The morning call., 1895-02-01
ACCEPTING CASH PRESENTS.
A Merchant Says the Custom Savers
of Coercion.
All INVESTIGATION NOW GOING ON.
A Complaint About the Carriers Christmas
Boxes Was What Started the
Trouble.

There is CONSERVATION in the ranks of
the letter-carriers. Not only will the issue
OF their Christmas souvenir be stopped, but
they will also have to answer charge of
what the Postmaster-General has lntlmated
to be mild form of coercion.
T. J. Parsons, president and manager of
the Del Monte Milling Company, makes
the complaint, and the auth critics in
Washington have ordered an investigation.
Postmaster McCoppin has submitted the
communication to the letter-carriers and
those gentlemen will formulate an answer.
The pamphlet or souvenir in question
is really valuable publication. 1t gives
the arrival and departure of all mails, the
Notable of all the local ferries and also
the arrival and departure of local and
overland trains. 1t also contains a
number of advertisements which more
than paid the cost of publication. The
letter-carriers, however, considered they
were giving full value for any sum they
might receive, and in consequence some of
them went beyond the bonds of propriety.
The result was a communication from Mr..
I. Parsons to the Postmaster-General and
the rumpus that is now going on IN the
Postoffice ensued.
~ wrote a complaint to Washington"
said Mr.. Parsons, 'and received reply a
few days ago saying the matter would be
thoroughly investigated. | don't object to
giving man Christmas-box if Think he
deserves it, but the letter carriers are bet
ter paid and work shorter hours than nine
tenths of the workingmen in San Fran
cisco. When we failed to give a douceur
either at the store or at the house the car
riers began to put on airs. They intimated
by their actions that if the sack was not
forthcoming there would be little irregu-
larity in the delivery of our mail.
'Mind you, no such statement was made,
but that was the impression left ON my
mind. / did not propose to put up with
any such treatment and accordingly wrote
to Washington.
''The letter-carriers are the servants of
the public and why they should be entitled
to Christmas-box over any of the other
employees of the Federal Government is
conundrum l cannot solve. The thing had
become almost custom and the Christ
mas card with please remember your
postman' came around as regularly as the
holiday season."
"When they tried to work it on me at
the store and also at the house / thought
it was time to call halt.
Mr.. Parsons said he had made an esti-
mate and found that the tax on the people
than $4,000.
The letter-earriers draw $500 month
and work eight hours day.
Postmaster McCoppin expressed surprise
that the matter had been made public say
ing that it was departmental information,
and therefore it was intended to be private.
''The letter containing the complaint was
returned to me by the Postmaster-General
with instructions to make an investigation
and report This have done. Ny report
was that the thing was done without my
knowledge.
"It seems that this custom is as old as
the ages. The men did not sell the souve-
Mrs, but if persons along their routes to
whom they daily delivered mail matter
were inclined to favor them with small
same spirit in which they were given.
Nevertheless, to accept money in this
way is violation of the law and the depart
ment means to put stop to it. The next
man found violating the law in this way
will be dismissed from the service. There
is no question about this. This depart
ment is determined to enforce the law to
the letter.
81 Just forwarded tc Washington all the
souvenirs could find about the Office and
have now been called upon to report the,
names of the men who were instrumental
in getting up the cards.
"Well, will Just send on the whole list
of 205 names as all were equally guilty, one
with the other, | suppose. There is no use
trying to discriminate.
81 think this complaint rather small
piece of business. It's rather mean, don't
you think? Anyway the custom will end,
ton, there will be no more souvenirs for
mail-carriers in San Francisco"