The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-01-21
NO MORE CARRIERS.
The Washington Authorities
Won't Improve Hobo
ken's Postal Service.
NOT THE APosTMAsTER's FAULT
The Goo Coos Were Too Previous
With the Resolutions
of Criticism.
NOT THE POSTMAsTER's FAULT

Some time ago the Good Government
Club of Hoboken severely censured the
postal management of that city for the
deficiency in the service. Postmaster
James Curran refuted the charges at the
time and subsequent developments seem
to have justified the stand he took in the
matter. Mr. Curran has from time to
time made representations to Washing
ton as to the requirements of his depart
ment. Yesterday he received the follow
ng communication form the Bureau at
Washington
Postmaster, Hoboken, N. Js-
SlrTlt appears by the statements
forwarded to this office by you recent
ly that your carriers, many of them,
are unable to serve their routes eff
GENTLY and satisfactorily within eight
hours. AS you have been frequently
informed by letters and orders from
the department, overtime cannot be
tolerated under any clrcllnss sa1Ies. u,
after careful, personal investigation,
you find that the districts are too
large. and that it is impossible for the
carriers to render. good service, you
will cut off some of the outlying terri
tory from the routes where necessary,
or reduce the number OF deliveries and
collections in order to bring the time
Of the carriers within eight hours
The appropriation for the mainten-
ance of free delivery service during
the current fiscal year is nearly over
drawn and no additional carriers can
ance of the year.
Very respectfully,
PERRY S. HEATH,
First Assistant Postmaster General.
The recommendation of cutting off the
outlying district concerns Weehawken
and that portion of Hoboken lying north
of Fourteenth street. A large number of
free delivery boxes have been put in by
the residents in these sections at their
own expense. Under the circumstances,
the people of Hoboken think it would be
decidedly unfair to shut them off alto
gether or give them only one delivery.
ties at Washington is due to the fact
that there is now a deficiency in the
postal service of S11,000,000 and with
view of making up. the deficiency it has
been decided to cut into the free deliv
cry department.. 1t is said that it has
been decided to dismiss forty Newark let
city.
Owing to the fact that Hoboken has at
present an entirely inadequate force, no
attempt will be made to reduce it. The
shown disposition to be generous to Ho-
boken. 1t has been like drawing teeth to
get them to allow an additional letter car
rier and when one has been allowed it
has always been necessary for the post
master to make a trip to Washington.
When his application has been granted,
an attempt has always beea~ made to
equaliZe things by diScharging a clerk or
reducing salary.
The eight-hour law forbids the working
of any Government official for more than
eight hours a day. The delivery routes
of each of the seventeen carriers in the
city are so long that each day their time
limit expires before they nave completed
their delivery. The result is that letters
reach their destination a day late, and
crowds of angry citizens besiege the post
office daily with complaints. Since Satur-
day last, up to this morning, more than
10S0 pieces of mail matter mostly let
ters, have been delivered a day late. The
this, but there is no disposition on their
part to give any relief, and the likelihood
deficiency has been made up.