Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1892-10-03

ever, that these twelve words include tn
address, and in fact two addresses, /
you need to send your own. Formerly
the minimum rate was twenty words TO
twenty-five cents, with both sddresses
free, and, perhaps, for all excepting th,
very shortest messages. this rate was thi
best. But either Is good enough from
the American point of view, and onl,
for the fear we have that such cbeai
service innures finally to the pecunisr,
disadvantage of postoffice employees, W,
should feel strongly tempted to lool
upon such = system with envy.
Postal affairs are very prominent owe
| here just at this time. One reason TO
this is that a new postmaster genera
has just been appointed as recipien
of the twelve thousand five hundred dol
lars of salary attaching to the place. W,
put it in this way because under th,
English system the postmaster genera
has little to do beyond pocketing his ia
pay, the real management being in tn,
hands of officials who. with the rank snc
file of the service, hold their bsrths il
permaueDcy. We are not sure, all thing.
considered, that it is any better for tn,
higher grade of postUffice men TO enjoy
the spoils permanently than for thest
spoils to be given TO the victors, and Il
Is quite evident, from the sgitation 90
ing on, that our doubts upon this point
are shared by the subordinates of thee,
| favored personages. Against the recent
dismissed of two surteTs for alleged inter
ference in politics, the point is well mad,
that the higher and better paid officials
| all do this with impuuity. The two mer
dismissed were Liberals, and they got
their walking papers from a postmaster
/ nE h.. =
| rally rGised a suspicion that there was a
| little party spite at the bottom of the
proceedings, and gave hope 10 some that
| the Liberal postmaster general would re-
instate them. But in system having
about it go much that is permanent, 1.
was hardly to be expected that the only
| man changed would undo what was done
as final act by the man who preceded
him; and SO it has turned out, for Mr. Ar
mold Morley is scarcely in his seat before
he informs the London trades council, in
reply to a petition upon the subject, that
to re-appoint the dismissed officials is for
eign to his thoughts altogether; decision
which, singular to say, puts a email plum
of seven hundred and fifty dollars iuto his
pocket, for the next mail brings to him-
returned with contemplate subscription
to that amount which he had made to-
wards the election expenses of John
Burns, one of the labor members Of the
new parliament
Among The complaints made against
those high up in postal service by those
low down are q few which make spicy
reading; as, for instance, the following
which we take verbatim from an article by
Mr.. W. E. CleIy in the United Service
magazine: "Postal appointments being
by nomination, it said much for the
shrewdness of those who controlled the
administration of the postoffice that they
favored recruits TO the postal service who
would not, By contrast, too glaringly de-
monstrate the fact that nobleman's sta
BILE or squire's farmysrd is not the best
place for training man to be fit to occu-
py supervising desk, nor the surest guar
antee of that refinement and education
which one reasonably expects to meet with
in gentlemen occupying such petitions" +"
All this, whether deserved or not, is GER
tainly suggestive of how things generally
go in England, and SO is the charge that
''Never, surely, was a monarchisl system
more closely knitted by marriage ties than
is the official ring at St. Martins -le-
Grand" "Of cour.e it would be difficult
to prove" Gays Mr.. Clery, "whst is never
theless the fact, that promotion goss by
marriage in the pOstoffics." In illustra-
tion he gives this instance: "The last de-
partmental committee with which. as an
official of the Fawcet: association, l was
connected, consisted Of three nominated
offi 3isls, under the presidency of the head
of one of the departments. Small as this
number was, it included two brothers in
law, and l believe all four members are
connected by marriage The cry cf those
who claim to have suffered under this sys-
tenn, and the urgent demand of a large
.,f fha % 4 ~.
er abuses and grievances should at once be
investigated by royal commission.
In comparison with other English work
ers the postofice and telegraph servants
over here would seem to be well off in
point of wages. But they are not at all
satisfied themselves, and how iudifferen,ly
they fare in contrast with similar classes
in the United States ths reader will Judge
for himself. The guarantee of Il small
pension helps ont come what, but to enti-
tie themselves TO this boom the men have
to walk very straight and work very stead
lily for very long period OF years, and,
really, after all, what is this pension al
lowance to men working on small wages
but tscit admission by the government
that 1t is not paying them q proper salary
We begin with letter carriers. Our fig-
ures are strictly accurate rs regards Lon
don; If anything they are too high for
other places. Postmsn are recruited most
ly by competitive examination from tele-
graph messengers. They get eighteen
shiilings week at fret, and are raised by
a shilling a week per year, until, after six
| teen years of service, they reach The maxi
mum, where they must remain ever after
wards, viz, eight dollars and fifty cents q
week. In addition to this their uniform
is found, and they have five dollars quar-
| ter for shoe leather. This information is
| afforded by Mr. John Cooke, editor of the
| Post, which is the organ of the Fawcett
| association. To the same gentleman we
are also indebted for the following IN re.
gard to sorters. In London there are
some three thousand working in this ca
pscity and Mr. Cooke is one of them. The
| wages of sorters Is uniform throughout
| the whole country. which Mr.. Cooke hold:
| to be unfair, as in London living Is higher
and the work much more arduous. Thes,
also have been recruited hitherto from tht
ranks of telegraph boys They begin a
| eighteen. For two years they are on pro
baton, getting eighteen shillings a weel
the fret year and nineteen shillings tb,
second. Then, if confirmed in their po-i
ton, they rise annually from that sum a
| a rate of two shillipga week each year
until they get ten dollars week. This il
the maximum while they remain in wba
|
lucky enough to get promoted to one Oi
the few vacancies occurring in the frs
class, hs may go on from ten dollars, at s
rise of fifty cents a week at the end o.
each year, until he gets to the very tip-top
viz, fourteen dollars week. By thi'
time, OF course, he will be far advanced
in years, and Mr.. Cooke estimates that tn,
average pay of those who have served a
sorters from eighteen until they are thirt!
years of aga will be about ten dollars pc
week.
For information in regard to the pay O
telegraph men We are indebted to a per
sonal acquaintance who is one of them
and to Mr.. Flowers, London secretary +
the Postal Telegraph Clerks association
Entrance is by competitive examination il
dictstioD, arithmetic, geography, &c. On
of the numerous candidates, who must al
be between fifteen and twenty-one year
of age, sixty or seventy per cent. will fail
The force in London, including substi
tutes, is about thirty five hundred, and o
these about eight hundred are females
These, of course, work on a lower seal
than the men; they have less responsible
ty and poorer pay. The highest a womal
can ever get is put at about ten dollars
week, and she begins to approach this elii
tude from a very low point indeed. Th
regulations for those of the masculin
gender are as follows: The first thre
months are spent sat school," then ther
is a probation of eight months at thre
dollars week. After that, If appointed
they are paid by the year. The frat yea
| they get two hundred and twenty five dol
lars, and they are raised at the rate O