Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1898-10-20

carry mail seven days in each week.
while others must carry mail fewer
days of the week, according to the pop
ulation. Probably some of the star
routes will carry mail only once or
twice a month.
''An of the post offices must be es-
tabiished there as first as fourth-cIass
pest offices are established IN new
communities in the United States, and
must be subject TO our laws and Gus
toms. Therefore, after approximate
ing the facts in the different sections
of the island, we will establish star
routes, make contracts with men TO
carry the mails, and select postmasters
who are intellectually and education
ally competent, and establish fourth
class post offices, leaving the salaries
to adjust themselves.
''At the end of the last term of this
calendar year. December 81, all of the
postmasters in Puerto Rico will re-
port the amount of their business TO
the third assistant postmaster general.
and these reports, having been record
ed, will be transferred to the office OF
the first assistant postmaster general.
In the salary and allowance division of
the first assistant postmaster generals
office the financial reports of the post
masters of Puerto Rico, as well as the
states and territories of the United
States, will be carefully gone over,
and the salaries of postmasters accord
ingly adjusted.
For example, / assume that a ma
jority of the fourth-class post offices
established by our commission will re-
main fourth-class post offices. Eut
when the accounts of the postmasters
at such towns as Ponce and San Juan
are considered by the salary and al
lowance division those offices will be
made third class or second class with
large salaries, and then they will be
what we call presidential post offices.
AS soon as the adjustment of the
finances shows that the salaries of the
postmasters of the larger offices should
be more than 81 600 per annum, the Of
fees will become presidential in class,
and new postmasters will be appointed
by the president, with the advice and
consent of the senate. / suppose that
when these accounts are all adjusted,
next January, it will be incumbent
upon the president to appoint at least
five or six presidential postmasters for
Puerto Rico. AS the population in
creases and the island becomes
American zed the postal business Will
expand just as have seen it grow with
the growth of the country between the
great lakes and the Pacific coast"
After receiving this interesting in
formation concerning Puerto Rico.
the writer called upon First Assist
ant Postmaster-General Heath, and
| inquired concerning the proposed
postal service in Cuba, Hawaii and the
Philippines. Gen. Heath said: You
must remember that Puerto Rico alone
is our territory; and that Cuba and
the Philippines do not belong to us
as a result of the war. In Hawaii.
where everything is already American
in spirit, we will permit the postal serv-
ice to remain just as il is, When an
nexation is complete we will proba-
+ by give American commissions to
those postal agents who srs pcw on
duty there by appointment of The y
waiian republie: That win be the nat
! ural and proper thing to do, at least
at the beginning of our assumption of
authority.
"As to Cuba, you must remember
! that we have not acquired that island /;
but have only assumed the RESPONSE
| bility of giving to the Cubans a stable
government. We cannot assume SOW
ereignty there at once. and hence we