Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1889-05-09
THE RAILWAY nail SERVICE.
Important Statement BY Superintendent
Bell.
The Mugwump- and Democratic orum.
biers Answered.

A Washington Dispatch published IN The
New York Times in which may be found |
this passage
The fac, i. that the Railway Mai Service |
has been painted blacker than il deserved 70 |
he for several months. evidently for the pnr- |
pose Of afording .Bfficis ut excuse for recon
.,rueting it as soon a. the opportunity sas
presented. Having removed as many Of the
Democrats as possible. ii is now supposed
that political ingenuity will be developed 70 |
prevent the restoration Of the removed clerks
Under the las they are entitled To be restored
or appointed within year II not dismissed
for incompeteney or other cause that il
properlyprej JUDICIAL to ih.m.
Well, if the Kaiirsy Mail Service has
been painted blaeker than 1t deserved to be, |
am sorry for il AMI If Il !. not in better con
iition three month. hence than it was three
months ago, shall be more sorry -till. re-
marked Superintendent Bell. After pause
he continued
THE change. which have been made were
necessary II We we're TO have efficient
service OF eleven division supetIntenient-
who were on duty when the Administration
changed hand. only two were competent and
Elf lent. The proportion Of efficient subor
didstes was not much greater. Let me give
you one or two examples of the condition of
affairs In the Chicago Office We found
about 800 bags and pouches of mail "un
worked" which had lain 10 the Office from
three TO seven days. At this time not an
'unworked" package lies in that office over
more than half-of the mail which left New
York for Boston at 3 A VI. was not distributed
before it reached the latter place, and that
much of it waited to reach the persons en-
delivery by carrier. although the train ar
rived at Boston at $50 2. NJ. Now
all the mail is distributed by the time
Boston is reached, and is ready for the car
riers delivery at 10 P. NJ. There was de-
lay also in the mail which leaves New York
at / 7. NJ. and reaches Boston at Sis NJ,
and il was due - the same cause good
deal of that mail did not reach the persons
to whom it was addressed until noon or later
Now all Of that mail is in the hands of the
carriers or in the boxes at the postotfice at
AN
go Painted blscker than it deserved to be, SO
continued the Superintendent Why, the
report Of the late Postmaster General itself
showed that the service was terribly democrat
lied, and | have evidence that the real state
of affairs much worse than that report
shows. The late officials themselves became
thoroughly alarmed by the condition of af-
fairs, and | have good reason to believe that
the reports of errors for considerable pc rod
in the last months OF the previous Admin
istration were Systematically dOctored as
to show a state of things less deplorabe than
that which actually existed"
An examination of the statistics 90 which
Superintendent Bell referred and compsri-
son of them with those of three years hefore
shows some startling results. Here are few
of them In 1852 the handling of 75t
pieces of mail by the Railway Mail Service
was marked on an average, by one error 10
1855 the proportion of errors had fsion to
one in every i,+sj pieces; in lsss the pre-
portion had risen to one in every 3Gt3 pieces.
showing that the efficiency of the service
had decreased "a per cent in the last three
years, from 1855 to 1888, whereas in the
three preceding years, from lsS2 to 1888, ii.
efficiency had increased 40 per cent In
some parts of the country the service
declined more rapidly and to a greater
extent than in other sections. Ia the
First Division. which comprises the six New
England States, the proportion Of errors to
pieces handled rose from one in q s92 to
one in 1929. showing decreased efficiency
Of 80 per cent. la the Second Division,
which included New York, Pennsylvania.
New Jersey, Delaware anil Eastern Mary
land. the proportion rose from one in | / i07
to one in 6,656, showing a decrease in Elf
cheney Of 20 per cent. In the Third Division,
which included Western Maryland, Virginia.
West Virginia. North Carolina and the Dis
trict of Columbia, the proportion rose from
one in ) 40 to one in 3.062. showing a de-
crease in efficiency of 90 per cent. In the
Fourth Division South Carolina, Georgia,
Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louis
iana-the proportion rose from one in $50
to one in 2.72j, decline in efficiency of 81
per cent. In only one division-tbe Eighth.
which included California. Nevada, Oregon,
Alaska, Washington, Arizona. Idaho Mon
tana. and utah-did the proportion fall. In
1855 it was one in 1881 in 1888. one in
il,sl7.
Ii may be worth while to note that the
largest proportionate decrease of efficiency
was in the Southern States, where it exceed
ed 81 per cent And yet it was in the South
where the ''clean sweep" of Republicans EN-
ployees was first begun and soonest COM
pleted. and where their reform" successors.
therefore, ought to have become most ELI
cient. In the assertion made by the Southern
Democrats in lss5 was true, that ''ihe EN-
ploye. of the Railway Mail Service in the
South are composed of stupid, illiterate
'uiggers' and ignorant white men,, it is
rather sal to reflect as to what must be the
intellectual sttsinments and degree of natural
intelligence of their Democratic successors
As indicated by the marked increase in the
number of errors made in the handling of
the mails entrusted to them for dispatch or
delivery.
The foregoing figures for the year lsSs it
should be remembered. were compiled from
official statistics in the report of Don Manuel
Dickinson, late Postmaster General. AMI
there is good reason to believe that the mum
Der of mistakes actually made considershl,
exceeded III number therein reported
According to the dispatch above referred
to ri, is nov supposed that political ingenuity
will be developed to prevent the restoration
of removed clerks" And yet one of Super
inteudent Bells worst crimes in the eyes Of
the Mug~umps has been the restoration
of clerks who were removed by his predeces-
sor because they were Republicans It doe :