The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1894-11-14
POSTAL MATTERS.
Report Of the First Assistant
Postmaster General.
The Practice of BOyCOtting Fourth Class
POstmasters for Political Reasons
Severely Condemned-MOre Mall
Handled Than Ever Before
In the History of
the Department.

ant Postmaster General Frank II. Jones,
who has supervision of the divisions of
salaries and allowances, free delivery,
post Office supplies, money order sys-
TEN, dead letter Office and correspond
ence, has submitted his annual report
for the year ended June 80, last, to the
postmaster general. The report is a
very interesting one and covers the
most important branches of the postal
service.
Mr.. Jones renews his recommends
tion of last year as to the growing evil
of boycotting of post offices:
'"The compensation of postmasters at
post offices of the fourth class consists
mainly of the cancellation of postage
stamps, upon matter actually mailedat
their Offices"
He says that, 'in many cases, owing
to political differences, selfish motives
Of storekeepers, petty jealousies, or
personal feeling from other causes the
compensation of postmasters is seri-
ously curtailed by collecting and mail
ing letters on the cars, or sending them
to an adjoining post office for mailing,
thereby depriving the fourth class
postmaster of his cancellations and
consequently reducing his salary and
( depriving first and second class post
masters of their sale of stamps, there
by reducing the receipts and office al
lowances. This is carried to grievous
extent in some communities and is such
an interference with thehsual and regu-
lar disposition of the mails as in my
Judgment calls for legislation by con-
gress."
Mr.. Jones recommends that congress
enact law allowing postmasters in
their discretion, by and with the con-
sent of the postmaster general, TO sus-
pend clerks, carriers and other em-
ployes of post Offices, not exceeding
ten days without pay, for violations OF
rules and regulations. Under the pres
ent law first offense means dismissal
! from the service He also asks for leg
islation allowing clerks and carriers in
the postal service who shall be disabled
while performing their duties, three
months leave of absence with pay. He
requests that the law in regard to the
/ classification and salaries of clerks in
the larger post offices be amended so
as to make the maximum salaries larger
for certain lines of clerical service, in
order to command the highest order or
clerical ability.
The report shows the total allowance
for clerk hire to have been SO, $780, ,S31
and S., 719, 300 on account OF salaries to
postmasters at presidential offices, OF
which there were 3,4O2. The gross re-
ceipts of those offices was sos, 1856, OPS for
the year. New York has the largest
number of post offices of any state,
leading with 2S6, and Pennsylvaniasec
ond with 248. Sixteen million dollars
were appropriated on account OF the
postmasters salaries this year and Mr..
Jones estimates that SIC, 500, 600 will be
sufficient for the next fiscal year.
Speaking of the department Mr.. Jones
says:
From information in possession OF
the department / believe that the pos
tai department to-day is handling more
mail than ever before in its history.
There are now in existence 174 third
class offices whose gross receipts range
from 81, 800 to $4,000 In my opinion it
is only fair to presume that large
number of these will enter the second
class minimum $4,000 with the next
readjustment of post office accounts,
March 81, 1896"
The report shows the number of free
delivery offices to have been 610 and
the gross receipts $45, ,SO1, ,210, a decrease
of nearly So, OO,OOo from the previous
year.