The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-12-19
VAN C0TTS JUDICIAL TASK.
HE TRIES DELINQUENT POST oFFTO1
ENrPLOl EES. 40

-" SAsAON O1DAN SOAbN1 V0A O1SAV~
EMPLO1 EES. 10
CLERKS aud Carriers VINE Are Accused Or Any
,Oasnee Cenae Reforo Him FOR Hearing ana
In eeue Gases for .sentence-Punishnent
n Hrnpesea foF werhipE Overtime.
eve have 1874 clerks and 1859 carriers in
the postal service in this city, and the small per.
oertage OF them that oome before me for trial
from time to time 10 remarkable said Post
master Van Colt recently in referring TO his
judicial experience. Mr.. Van Colt holds court
daily for the trial Of ~violators of the rules and
regulations Of the Post Office Department.. No
Post ONCE employees fined. dismissed, or other
wise punished without having had n full and
fair hearing. Tho charges must DO made in
writing upon . blank provided for tho purpose.
and attached to It Is q record OF tho character
and services Of the accused, which, IL good, milf
tates considerably in his favor.
When an employee 10 accused Of violation OF
the regulations, tho written charges arc sent By
his immediate superintendent to the general
superintendent Of the division to which he n
attached, who In turn forwards them to the
Postmaster. As q rule. trial follows within
twenty-four hours. and tho accused has the
privilege Of having q representative Of the
Clerks or Carriers Association to which he be-
longs present at tho hearing. After the charges
and specifications have been read to him. the
eSSubou Hhkob LIE bUAL0H0uJ huu Chllb buCu Wlp
nesses as he may have. The Postmaster rarely
has occasion to postpone decision, a. the merits
Of tho cases, one way or the other, are usually
very plain.
P~unishments range from q reprimand or o fne
Of q few days' pay to temporary suspension from
duty or dismissal. The Postmaster may fine or
suspend clerks, "a they arc his own appointees,
without reporting to tho department at Wash.
ington, but in cases Of removal the charges and
recommendations for discharge must DO for.
| warded to tho Postmaster.G Generals Office. In
the case Of carriers, however, any punishment
inflicted, even q reprimand. must be reported
to the department for approval, for tho reason
that they are appointed by tho Postmaster.
General.
Tho principal offences for which carriers are
tried are failure to deliver mail properly, dis.
courtesy, entering o saloon and drinking while
in uniform or on duty, drunkenness. failure to
record their time at the conclusion of each trip.
office to ia cilitate tho delivery OF mails. and,a
peculiar offence sIns to which they are especially
hours prescribed by the regulations. suS
DOING deSa on i. 'f Is s0H credit to P0P RhsS that fSs f iS
nine cases out Of ten il is discovered that. their
reasons they were delayed b Beyond the prescriSsd
s slsg for ee eSis is As m made e o1e rlhRpEsSdbi but IN 4 t RsS;
persist in their zeal they are transferred from
the d asiHesFy. &c t oTe rfllest'0a a. f K IS tsfm IN ~h TSs
offences for which clerks are tried include re-
t Rprdiiine aof failure aHS4 s to ssn ad4 'a and dispatch al hhq %ai
promptly, frequent absences from duty. putting
m fhe in p wFenS eSse e. n tTiaI n'f for IntoNissfion i,
tsais. when sRsia' cam anq hardly ashS fail Z Ps to be Of h ifntsrsss g
noted. Letter carriers. and postal clerks. too,
are sspsscaially subject to cramps %ehills"
Imposed Yielding to the enntieemsnts Of the
story, Of sudden illness and a necessary
resort to quinine and whiskey to cure. The
powered by the unaccustomed dranght Of
course forms part OF the narrative. These ex-
posure to which the carriers are subjected in all
weathers 10 remembered, for 1t is we'll known that
anaas so os SSss such io the sra fIsps' s OF w dRiiis as Is p ses
the carriers into trouble. and overhesting in
The penalty fSr intoKiestion while on duty 10
thirty days for the second and dismissal for the
third. II the case is an aggravated one. dlsmis.
sal follows the first offence.
ty men before him for trial every month. but in
the majority OF cases the offences charged are
ments of the department regulations, arc often
in a measure unjust. For instance, clerks are
bibited from so doing as the carriers are. For
this they receive no extra pay, but lot them DO
Ave or ten minutes late in reporting for duty
and charges are preferred against them at
once. May re they will receive only a repri.
mand In punishment, but the charges go against
their general record nevertheless.
A frequent excuse on the part of clerks and
carriers for failure fully to perform duty is:
II did not have time"
This, in many instances. 10 justified BY the
facts. for owing to insufficient appropriations
for Post Office work, and the consequent lack of
a sufficient force Of men. the Post Office en-
and at certain seasons. especially during the
holidays. have moro work than they can do with
In reasonable working hours. Postmaster Van
Colt expects to remedy this in the near future
by securing an addition to his force.
"When we get them" he said. II believe the
number of trials will be reduced"
Mr.. Van Cott. does not particularly like the
judicial part of his duties. and has an a~version
to the title Judge" as applied to himself.