Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-11-16

committee to cooperate with like commit
tees from other postal organizations for
carrying out the spirit and purpose of this
resolution
that Eben Brewer had been for fourteen
years the editor of the Erie Dispatch, and
was generally respected and loved In the
community. Il
MIR. Beavers Address.
Mr.. Geo. W. Beavers, chief of the salary
and allowance division of the Post Office
Department, spoke, in part, as follows:
Among the principal results of your last
convention was that Congress closely fol-
lowed our recommendations on almost
every item, which permitted liberal in
creases, new appointments and larger sala-
ries at almost every tirst-class post office
in the country, and also provided, for The
first time in the history OF the department.
special appropriation for the employment
OF substitutes for clerks at the smaller
post offices while on vacation, and addi-
uonal temporary service for holiday and
election service. In our forthcoming re-
port we shall ask Congress to enact Iegfs-
laion fixing the salaries of assistant post
postmasters; classify post office clerks on
the same basis letter carriers and rail-
way postal clerks; make post office appro-
priations interchangeable so that the I'M
expended balance of one appropriation NAV
be transferred to other appropriations and
that where consolidation of post Offices is
deemed to the best interests of the ser,,ice
the same may be effected under the existing.
law, the money saved by such consolidation
being available for clerk hire, rent light
and other general expenses for the estah
1shment of stations or substations
Classification of Clerks
In this connection l would state for the
benefit of the gentlemen present that the
department has again urged the special at
tention of Congress to the bill for the
classification Of clerks in first and second
class post offices.
interchangeable Appropriations
The department has requested that 10
per centum of the appropriations of the
salary and allowance division may be made
available Interchangeable for expenditure,
but that no one item of the appropriation
shall thereby be increased more than 10
per centum. For instance II the demand
upon any one appropriation is unusual 10
per centum of another appropriation may
be transferred thereto. Under the present
law we cannot favorably consider the prop
osition. With limited interchangeable APP
preparations however, We may transfer up
to the 10 per cent limit and meet every rea-
Sonable request.
In case of post Office cOnsolda ton I'M
der the present law, the salary of the post
master. be II great or small, reverts to the
treasury and is practically lost sight of.
Postmasters' salaries are fixed by law and
are wholly dependent upon the amount of
business transacted, neICS IL the appfO-
priaton by Congress is insufficient the
same is made good later in the urgent de-
f1ciency bill. Thus, where a saving in post
masters salaries is effected it simply re-
suits in a smaller deficiency in an appro-
priation which is, as shown practically I'M
limited. Under the proposed amendment
the salaries may be made available for su-
perintendents, clerks, cleaners, rent, light
and fuel and other expenses, and in many
cases of proposed consolidation now under
consideration We can show net saving to
the government. but have been unable to
act on account of these restrictions.
Substitutes for Clerks on Vacation.
Through the liberalty of the last Con-
gress we We're enabled for the first time
to provide substitutes for clerks on vaca-
tons at the smaller post Offices-that is,
at second-class offices where the clerical
force small, and where the absence of
one clerk would have been seriously felt.
AS a result many post office clerks received
their first va ca ton.
I'VE have asked for substantial In
crease this time and hope to meet the de-
mands of all SECOND and many of the
smaller first-class Offices