Pawtucket tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 1890-189?, 1895-03-19
A GREAT LOBBY FUND
Said to Have Been Established by
PostofIlce Employees.
Overturn Of Certain Rules
and Regulations
And The Granting oi Increased Salaries Are
The objects Contemplated.

WARRINGTON, MarCn lN.-Tno poBtoulce
department has information Of the for.
nation 0f powerful combination OF
postal employees. designed to bring pressure
upon congress to overturn certain rcgu.
lations and rules of the department..
The employees have been encouraged by
success In attaching to tho last postofflce
appropriation bill an amendment which
suspended an order Of the department.
This order was issued last June, and d.
rected that by May I. 1896. all railway
mall service employees should remove to
some point along the line Of the route on
which he was employed. This was unsat-
isfactory to some Of the clerks and they
obtained legislation overruling the order.
The reason for issuing the order is ex'
planned at the department as necessary, be-
cause at the time the order was Issued
there were about 1900 Of the 1000 clerks In
the service who did not live on tho lines
whore they worked.
When there was an accident or any
thing else that required emergency men,
those who were on lcave and away from
the line where they worked escaped the
extra duty, and 1t fell upon those living
ON the route. or tho 1900 who were living
of the lines where they worked, all but
about 800 have notified the department
that they have or will remove their homes
as requested. Probably nearly all of them
will SO remove, Notwithstanding tho
legislation overruling tho order.
THAT, perhaps, Is not of SO much i'm
portance as the effect on the discipline OF
the department and efficiency of the serv-
Ice. These employees, numbering about
10000, by a contribution OF IS each, would
raise q fund of $l50,O00 for tho main
tenance of lobby.
They Want Higher Wages.
The department Is now informed that
since the failure of legislation In the last
congress increasing the pay Of the EN-
ployes, combination has been formed
to pass this legislation and also to ovor-
turn orders and rules Of the department
which are unsatisfactory to them.
A high official of the department said
yesterday: "This combination includes
some thousands Of employees In the rail
way mail service, the letter carriers serv-
ice and the postoffices. They are all in the
classified service and protected from re-
moval. The aggregate amount Of the In
crease demanded Is about IS. .000, COO
"One effect Of this combination would
be to ~create sentiment against the civil
service law which protects these employees.
How formidable the combination may be-
come Is a matter Of conjecture, but the
whole affair Is the result Of congressional
legislation to overturn the rules and regu-
lations of the department as affecting its
employees"
Complaint has been made about the
order of the postmaster general in direct
ing the recall Of passes to railway mail
clerks who did not live on the line of
road where they worked, but it is stated
that the order was issued while congress
was in session in order that the clerks and
their friends might secure legislation OH
that subject II they would, and as an in
timation to congress that the department.
resented Interference with its legitimate
affairs.