Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1898-12-01

les similar to that of letter carriers so
as TO give fair prospect of advance
ment ana certainty or compensation.
At present there is no rule or system
for the grading OF clerks at postoffices.
1t is contended that an efficient pos
office clerk is the peer of a letter car
rier and that there should be no priv
ileges accorded 10 either class.
The hours of labor of letter-car-
rier are limited by law to eight hours
! day and he is allowed fifteen days
leave of absence per year. Postofflce
| clerks have no limitation in their
| hours and no vacation without loss Of
/ salary. An appropriation of $4,000
/ is requested for the employmenB of
substitute clerks to allow vacations.
/ An appropriation of S11 100000, an
| increase of 100000 over this year, is
/ recommended for the next fiscal year
| for clerkhire. Congress having ap-
propriated 100000 less than the de-
partment estimate for clerkhire dur-
! ing the past fiscal year, considerable
| embarrassment has ensued in meeting
/ emergencies incident to the great in
/ crease OF puDIlc business.
/ The constellation OF postofhces q
! again recommended. Congress is
! asked to repeal the law forbidding the
! abolition of a postofhce located at aCy
! county seat by consolidation of post
| offices. The abolition Of small post
omces contiguous to large office hay-
| ing free delivery and the establish
/ - g
! lieu thereof, MIR. heath says, has oeen
! found TO result not only in a vastly
| improved public service but q. in
substantial saving in expenses and he
desires authority to continue this plan.
Authority is asked to make the CLERK
hire appropriation apply to all classes
of poStoftices. AT present an allow
ance for c4erkhire can only be given
| to first and second-class postmasters.
Many third-class postoffices which only
escape by a few hundred dollars of re-
! ceipts have so much business that il
| is impossible for any one person to
properly attend to it, and the postmas-
tiers are constantly compelled to pay
| for clerical help out of their own SAL
| aries. There are 1910 third-claSs
postoffices, 100 second-class and 11S
frst-class. One result claimed is that
| it would remove the temptation for
postmasters to pad their receipts or
to fraudulently increase their appar-
ent revenues so as to get into the sec
| Ond class.
free delivery was extended during
the fiscal year to tfty-nine Offices.
Additional offices entitled to free de
| livery number ITO. During the cuS-
rent fiscal year service has been estab-
| lished at thirty-four Of these offices,
| leaving seventy-six to await the ON
sideration of the department The first
assistant postmaster general recon-
mends modification of the eight
| hour law as applied to letter-carriers
so as to provide for the eight hours
| for six days work and only as many
hours on Sunday within the eight
hour limit as are absolutely necessary
for the requirements of the service.
This recommendation is in accord
with the views expressed by the con-
vention Of postmasters recently held
at Detroit and it is believed its adop-
IlOu WOulu uQ66L LIE approval VI LD6
letter carrierc themselves.
Mr. Heath recommends an addi-
tional grade of carrier to be known
as carrier sergeant in all cities having
| fifty carriers or more and that these
! positions be assigned by competitive
| examination among the carriers who
have served five years or more. The
duties of these sergeants would be TO
supervise the work of letter carriers
on their routes and to investigate
complaints He asks an appropriation
| for salaries of carriers at eStablihed
Office for the next fiscal year Of $12,-
697 200: for the salaries o. letter car
riers at new offices 100000; for horse
! hire allowance, 100000; carfare and
bicycles S195, 900: all other inciden:als
$150000, making grand total for this
service of s14,512,2O0 He recom-
mends a repeal of the law requiring
the use of the present form of money
order, in the interest of safety and
simplicity and also authorization for
the use of postal check payable to
bearer.
A detailed report of the operations
of the rural free delivery will be pre-
sented within few days. Congress In
creased the appropriation for this
purpose from $4,000 to $4,000 and
Mr.. Heath recommends in view od the
success of the extension or the ssry-
ice and the satisfaction it has given
that an appropriation Of 100000 be
made for rural free delivery during
the next fiscal year.