The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-05-18
THE LETTER CARRIERS.
A State Organization to BE Perfected
May 30.

John y. Parsons, of New York. president
of the National Association of Letter Car
riers, was at the Grand Hotel yesterday.
He is making a tour of the country, in
speeding the local organizations. He met
the letter carriers organization of this city
to advise it i'm regard to the meeting TO be
held i'm this city May 30 to organize a state
association. There are twenty-six local let
ter carriers associations in Indiana, and 1T
is felt that the time has come to band
them together. Mr.. Parsons will not be
able to attend the Indiana meeting, for he
is due, May so, at the industrial exposition
at New Orleans. That day will be letter
carriers day at the exposition, and it is ex-
pected that all the letter carriers organi-
cations in the South will be represented at
the celebration. There are twenty thousand
letter carriers i'm the United States, and
most of them belong to the organization.
The purpose of the organization, as Mr..
Parsons explained it last night, is to i'm
prove the mail service and in doing so bene-
fit the business of letter carrying. He
pointed out that in 1894 fifteen letter car
riers out Of one hundred were unable to
hold their positions on account of the ILL
working of the civil-service law, while In
1898 the ratio became one dismissal among
every one hundred letter carriers. This con-
dition, he said, was due to the organiza-
ton. Mr.. Parsons's part in bringing about
this Improvement is indicated in that he is
known to letter carriers as the Little
Giant" Mr.. Parsons said that the letter
carriers were enthusiastic for the present
national administration.
President Mckinley" he said, sis the
best man that ever sat In the White House,
from a letter carriers standpoint. He has
made thousands of fast friends over the
country for his firm stand for civil service.
Republican conventions in his " State
denounced o Siyil s seryiee; and Sdr though WI It Md made
ley did not change in his advocacy OF civil
service. 1t used to be that a postofhce in
spector would investigate the charges
against a pOStof1ice emplOye In the post
masters office. The emplOye would be ques-
toned right there where the postmaster,
who had brought the charges against him,
could bully him. The result was that the
ratio of dismissals ran up. Our organization
went to President Mckinley and explained
matters to him, and asked him to instruct
the postmaster general to issue an order
that would change the existing conditions.
He replied that he would issue the order
himself, for the existing conditions were
clearly violations of the civil-service law
And he did issue the order.
The result is that when charges are
brought against a mail carrier he has the
Washington. He has ten days In which to
file a reply, and he can either file it in the
form of affidavits or present his side OF the
case personally by going to Washington.
That is what President Mckinley has done
for civil service. Postmaster General
Smiths appointment was a very good one.
The postal department. under his rule. Is in
excellent condition. There is no doubt that
he had the authority to bar Edward Atkin-
sons stuff out of the mails. Neither is there
any doubt that he was right In doing IL.
The literature was intended to create sedi-
tious feeling among the soldiers at Manila,
and the mails are not for the use of any
kind of conspirators, especially not for con-
SniratOrS against the government