St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1889-10-31
NEEDED POSTAL REFORMS.

Ex-Postmaster-General James con-
tributes to the October Forum
most sensible article on needed postal
reforms in which he makes very
strong points against the change OF
postmasters and railway postal
clerks every time the administration
changes Mr.. James was postmas-
ter-general in President Garfeld's
cabinet and his words come fraught
with observation and experience.
Here are two paragraphs from the
article:
We can expect no great or lasting
reform in the postal service until
that branch of the government is abb
solutely divorced from politics and
the work of the office is run on bust
ness principles. 1t is the fashion in
some quarters to sneer at business
principles; but when we remember
how closely the post Office is linked
to the business interests of the cOun
try, its good management being a
matter of concern to every man,
woman and child in the land possess
ed of sufficient education to enable
them to write a letter, it may be
proper to enquire on what other
principles than those of a business
nature it should be conducted. I'M
aglne, for instance, an express COM
pany or any other corporation in
our cities presided over by a man
ager or superintendent who, every
morning, on his arrival at his office,
should be met by horde of men
eager to present their respective
claims for a situation in the concern;
imagine the best part of his working
day taken up i'll listening to and
passing upon, the petitions of a mot
ley crowd of such people, each one
accompanied by one or more friends
supposed to have influence with the
person in charge, and you will have
a faint idea of the daily experience of
the highest post office official in the
United States. But the superinten-
dents and managers of private corpo-
ratiOns do not pass through any such
ordeal; they know full well that if
the best part of their days time were
to be taken up in such proceedings,
the corporation would receive little
benefit from improved methods of
doing the work of the concern which,
as superintendent or managers,
they are called upon to suggest.
With the daily rush of applicants for
places, the halls and the lobby crowd
ed with smooth-tOngued congress-
men, loud-voiced and persistent local
statesmen, and brazen-faced politi-
cal "heelers," what time, l would
ask, has the Postmaster-Gene seri-
ously and thoughtfully to consider
the growing needs of our postal ser
vice? The best, in fact the only way
to put a stop to this condition of af-
fairs, is to cut off the supply of ''polit-
ical pap" by an act of Congress,
making places in the post office per-
manent during good behavior.
eideal postmaster of the present
day is seen in the person of Joseph c.
Hendrix, postmaster of the city of
Brooklyn. . He has attended
to all the details of his office in a
thoroughly business-like way. This
man has won the admira ton of all
the people in his town; but, as l
write these lines, his removal is talk
ed about as a matter of course, in the
newspapers representing the party
in power. What is the complaint
against this man who has done such
excellent work as to make his name
known among good citizens all over
the country? He is a democrat