their failure to do so would cut down the
returns Of the Office and prevent it from be
: ing rated as high as it ough, to be. We have
explained over and over again Thai
) a post-otice is not made a first
class or second-class office according to The
number of people getting their mail through
- it. An office is graded according to its lie
turns, and we have repeatedly told the people
" of Butte that if their office is of too low
~ grade it is altogether their own fault. W
% have even expressed The opinion, which W
here repeat, that the man who refuses
=" through economical considerations, to pay 5
- per quarter for a call box, carries economy Il
~ the degree where il becomes parsiinonY an,
" ceases to be a virtue. As for lock boxes, WI
u spoke of them yesterday spoke OF them a
. "hish-priced,' not because their rent is il
\ Itself high, but being three times that of
% call box, we thought the owner of o loci
a. box should have some special privileges i'll TIL
way of access to his box 20 compensate hin
~ for the extra price. But with all these al
. lowances the fact remains that the publ
ought to be accommodated at the general de
livery while under present regulations it j
" not. The hours formerly obtaining, that is
Il. from $ a. Iii. till 7 p. IN, would mee! the re
ie quirements of the case and leave no ground fl
rr complaint. Without any ~r!ap-trap or dema
re gnSueism abou, 'friends Of worhIHgnen' etc
s. which may we'll be left ont of the case. it Inu
Is be remembered that Butte being = mlnin
town has among It's nopu!a.ion All UNUSUAL
large proportion d those who are technical
known as working men, that is, men VIII
|. work FOR daily wages, fnh w are sill Of II,
81 opinion that the convenience OF Ll.is iarg
+ class should be consulted in Ia" mama ,elner
RI, oE 4 public office.
of Concerning the petition for removal, "