The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1896-03-19
REDUCING CARRIER FORCE.
Text of the Letter Received by POST
master Arnold.
TOO MUCH TINE FOR OFFICE WORK

Given to Carriers, Otherwise the Of
nce is Properly COnducfed-TO Rem.
edy the Trouble Complained or
Two Carriers Must Be Dismissed.
From the State Journals Special Correspondent
WASHINGTON, March 19.-The recent
inspection of the carrier force of the To-
peka postofice by 'spetters," or, as they
are called by the department, special Sc
cret agents, did not result in
the discharge of any of them for mis- .
conduct, but two of them will
undoubtedly soon lose their places on
account of the decrease of the force
which is directed by the first assistant
postmaster general, as has been before
stated in the JOURNAL.
The reports of the inspectors show
that the carrier system in Topeka is be-
ing properly conducted with the sxcep-
ton that the carriers are allowed to
spend too much time in Office work. The
full text of the letter of the first as
sistant postmaster general TO the post
master at Topeka is as follows:
San investigation of your free delivery
service by agents of this department.
concluded February %, shows that with
these exceptions your carriers are prop
erly attending to their duties as laid out
for them. but that altogether too much
n
that leaving out of the question the IN
der time made, which in several in
stances is considerable, your carriers
aggregate nearly twenty three hours ex-
cess office time per day.
s'Some of your four trip carriers are
allowed over four hours for Office duty
and all of your men are allowed more
time in the Office than they should he
permitted to consume aud much more
than ia a1lowa0 in OthAr OffiCag
"a careful computation from reports
recently submitted and reports which
are made by the carriers themselves,
shaw that the excess time is as above
stated. After the agents had gone over
the territory of each carrier at least one
day. had taken into consideration the
time that they had taken to handle mail
and the time it should have taken them.
together with the knowledge of the
proper time they should have been en-
ployed in the office, they state that by
proper reorganization satisfactory ser
vice could be maintained with two less
carriers than you have now, and the CON-
putation made by the trip reports
of the carriers not only bears
this statement out, but also shows that
after making such a reduction, you
would still have nearly the time of one
carrier for any extra or important i'm
provement that you might desire to
make ! am satisfied that no mi ustice
would be done you or the people of To-
peka by reducing your force two men.
OF course this would require a reorgaui-
cation of your service, particularly in the
matter of schedules as to Office
time. 1t has been found in other
offices that for four trip route hours
and Is minutes is ample time for carriers
to route their mail. l desire therefore
that you at once proceed to prepare a
plan which shall provide for the reduc-
ton suggested and also submit schedules
made up on the lines herein indicated.
SIN reference to the letters to your car
riers herewith enclosed you will notice
that one of the charges is that the car
riers do not correctly report their time
when they are allowed to finish their
trips without returning to the Office.
While in some instances it may be
found necessary in order to properly
utilize the time of the carriers to permit
them to finish on their routes it is found
in m st instances to lead to practices
such as are here complained Of. Ia the
case of one of the carriers it cannot be
urged that it was necessary for him to
finish on his route as the agents state
that in returning to his homo he walks
directly by the postoffice and could as
we'll stop and make his report"