Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-06-28
SERVICE
Butte'S Postal Force to Be
Materially Increased.
FIVE MORE CARRIERS
And Three Additional ClerkS-Carrier
System to Be Improved
Box Rentals Reduced

The patrons OF the Butte postoffice will
undoubtedly be pleased to know that the
Washington authorities have at last rec
ognized officially the Importance of Butte
as a mail distributing center, and the
recognition carries with it numerous and
much needed improvements in the local
service. The improvements consist in
an increase in the clerical force, which
will greatly facilitate the handling of
the great volume of mail matter that
daily passes through the office, an in
crease of mail carriers, which will mean
the betterment of the service by just 100
per cent in the business portion of the
city, and the extension of carrier dis
tribution to remote sections of the city,
an increase of salaries of the faithful en-
ployes, and a general decrease in box
rentals.
The improvements will be greatly APP
preciated by the patrons of the Butte
| office, and are due, first to the increase
in the business of the office and the lnde-
| fatigability with which Postmaster
George w. Irwin has kept this increase
| and the need of improvement before the
eyes of the postal authorities in WASH
| ington. Mr.. Irwin has been in charge of
the office IS months, and on the beginning
of this fiscal year, July /, 1898, succeeded
in securing three additional clerks, for
which he was allowed s., 200 annually in
the aggregate. At the same time an al
lowance of $500 for increase in the sala-
ries of the clerical force was made, and
sub-stations, No. 2 at Centerville and No.
3 at No. 1101 Talbot avenue, We're estab-
lished, for which an aggregate annual
allowance of 5000 was made.
The increase for the beginning of the
new fiscal year, On the first Of next
month, comprises three additional clerks
for which there is an aggregate allow
ance for the year of 81, 800, and five addi-
tional carriers, for which the allowance
is 81, 250, and an increase in the allowance
for clerical service of $500. This makes a
total increase since Mr.. rvin' incum-
bercy of 1850 in money, while the per-
sornel of the office force has been aug
mented by the addition of Is men, or a
general increase in money and men of
80 IS per cent.
In addition to this augmentation Of the
postal employees there has been a mate
rial reduction in box rentals, something
which the postmaster has been trying to
bring about, and which go into effect on
the first Of next month. The reductions
are as follows: Small lock boxes, from
$1.5O to Is cents per quarter; large lock
boxes, from 81 to 81 per quarter; lock
drawers, from 80 to $1.50 per quarter.
The rentals of the large mail bins will
remain the same-$2 per quarter.
In the future the clerks will have Is
days leave of absence annually, under
pay, as will also the carriers. For the
carriers, substitutes will be employed,
which will prevent thisa arrangement from
interfering with the efficiency of this SER
vice. The clerks will take their vacations
during; the summer, and as two will be
away all the time during the summer the
increase in clerical help will not make
an effective showing until fall, when va
cation time is over. Then the arrange
ment will be such hat there will be no
waiting at any of the windows.
A business route carrier district has
been arranged comprising that portion of
the city bounded by Arizona, Montana.
Porphyry and Copper streets. In this
district the mail will be distributed four
times a day instead of twice daily, as
is the present arrangement. The re-
mainder of the city will be served twice
daily, but the carrier district limits will
be extended very materially, SO as to take
in everything with the exception of a few
scattering houses, as far as the School
of Mines, north to the Walkerville town.
site line, east to the Green Mountain mine
and Anaconda hill, and south commence
ing at the old Silver Bow mill site, fol-
lowing the old Montana railroad track
to the Montana street crossing. across the
railroad and taking in the Williamsburg
and Boulevard districts. The five CART
ers will be appointed July 1, and this serv-
ice will be in effect about Is lays later.
and in the extreme and outlying districts
at first there will probably be but one dis
tribution and collection of mail daily, but
this service may be increased later. Mr.,
Irwin made an application for two mount
ed carriers but this was denied. Had it
been granted there would have been a
free rural delivery in all the OUTLYING