Kansas City daily journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1892-1897, 1895-10-31
HOURS AND WAGES.
CLERKS ARE oRGANIZ-
ING FOR MUTUAL BENEFIT.
They Will Ask the Department to Tut
Them on Equality With Car
riers as Regards Tenure of
Office and Salaries.

The postofiice clerks held meeting last
evening in the federal court room and lis
tened 10 an address by Postmaster Reed
on some of the questions that are being
considered by the association for the pen-
eft of the service. The meeting was at
tended by nearly all of the clerks OF the
Office.
The work of the clerks in the present
campa!gn Is being directed toward the one
object Of securing from congress such leg-
islation as will place them on an equality
with and give them the advantages now
enjoyed by the letter carriers ana postal
clerks. Men in both of those branches
enjoy annual vacations on full pay, nave
IA secure tenure of Office and fixed IN
come while the clerks have no vacation,
work longer hours, no tenure of official Afe
and no fixed income, their salary belhS
based on the annual recommendations or
the postmaster.
At the recent meeting of the National
Association of Clerks it was decided to
perfect the organization so as TO make
il effective for good, and also to go TO
work at once TO secure relief The many
matters for consideration We're all tapled
except the graduated salary plA II Was
Committee. That committee Is now at
Washington in conference with the post
office department. ana Will form a plil
suitable for all and containing as muGh
good as can be secured. 1t VIII proNide
Il salary OF >J'p IpI Il new SItLi r. Mlth, ~
additional 500 each year until N,OIO IS
drawn Expert distributors and men who
handle specially difficult tasks may be
paiI more up TO 81 100 The bill will also
provide for "A fifteen day annual vacation
du nav. fN the tenure of Office as IS now
enjoyed by other branches of the service,
anu provide for an eight hour GHX.
At present the clerks work as nigh as
fourteen hours per day -nd get less pay
than carriers, who work but eight and
have vacations given them. The injustice
shown them Is known TO the department,
as was shown by the statement made by
the department TO the Carriers Assoc!a'
ton that the department would favol
nothing for the carriers at present Whl!e
the clerks were uncaret for.
Postmaster Reed spoke last evening 10
the men and assured them of his. active
sympathy for them in securing relief and
promised to do all he could TO bring it
they suffered and told them they could get
rellef by organizing for mutual good as
other branches had done. He felt certain
the department would lend all reasonable
assistance 10 the clerks in securing rea-
sonable concessions, lie is the first post
to as 5ist the clerks and his address was
received with great applause,
Assistant Postmaster Seidlltz and sev,
eral of the clerks spoke briefly, and
| aroused quite an interesr IN the work OF
the local organization.
active as II should have been OF late, and
Assistant Superintendent H. c. Schaum-
loelfel has worked hard since returning
from the meeting OF the national associa-
ton to get all the clerks into the assoca-
tion and make It effective for good. He
the local Office win be able TO give Il good
account of Itself hereafter.