The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1890-05-18
GIVE US A NEW POST OFFICE.
\ Letter From Postmaster Ross Which
Shows How Well We Deserve 1t.

a Letter From Postmaster Ross Which
Shows How Well We Deserve 1t.
The session of Congress is drawing to close,
and the question of a new Post Office for Wash
ington is still unsettled. Nothing has been
heard from the efforts of the Joint committees
of House and Senate to find suitable site for
many days. What are the committees doing?
1t is admitted in all hands that the present
post Office is a disgrace to the National Capital.
1t is entirely too small for the business that has
to be done in it, its construction is inconvenient
to the last degree, is sadly out of repair and it
is unhealthy. There is no other question af-
fecting the District now before Congress that
clamors more loudly for speedy settlement than
this Of q new post office. The gentlemen hav-
ing it in charge at both ends of the Capitol
should work together in determined effort to
settle it before the session is fortnight older.
In a letter recently written by Postmaster
Ross to Postmaster General Wanamaller, and
transmitted by the latter to the Senate Commit
tee on Public Buildings and Grounds, Capt.
Ross gives figures regarding the volume of busi-
ness of the Washington office which show in
the strongest light the unassailabe claims which
that office has on the consideration of Congress.
More than this, they reveal the rank injustice
which Washington has suffered in the matter
Ol posi- OllCe I3CllUlcS anu IOTUn q SUrlklnG OD-
ject-lesson on the helplessness of q community
which is deprived of the American right of
voting and has no one to represent its interests
in Congress. Capt. Ross's figures show that if
all the mail matter which is handled in the
Washington post office were paid for at the reg
ular rates of postage the revenues of the Office
would place it fifth on the list of offices in the
country, only New York, Chicago, Philadel-
phia and Boston exceeding it. But as an i'm
mense amount of the matter received at the
WASHINGTON Office free Under (Onpres-
sional or Departmental frank, the receipts last
year were only 3411 900. If all the free matter
were paid for the receipts for the year would
have been 81, 100000 During the month of
matter were handled in the office. OF this Ga
per cent. of the letter mail and IS per cent. of
printed matter went free. In conclusion Capt.
Ross says:
81 have given these statistics with the end in
view of emphasizing the fact that the Washing
ton office is in some respects the most impor-
tant office in the United States; that no other
Office carries much valuable matter; that no
other Office is required to receive and despatch
such great quantities of bulky and heavy mail
matter; that upon no other Office does the
speedy transaction of public business so largely
depend, and also for the purpose of showing
that the necessities of the situation are those
merely of the people of Washington, but very
largely also those of the Government of the
United States, whose business will be imperled
by the want of adequate room within which to
COuuuCG luIS NdsG anu NaludDlt pusI OiuCe DuSl-
ness.
''At a recent conference of postmasters from
many Of the principal cities of the United States
a discussion was had with regard to the proper
construction OF post offices, and the sentiment
was unanimous that the entire working force of
any first-cass office should be upon one main
floor. Among the reasons why that is so are the
following: The patrons of the office have bust
to transact with every division of the Office
and every division should be easily found, even
by strangers; on Sunday evenings at the Wash
ington Office hundreds of people call at the car
rers' windows between and o'clock P. NJ;
if all of these were required to use elevators to
60 to and return from the carriers department
great confusion and delay would ensue; the
hosting up three stories of tons of heavy mail
received from Congress and the Departments to
be distributed, and then to be brought down
again for despatch would be an unnecessary
and expensive system in many ways. A prop
erly devised Office would be so constructed that
the whole working force may be viewed and in
spected from one point of observation"
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