Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1888-02-23
! DFMORALIZED MAIL. SERVICE

4 DEMORALIZED MAIL SERVICE
New York Tribune, Friday.
The Fost-Otiice Department. OF ali
Others, ought to be directed with the
greatest possible business ability. be
cause it IS the only one with which the
people are constantly brought INTO con-
tact The number of those who have to
do with custom house. an internal
revenue Office, the Patent Oaice or the
Pension Bureau is comparatively small.
but the prompt and safe delivery Of the
mail affects the business as We'll as the
comfort and happiness of the entire pop
uiation. The DELAY or loss of a single
letter viii sometimes cause great mis-
chief. and anything like a general de
morllizatioa OF the service necessarily
results in almost incalculable damage.
annoyance and even suffering.
Il may seem like an eXtrdyagaRt as
scrtion to say that the postal service IS
demoralizsd. but there are parts OF the
country in which such a statement would
be far within the truth. For many
months complaints have been pouring
in Washington from all quarters OF the
Union. but especially from the fast
growing Western States. where the pop
uiation increases So orapidiy tAat the Post
Oaice Department needs To be inteIli-
gent and energetic-Which the present
administration OF the Department does
not appear to be-in order 10 keep pace
with its demands. Matters finally reach
ed such a pass that Senator Plumb. Of
Kansas. one OF the States from which
complaints are loudeSt introduced a res
oluJion into the Senate directing the
Committee on Post-Ohices and Post
Roads TO make an investigation. It
would be supposed that such d resoiu-
ton would pass as matter OF course,
especially if the Democratic Senators
really believed the inquiry would show
the Department to be doing its work
properly; but they have had SO much to
say in endeayoring to prove: first, that
the postal service is in finer condition
than ever before; second. that, if il is in
bad way. it is because the Department
has not a large enough clerical force;
thirdly, that it is in a sad state, but that
this is all the fault of the small reSidu-
um Of incompetent and malicious Re
publican clerks. liberaiiy estimated at 10
per cent-that the resolution was not
passed till yesterday, although it was
introduced nearly three weeks ago.
The details given By some of the Sen
ators suggested a pathetic degree of
heIplessness on the part on the Depart
ment Senator Plumb told. for exam
pie, how it takes four days for papers to
travel 4 certain seyenty-tive miles by
direct railroad in Kansas, and quoted a
number of prominent journals in that
State to show that, in the words of one
of them, gross and almost criminal
carelesSness has been the rule for
the past two years" Senator Man
derson produced proof that practically
the same condition OF affairs existed in
Nebraska. These States are in the fast
filling regions of the country, but Sena-
tor Plat had the same story to tell of
Connecticut, where population is Ger
tainiy not increasing so rapidly as to
make it impossible for the Department
to keep up with it. He read letter
from publishing company at Norwich,
complaining OF "the apparent disorgan-
ization of the whole postal system Of
this country" caused, as they believe,
''by the removal Of the experienced post
al route agents and others and putting
inefficient men in their places" The
average delay in their mails rs compared
with former times they estimate at twen-
y four hours, and their losses are so
many that they are forced to the con
clusion that clerks destroy matter that
has accumulated on their hands. This
letter appears under the name of the com
pany in The Congressional Record"
Similar complaints have been coming
for months from the South, where, again.
there is no extraordinary increase Of
population, and from that section, as
from all others, they are found in Dem
ocratic as well as Republican newspa-
pers
The cause Of the trouble is clear It'll
is not because Congress does not give
the Department sufficient clerical force,
tor II gave the GCStmaSter-GCnerale ev-
cry dollar under this head he asked for
1t cannot be because Of incompetent
Republican clerks, for he has power to
remove any clerk, competent or incom-
Petent 1t is because, according to Sen
ator Hale's figures, which stand uncon
tradicted so far, 10000 Of the 52,6O9 |
fourth-class post-masteEs had been
changed up to June II, 1887, and 2,0C0 |
out of 2,379 Presidential post-masters, in
order to re-elect Mr.. Cleveland. How
many more have been changed since re-
mains to be seen. These changes meant |
Of course, a corresponding revolution in
the clerical service. No business, pri- /
vate or public, could withstand the dis
organizing influences represented by
these figures.