The Portland daily press., 1886-04-01
FROM WASHINGTON.
Grievances of Third and Fourth Class
Postmasters.
A Committee Present Them Before
Congress,
Schemes for Facilitating the Speedy
Conduct of Public Business.


WAsHINcToN, March 31.-A committee from
sthe convention Of third and fourth class post
masters held recently in the city of Chicago are
here. for the purpose of urging their grievances
before Congress- They have presented to both
Houses of Congress a lengthy memorial in which
they cali the attention of the Senators and Repre-
sentatiyes to the fact that the salaries of post
| masters under the present system are based upon
the aggregate receipts of their offices, consisting
III third and fourth class offices almost entirely of
| moneys received from the sale of stamps, stamped
| envelopes postal cards and the rental of boxes.
This being the case it will readily be seen that
| the reductions made during the past two or three
years in the rates of postage upon first and second
| class matter, has caused serious reduction
of all salaries based upon such receipts, and they
| claim that when such reduction was made a
change to correspond in the rate Of compensation
| TO postmasters should also have been
made. Another complaint affecting third
| class offices, is the matter of rent, light,
| fuel clerk hire and other incidentals In offices
of the first and second class these expenses are
all met by the government, but in third class the
postmasters have to pay them all themselves and
L is frequently the case that when they are all
paid the postmasters have less left for themselves
than they pay their clerks. They also complain
of the custom of mailing letters on trains by which
their salaries are much reduced and ask for
legislation of this question. They ask not for
sympathy or kindness but simply justice. The
representations of the committee are undoubted-
ly worthy of much consideration. The postal
service Of the country is of its greatest nsti
tutions and in which the people should and do
take the greatest PRIDE For rapidity and safety
of transmission it is excelled by service in the
world and yet its employees of every grade below
that of first and second class postmasters is
notorousy under paid. The clerks in post offices,
and the railway postal clerks all have long hours
of hard and fatiguing labor and are paid but a
mere pittance, comparatively speaking, for their
services This great government which employs
men at the national capitol to open and shut doors
for S1440 per year ought to pay those, upon the
faithful performance of whose duties rest more
than on any others in the employ of the govern
ment the commercial prosperity of the country,
salaries commensurate with the Importance and
difficulty of the work they have to perform.
The Conduct of Public Business.
Two more schemes for facilitating the speedy
conduct of public business have been presented
to the House of Representatives. The first is cal
culated to prevent the smothering of any measure
in committee as was done by the education COM
mittee in the case of the Blair bill. 1t provides
for an amendment to the rules, providing that the
House by majority vote may instruct any COM
mittee to present to the House with or without a
recommendation any bill which may have been
referred to it. At present committee may by
refusing to report bill, kill it although large
ma iority of the members OF the House outside of
the committee may be favorable toit
The second plan is one of Mr. Beach's, the OBJ
iector who, Delegate Voorhees, of Washington
Territory said, would have found something to
object to in the Sermon on the Mount, had he
been present. 1t provides that after the expira-
ton of the morning hour for the call of commit
tees the Speaker shall recall the committee,
continuing it from day to day. and that under this
call each committee shall have one hour in which
to put on its passage any bill they may choose to
call up and limiting debate on such bill to ten
minutes to be equally divided between the friends
and opponents 1t also changes the time OF as
remainder of this session, then adding one hour
to the length of each days session.
The Sick Members of the Cabinet.
Secretary Lamar will not be able to be out for
some days yet although there IS nothing danger
Gus in his present condition.
There has been no perceptible improvement
since yesterday in Secretary Mannlng'S condition,
neither has there been any change for the worse.
Attorney General Garland and Secretary Lamar
The Public Debt.
1t is estimated at the Treasury Department that
there has been a reduction OF ABOUT $l4,25O,O 900
the public debt during the month of March.
Minor Matters.
Senator Harris went before the telephone in
vestigating committee to-day and told the story in
his own way of his connection with the Pan Elec-
trio enterprise.
Senator Cullom introduced in the Senate, yes
terday, a bill appropriating 100000 for the
erection in the city OF Washington. of a mOnu-
ment with an appropriate statue to commemorate
the illustrious public services OF the late Abraham
Lincoln.