Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1898-12-13
NEW BUILDING NEEDED.
Structure Inadequate to Requir,
ments of Department of Justice.

structure Inadequate to Require.
ments of Department of Justice.
deem 1t my duty to call to the attention
of congress the condition Of the present
building occupied by the department Of JUS
tice. The business of that department has
increased very greatly since it was es-
tablished in its present quarters. The
building now occupied by 1t is neither
large enough nor OF suitable arrangement
for the proper accommodation of the busi-
ness of the department. The supervising
suited to the use to which it IS put The
attorney general in his report states that
the library OF the department ia on the
iotted to + is so Crowded With S BOOKS as
to dangerously overload the structure. The
first floor Is occupied by the court Of claims
appearance, unsuited to tho dignity which
should attach to this important depart
ment A proper regard for the So tety. oopl.
e smple e1 souya JUSTIFY tie eapenatturs
Of Of new building i Of eommodions proper.
very advantageous Site already secured for
pied by the present structure and adjotn-
age Vo 81 2oi feet on Pepnsylvanla avenue
In this connection l may likewise refer
for the supreme court in the capitol and
suggest the wisdom Of making provision
for the erection of q separate building for
available ground near the capitol.
The Postal Service.
The postal service of the country ad-
.vances with extraordinary growth. Within
20 years both the revesues and the expen En- AZ
multiplied threefold. In the last ten years
they have nearly doubled. Our postal bust
ness grows much more rapidly than our
=.
ture Of 500, 100000 a Year, numbers 1900
post offices and enrolls 100000 employees.
This remarkable extension Of service
whish Is an accurate dndex Of ths puone
crease Of communication and business ac-
i fsae snS ea 81 sh 70 r y
menting use.
Demands of the War.
The war with spain laid new and excep-
tional labors on the post office departm emit;
forces Of the Enited States required special
mail arrangements for every camp and
every campaign. The communication be.
places OF rendezvous as many as $4,000 let
ters day required handling. This neces-
patch Of experienced men from the estab-
lished force and by directing all the instru-
mentalities Of the railway mail and post
hCCCSSdlS
new need. Congress passed an act empow-
ering the postmaster-general to establish
offices or branches at every military camp
or station, and under this authority the
postal machinery was speedily put into
effective operation.
Under the same authority, when our
forces moved upon Cuba, Porto Rico and
the Philippines, they were attended and
followed by the postal service. Though
the act of congress authorized the appoint
ment of postmasters where necessary. 1t
was early determined that the public in
terests would be best subseryed not by
new designations. but by the detail of ex-
perienced men familiar with every branch
Of the service, and this policy was steadily
followed. When the territory which was
the theater of conflict came into our pos
session, It became necessary to reesta blish
mail facilities for the resident population
as we'll as to provide them for our forces
Of occupation, and the former requirement
was met through the, extension and appli-
cation of the latter obligation. gave the
requisite authority, and the same general
principle was applied to this as to other
branches Of civil administration under
more particularly given in the report Of
the enthusiastically and, while the work
is only Just begun. II is pleasing to be able
to say that the service in the territory
which has come under our control Is al
ready materially improved.