Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-08-24

the management of mercantile institu-
ton where the manager can carry out his
plans without interference from others.
There are SO many people to consult, so
many wheels within wheels, and so many
warning private interests, that il is almost
impossible for the public to be served as it
should be. Still 1 think we are making
progress. We have enormously increased
the extent of the Star Route mail, aud that
at reduction of expense. We have ex-
tended the special delivery system, ana 1
have gotten an appropriation of SO, 900
into the general deficiency bill by which I
hope to make some further experiments in
this matter. 1 hope to see the time when
every farmer will have his mail dropped at
his door and every village will have its
special delivery.
"Ten thousand dollars seems a small
amount to experiment with, but proba-
bly, should have got nothing if 1 had
asked for more. Ny idea is to take some
village of, say. SEQ people, and to give the
postmaster 500 year if he will have one
of his clerks make one delivery throughout
the town each day. I have no doubt that
this can be done for that amount, and l
want to try it.
MAIL AT SCHOOL.
Another idea OF mine is to make the
country school teachers mail. agents; will
have the postmasters of these school dis
tricts send the mail for the families repre-
sented in the school to these school teach
ers, and will pay them something to give
out the letters and papers once a day to the
scholars to carry them home to their fami-
lies. 1t seems to me that the postal facili-
ties of the country might be very much ln-
creased in this way."
During the conversation the Postmaster
General referred to the action of New York
in not seconding the department in giving
increased postal facilities for that city.
Said he: "There is no place in the country
where we need better postal facilities than
we do in New York. There is no place
where the postoffice has so large an inhu-
ence upon the whole country as it has in
New York, and it is strange to me that the
New York newspapers and the New York
ers when they have Postmaster General
who is in favor of giving them good mail
ing facilities and a Secretary of the Treas
ury who is largely in sympathy with their
city do not take advantage of the occasion
and push matters toward that end.
SOME VERY BAD WORK.
''There is no place in the United States
where the mail is so poorly handled as in
New York, and this is necessltated by the
crowded postoffice and the lack of machinery
and room necessary to getting out the mail.
I have been in the New York Postoffice at
IL o'clock in the morning, and have seen
the papers that have come in at that time,
lying on top of cords ofjournals which came
in during the night or early in the morning.
The last papers were being mailed and the
10 o'clock papers on the top OF the pile were
sent away be.ore those which had come in
earlier.
New York ought to have q great postofice
built to accommodate the needs of the serv-
ice with all the modern appliances for hurry
ing the mails through in the shortest pos
sible time. This would mean often a saving
OF thousands to many men and its import
ance cannot be overestimated. The depart
ment would do this not with view to cut
ting down expenses and to making record
of economy for the administration. Imight
do that if I chose at the expense of the serv-
ice, but 1 believe that this country Is big
enough to have the best mailing facilities in
the world and think its people are willing
to pay for them."
FRANK G. CARPENTER.