Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-10-09
HER MAJESTY'S MAIL.
The Postal Employees Of England Get
Half the American Wages.
CARRIERS AT sS SO PER WEEK.
The Highest in tho Telegraph Service
Receive $3.50 Per Year.
WOMEN NEVER GET OVER $40 A WEEK

velopes ..Dog on Step" and with the ini-
| tials Of the letter carrier attached, felt as
though I had fallen upon something quite
| new and little exasperating as we'll. The
only dog I could learn OF which was at all
likely to be perched in the hallway of our
dwelling was a harmless young collie that
belonged next door. But surely, thought,
this cannot be what is meant; the legend
DOG on Step must be a sign by which
the postal authorities of Great Britain ex-
press in cipher something of great moment
which it is desirable that only the initiated
should find out
When, however, received, few nights
later, another letter with the same indorse-
ment upon 1t, ignorance ceased to be
virtue, and I inquired timorously what it
was all about. The reply was that it meant
Just what it said, and the further explsna-
tion was given that if a postman fails to de-
liver on any round the letters which are in
trusted to him, he must indorse upon the
envelopes the true reason therefor, and that
in our case the reason we were missed was
thst the able-bodied carrier of Her Majesty's
mails had thought discretion the better
part of valor because as he looked in at our
front gate he had been shocked ard intimi-
dated by seeing dog on the step.
Careful Oversight of the Service.
Undertaking to write upon postal affairs.
with special reference to the condition and
wages of the numerous employees in this
branch of the public service, have intro
duced the subject by the incident just given
hn Ii 10 nf
which never knew before-seems to Illus
trate both the good and the bad features of
British postal W ork; the good, in the per-
plays, and the bad, in the fact that uni
formed officer of Her Majesty, wrapped
about with so much red tape, and with
such we'll organized department behind
him, should have been turned aside from
the even path OF his duty by harmless
little collie.
Here in London you begin to get letters
at o'clock; then another delivery at 10,
and after that, if your friends or business
clients keep up their end of the line
properly, you will be hearing the postman's
the o'clock delivery, which sometimes,
of course, will not reach you until nearly
10, when you are thinking of putting on
your night cap. This is how 1t is in the
whole of London, and am assured that the
mail service is quite as good relatively in
the provincial towns.
The Telegraph Service Very Convenient.
An important branch of the British
postal service is the monopoly it has of the
telegraph business, and, beyond doubt,
this is one kind of monopoly which re-
bounds to the advantage of the public. We
are constantly hearing, from Engllshmen
that the postoffice is run for revenue only.
and that the convenience of the dear public
is an after consideration. I shall leave the
Rritishers to settle this matter for them
selves, only saying thatto an American it
seems a mighty convenient thing to find
postof1ices at such short distances from each
other, and to find, furthermore, that almost
all of these are equipped with telegraphic
appliances.
And when you discover that you can send
q message of 12 words to any part Of the
United Kingdom for the trifing sum of 13
cents. with only cent a word for what you
may desire to send in addition, your satis-
faction naturally increases. 1t mus: be noted,
however, that these IL words include the
address, and in fact two addresses, if you
need to send your own. Formerly the min
imum rate was 20 words for 25 cents, with
both addresses free, and, perhaps, for all
excepting the very shortest message. this
rate was the best. But eitheris good enough
from the American point of view, and only
for the fear we have that such cheap service
inures finally to the pecuniary disad-
vantage of postoffice employees, we should
feel strongly tempted to look upon such
system with envy.
Politics in the Service. -
Postal affairs are very prominent over
here Just at this time. One reason for this
is that new Postmaster General has just
been appointed as a recipient of the S12, 500
of salary attaching to the place. put it in
this way because under the English system
the Postmaster General has little to do be-
yond pocketing his fat pay, the real man
ageInent being in the hands of officials who,
with the rank and file of the service, hold
their berths in permanency Against the
recent dismissal of two sorters Tor alleged
interference in politics, the point is well
made that the higher and better paid
officials all do this with impunity.. The
two men dismissed were Liberals, and they
got their walking papers from Post
matter General OF the Tory stripe. This
naturally raised suspicion that
there was little party spite at the bottom
of the proceedings, and gave hope to some
that the Liberal Postmaster General would
reinstate them. But in a system having
about it so much that is permanent, it was
hardly to be expected that the only man
changed would undo what was done as a
final act by the man who preceded him;
and so it has turned out, for Mr. Arnold
Morley is scarcely in his seat before he in
forms the London Trades Council, in reply
to a petition upon the subject, that to re-
appoint the dismissed officials is foreign to
his thoughts altogether; decision which,
singular to say, puts small plum Of $50
into his pocket, for the next mail brings to
him-returned with contempt-the SUBJ
scription to that amount which he had made
toward the election expenses Of John'Burns,
one of the labor members Of the new Parlia-
ment.
The Pay of the Postal Service.
In comparison with other English work.
ers the postofice and telegraph servants
over here would seem to be we'll off in point
of wages. But they are not at all satisfied
in contrast with similar classes in the
United States the reader will judge for
himself The guarantee Of small pension
helps out somewhat, but to entitle them
selves to this boon the men have to walk
very straight and work very steadily for
very long period of years, and really, alter
oil, what is this pension allowance to men
working on small wages but tacit admis-
sion by the Government that it is not pay
ing them proper salary!
We begin with letter carriers Our fig
ures are strictly accurate as regards Lon
don; if anything, they are too high for other
places. Postmen are recruited mostly by
competitive examination from telegraph
messengers. They get Is shillings week
at first, and are raised by shilling week
per year, until, after 16 years of service,
they reach the maximum, viz, IS 80 q
week In addition to- this, their uniform is
found, and they have IS q quarter for shoe