The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-08-24
THE FOuRTH-oLAss POsTMAsTERs
WANT TO BE FREED THERE
FIsOsr AT ONCE.
EIGHTEEN COUNTIES SEND
REPRESENTATIVES, TO A WARM
MEETING HELD YESTERDAY AT
WHITE BEAR.
THE UBIQUITOUS sPoILs SYSTEM
In Such Harsh Terms Do the ResO-
Iutfons'Adopted Refer to Ex-
listing Abuses.

The movement on foot In Minnesota
| to organize the 1860 fourth-class post
| masters In the state in an association
Tor the purpose of securing better COM
| penSatton and other concessions from
the government crystallized yesterday
IN very successful meeting at Har-
| uy s NALL White Bear Lake.
There were not a great number of
postmasters present, probably. owing
to the location Of the meeting, but in
all eighteen counties were represented
| either by letter or in person, and the
movement starts off with every prom
Use OF success At any rate, the ASSOC
clated postmasters expect to WELD an
| increased power in the effort to Sc
cure legislation in their behalf :. mr.
Inc real object Of the fourth-rate
postmasters is to secure the passage
through congress of the Cummings and
| the Hardy bills. The former provides
for an increase Of wages, and the lat
ter for the payment of satisfactory
fees for the handling of money orders
in fourth-class postoff1ces Both bills
are now hung up in the pigeon holes
Of the national capitol, and it is the
| intention of the postmasters to arouse
|
| as congress reassembles.
The fourth-rate. postmaster is not
well paid official, and the government
poorly repays the services these men
| render. In many Instances the fourth
rate postmaster earns but $50 a year,
| doing hard manual labor which should
command four, times that sum- The
fourth class postmaster is paid in pro-
| I,
office transaGts Annually.In the sparse
sly settled districts this sum is very
small, beings practically no compensa-
ton at all for services performed.
/ There are in the United States over
10000 fourth-cIass postmasters, and if
the movement is successful in organic
ing this big army Of national employees
it's influence Will be strongly felt There
are already organizations in Connecti-
/ cut, Wisconsin,, Massachusetts and 9TH
| er states, and the movement is rap
idly spreading through the country.
r. At yesterdays meeting, Chisago,
Washington, Meeker. Hennepin, Ram
sey, Isanti, Anoka, Wabasha, Wright
and rStearnS were heard from by let
| ter or in person in answer to the cir
| cu1ars sent out, and the reports were
| all very favorable to the plan of OPP
Grafton. The secondary object of the
association is to secure the introduce
ton of a more rigid system of civil
service reform in connection with the
appointment of fourth-class postmas-
tiers, and the placing of this division
on an equal non partisan basis with
other national branches of service.
The staff Of officers appointed by the
committees was confirmed at yester-
days meeting, as follows:
President.P. F. Murphy, North st. Paul.
Vice Presdent-F. w. Jayne, Grant.
Recording Secretary. ]. Markoe, White
Bear.
Corresponding secretary-w. ]. o'Brien,
4 st. Paul Park.
Additional Members Of Executive Commit
tee-T. Fee. Mendoza; William Rawleigh,
| Combs
Treasurer-Miss Mary Beason, Centerville.
President Murphy made very salts
factory report of the work yesterday,
| saying that he had heard from nearly
all of the circulars which had been sent
out, and that IN every case the fourth
class postmasters were greatly inter-
ested in the project, and would lend
every aid. 1t was thought that had
there been time to have sent out more
circulars there would have been a still
greater response The work will be
pushed in every county in the state,
and the next meeting of the fourth
| class postmaSters will be held subject
| to the call of the executive committee.
The real result of the meeting was
| the adoption of the following resolu-
lions, which speak for themselves in no
unmistakable terms:
| Whereas, The fourth class postmasters of
the United States a body Of government
officials numbering now about 1000 persons,
| are admitted by all those who have given
amongst the most inadequately paid of any
body OF men in the government employ in
| view of the responsibilities and the steady
and unremitting attention to duty required
of them; and II TX
Whereas, The civil service commission,
| the postmasterdgeneHal and our friends in
up our cause with view to improving our
condition and enabling us to give to the pub
| lie the most perfect service within our
| power; therefore, be 1t
| Resolved That we, representing a large
| proportion Of the fourth-class postmssters of
| the state of Minnesota, do hereby fully az
| prove and adopt as our own the resolutions
passed by several of our brother postmasters
| on the 9Th inst at preliminary meeting in
North st. Paul, Mimi, and that we appeal
| to the people of the United States to aid us
| in our demands for fair compensation for
services rendered and in our demands that
the fo1rth-class postofices of this country
be made an integral part of the postoffice de-
partment of the United States on the same
basis that any large commercial house would
conduct us business. mat the employees
| of the department be appointed and retained
| in Office simply on their merits and ability
to perform properly the important and re-
| sponsible duties assigned to them.
/ Resolved, That this can be best accom-
| plished by extending to those Offices the pro-
lection of the civil service laws, which pro-
| lection urgently request for all fourth
class offices in this country.
Resolved, That we indorse the Cummings
and Hardy bills now before congress for the
relief of fourth-class postmasters, and we
| their immediate massage.
Resolved. That we confidently rely upon
the public press of the country to aid us in
these. our just demands
Resolved, That with full consciousness
of the justice and fairness of our demands,
we united as brpther postmasters, regardless
of political affiliations or opinions as indi
| vidual citizens, t9do hereby solemnly pledge
ourselves to work earnestly and unremittingly
to lift our Offices out of the humiliation and
degrading positions. of victims of the iniquit-
Gus. spoils system until such time. as they
shall be made a permanent branch of the
| postoffice department, subject solely to its
orders without heainferference of others for
mere political partisan reasons.
Resolved, That We thank the st. Paul
d lily bIe and White Bear Life for
| the interest they have already manifested in
our movement; and also Joseph Hardy, for
the free of the hall for this meeting, and
William C. Read, agent Of Getty's block, for
courtesies extended to u.s.
Resolved, That we respectfully invite the
/ patrons of our Offices to aid US by signing
the petitions to the civil service commission
| which will be presented to them by each
postmaster in his own district
i Resolved, Further, That we call upon our
brother postmasters in every state in the
! Union to organize at once with view Of
| establishing at the earliest opportunity a ma
| tional league of fourth class postmasters.
FLAX AND IT'S GROWTH.
Subjects of Bulletin AZ of the State