St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-03-19
CARRIERS COMBINE
Move Of Postoffice Employees
Not Relished by the Au-
thorities.
LABOR UNION IN UNIFORM.
An Organization Formed to
Secure an Increase in
Salaries.
LABOR UNION IN UNIFORM.
ONE AGITATOR DISMISSED.
Postmaster General Dealing
With Dissatisfied Men as
Conspirators.

WASHINGTON, March 1S.-The
poStoffice department has informa-
ton of a powerful combination of
postal employees, designed to bralg
pressure upon congress to overturn
certain regulations and rules of the
department. The employees have
been encouraged by success in at
taching to the last postoffice ap-
preparation bill an amendment which
suspended an order of the depart
ment. This order was issued last
June, and directed that by the 1st
of May, 1896, all railway mail SER
vice employees should remove to some
point along the line of the route on
which he was employed. This was
unsatisfactory to some of the clerks,
and they obtained legislation over
ruling the order. The reason for is
suing the order is explained at the
department as necessary because at
the time the order was issued there
were about 1900 of the 1000 in the
service who did not live on the lines
where they worked. When there
that required emergency men, those
who were on leave or away from the
line where they worked escaped the
extra duty, and it fell upon those
living on the route. Of the 1900 who
were living off the lines where they
worked, all but about 800 have noti-
fled the department that they have
ar
requested. Probably all of thin will
so remove, Notwithstanding the
legislation overruling the order. The
department is now informed that
since the failure Of legislation in
the last congress increasing the pay
Of employees, combination has been
formed to pass this legislation and
also to overturn orders and rules of
the department which are unsatis-
factory to them. A high official of
the department said today:
This combination includes some
thousands of employees in the railway
mail service, the letter carriers SER
vice and in postoffices. They are all
in the classified service and protected
from removal. The aggregate amount
of the increase demanded is about
S5,OOOO0O. That, perhaps, is not of so
much Importance as the effect on the
discipline of the department and the
efficiency of the service.
These employees, numbering about
$4,000, by contribution of So each,
would reap a fund of $150,0O0 for the
maintenance of a lobby. The effect of
this combination would be to create
sentiment against the civil service
law which protects these employees
How formidable the combination may
become is a matter of conjecture, but
the whole affair is the result of con-
gress legislating to overturn the rules
and regulations of the department as
Affecting it's employees
Complaint has been made about the
order of the postmaster general in di-
recting the recall of passes to railway
mail clerks who did not live on the
line of the road where they worked,
but it is said that the order was issued
While congress was in session in order
that the clerks and their friends might
secure legislation on that subject if
they could, and as an intima ton to
congress that the department resented
interference with it's legitimate affairs.