The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-02-01

IS DeaIcEeu throughout the North.
whether true or not, that a Repub-
Southern community. The sentiment to
large extent prevails that IN the South
Northern money Is welcome but Northern
men are not welcome unless they leave be-
bind them any political beliefs that differ
from these of the South and therefore
many Northern Republicans do not care TO
go To the South with their families to suffer
social ostracism. | don't know that such
a danger as this exists everywhere bat I
do know that the belief that il does exist
keeps ont of the South thousands of men
and millions of capital"
ME- wAxAHAKER's IDEAL POSTAL SERVICE.
The conversation here turned to post
Office matters and / asked the postmaster
general 10 give me IN nutshell his ideal
of what the postal service should be
and do.
Postmaster-General Wanamaker stu
died a moment and then saying, ssThe
question is rather big for nutshell" he
reached for pad of yellow foolscap paper
and rapidly wmte the following: "Our
postal service requires a number of changes
TO make il an efficient one. In the first
place the postmaster general should be
relieved from all clerical work so that he
might study postal subjects. improve upon
the old methods and construct plans for
the enlargement and expansion of the
service. He should be an ex-officio
member Of the Senate and House com
mittees on postoffices and post roads. and
he should be privileged 10 go upon the
floors OF congress TO explain such postal
subjects as are pending before that body.
Again. the government should procure
the best trained man in the postal service
ana make him the permanent secretary,
not OF the postmaster general, but OF the
postoffice department. so that the depart
ment would always have one thoroughly
able official for its routine work. This man
should receive not less than $1,000 q year.
lie should be good business manager,
and should not be removable during his
term except for MISCELLANEOUS. He should
be appointed by the president for a term of
years with the app oval of the Senate.
Il believe that all postoffices where the
rental is 500 = year and upward ought TO
be located in government buildings costing
$4,000 and upw ards, according 10 the pop
ulation of the town. In the larger cities
the postoffices should be connected with
their sub-stations by pneumatic tubes, tel
ephones and telegraphs, and the smaller
cities should be connected by telephones
with postoffices having telegraph sta
tons.
Il believe that postal telegraph and
postal savings Office ought 10 be located in
the postoffice within a walking distance
should be made at least once every day
from every office that receives forty letters
and newspapers per day.
Again, the United States should be d.
ylded into postal districts. As the bust
ness is now managed il is ike big store
with number of branches scattered at
wide distances apart. but all run from the
main establishment without any man from
the head office going ont TO investigate
their condition TO see whether their ac-
counts are correct, or whether their bust
ness is being pushed as il should be- The
different parts OF the United States have
different requirements. We need men
on the ground TO see that the
people are. getting what they need,
that the service Is pushed to the fullest
capacity, and that complaints are inyesti-
gated the moment they are made. For
this purpose the smaller postoffices should
be grouped around the larger offices for
the purpose of supervision, or the United
States should be divided into postal dis
tricts, with a superintendent of postoffices
for each district, who might be the best
postmaster in the district.
Again, believe that all postmasters
should be graded and that all employees
shoTid have liked tenure of Office with a
scale of promotion according to merit.
No one should be appointed to the railway
mail service who has not had experience in
postal work at the postotfices. and no one
should be appointed IN the postotfice de-
partment here who has not served in the
railway mail service or in one of the three
principal postoffices of the state in which
he lives and no one should be appointed at
the head of any bureau in the postoffice
department without having served at least
four years IN that department.
There" said the postmaster general, as
he handed me the four sheets of yellow
foolscap paper which contained the above,
''you have some of the changes | would
make if | could, and one that | would
dearly like to make would be that intro
ducing the postal telegraph"
Mr. wANAMAKER ON THE POSTAL TELEGRAPH.
But, Mr.. Wanamaker," said I, ~ see it
charged that your postal telegraph would
both entail expense upon the government
and be tax upon the people"
That replied the postmaster general,
sis mistake. The postal telegraph bills
before the Senate and the House give all
telegraph companies the right to bid for
the business, only they fix the rate about
third below that which the monopolies
charge Here, for instance are two great
machines One is the united telegraph
companies, dominated and made inortii-
nately profitable by one company. The
other Is the 10000 carriers of the post
office department., and the other employees
inside and outside of our free de-
livery postotfices. suppose a company
can use these carriers and messengers free
of charge. can it not do its business
cheaper and bring telegraphy within the
reach OF more people? There will be no in
creased cost to the government save per-
| haps in the little which will be expended
by a small bureau managing it, which will
be more than supported by the increase in
the postal revenue. The present COM
panies do not have to bid for the carving
of messages at the rates given, If they do
not wish to do so, and if they did care TO
do so lnasmuch as they are capitalized for
three or four times the real value of their
stock, they could cut under any company
which would have to build new lines 10
compete with them"
There is no doubt in my mind" Mr..
Wanamaker went on, ''but that under this
system the teegraphing could be done AT
profit The English telegraph. which is
real government telegraph, makes money,
and the bills before the Senate and House
simply state that there is enough inge-
nuity In the American people to assist the
telegraph companies TO do a class of work
which is waiting 10 be done. The passage
of these bills would cut down the price of
| messages, would remedy the unreliahilityof
operators and would give us limited postal
telegraph which would pay as it Went
Tor what il actually did. As for me- I
would like to take the risk of inaugural
ing the details of such plan. But if do
not enjoy that happiness, you may be as
Sured that some other postmaster general
Will. Postal telegraphy is bound TO come.
The opponents of the present bill know it.
and many of them, indeed, favor postal