Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-12-13
POSTOFFICE GROWTH
Considerable Speculation as
to the Appointment.
Mr.. MKEAN GOES EAST.
A Marvellous Showing of the Local
Offices Condition.
50 PER CENT INCREASE IN5 YEARS

more interested than the question as TO who
Postmaster Larkin's successor will be, and
when the appointment will be made.
Although the personality Of the appointee
is practically conceded to be inseparably
connected with Mr.. James S. Mexican, it is
certain that the opposition will die game.
A last rally was made at Washington yes
terday, Congressman Dalzen leading the
forlorn hope, with such gallant fighters as
C. L. Magee, William Finn, j. o.
Brown and others as the stOrming
party. The offensive manifestation
had no sooner occurred than the wires
between Washington and Pittsburg we're
heated with messages fraught with chunks
of political wisdom. Few of those who
knew anything about it were materially sur
prised when Mr.. James S. Mexican boarded
the Eastern express last evening with grip
sack in his good right hand and a smile
upon his affsble countenance
HIS ERRAND IN DOUBT.
'No. He was on his way to New York. !"
"Bv way of Washington" "Oh, no."
would he see Senator Quay?" Not at
all likely to go to Washington" "Whither,
then. was he bound for?'' East on bust
ness" And that was the sum and substance
of an interview with the Postmaster-soon-
to-be.
Delegation after delegation of Mr.. Nc
Kesn's friends besieged him yesterday with
queries as to whether the appointment would
be made as per an alleged semi official an
nouncement but as the day wore away with
out any word being received from Washing
ton the conviction dawned that political an
nouncements do not always announce.
Then came lntimations of bold sortie upon
the FOstofice Department. But the fact
seems to be that the funeral OF Mrs. Scott
Lord, the sister OF Mrs. Harrison, may have
interiered with the usual routine of the Ex-
ecutive.
AN ASTONISHING INCREASE.
Astounding is q mild ward to express the
progress made by the postofice service with
In the last four years in Pittsburg. When
the present Postmaster vacstes his seat in
the Postofce building, to give place to an
other who will probably fill it nearly as
fully as the present incumbent, the re-
markable increase os business which Pitts
burg shows will open the eyes of the whole
country to what the Iron CITY is doing.
John Larkin was appointed Postmaster on
April 2, or thereabouts, 1885, shd assumed
control of the Office May 25 in the
same year, succeeding William McCleary.
1t at that time employed 126 peo-
pie, not including substitutes, and
the manner in which the Office was handed
over was a lesson TO the administration on
sudden and peremptory changes. 1t took, as
will be seen by the dates, some six weeks to
get the old powers out and the new ones in,
and as was said yesterday by man well
versed in postofice affairs, no summary
action could be taken in such change.
REASONS FOR CONSERVATISM.
The reason was, he said, that the outgoing
postmaster was responsible for every penny
in the building except trife over $500, the
fixed reserve in the money order department,
to keep business running. The bond under
which the postmaster holds his position,
S160 900, with penalty of $500, 600, double
the amount, together with the fact that bal
ances have to be made daily, keeps the gen.
tleman under whose direction the Govern
ment sells the general public the right to |
converse with itself by letter in the straight |
and narrow path which makes deviations |
impossible.
The Pittsburg postofice, when Superin- |
tendent Malone gets its lofty head above the |
level of the common horde of business edi- \
fees, will have proud record in the fact |
that no daily settlement has been missed by |
Postmaster Lsrkin; that when he took hold |
of the Office on May 25 1885, the postal |
facilities were not what they are now, but |
the fact that the business has been increased |
so per cent is one of the most wonderful ad- |
vances in such a time yet on record in the |
postal reports. The only method of finding |
out anything about the matter is by bunch |
ing the monthly reports of the postofiee, |
which show that from the Log workers in |
1885 it has grown now to go clerks, "a car |
riers, 20 stamp agencies 20 special delivery |
boys and substitutes, making total Of |
2S5 employees.
NOTABLE ADDITIONS.
Since then there have been added three |
stations, two of them being full money order |
and carrier places and one stamp agency. |
When Mr.. Larkin assumed control there
were no special collectors and now there are
seven, three of whom are mounted. In some
cases wages have been advanced, but the /
expenditures have been kept down to a
figure which places Pittsburg in one of the
foremost positions in the country as a self
sustaining postofice. To give an idea of
the work that has been done from financial
standpoint, the reports show that the money
order business for the current wear will |
average about $1,000, 600, as against about
S., 600, 900 in 1885. The depository is the
Tradesmen's National Bank for all postof-
nee accounts.
One of the most peculiar points regarding
the change of postmasters will be the dis
tribution of Offices, and as the late George
h. Pendleton's civil services have somewhat
restricted the giving power of the postmas-
ter the list of places for which the incoming
man can be pestered will be more interesting
to the general public than the coming post
master.
PLACES TO BE FILLED.
The list of places which are excepted from
the operation of the civil service law is
short, but means great deal to those who
can get themg The places for which the
great American public in Pittsburg has to
hustle is as follows: Assistant postmaster,
three stamp clerks, cashier, clerk of second
class matter, superintendent of the registry
division, superintendent of the money order
division, superintendent of the registry
transfer, superintendent of stations and
stamp agencies.
This gives the postmaster two more ap-
pointments in his gift than the Mayor of
Pittsburg with a very much larger aggre-
gate of salaries than are in the MAYORS dis
position. The superintendent of the mail
service is an appointee of the Postmaster
General, and must necessarily be taken from
the railroad mail service.
Two Unlicensed Sellers.
Mrs. Mary Campbell, of Second avenue,