Evening star., 1899-11-07
NEED OFs MORE CLERKS
II =
The Accounting Branch of the Postal
Service.
Increased Force Nnnifed by Legisla.
Out the Less Efficient.


ted to the Secretary of the Treasury.
points out at sonle length the necessity for
an increase in the clerical force of his
office. He says:
In my last annual report, and in the
estimates submitted to Congress by the
honorable Secretary of the Treasury, re-
quest was made for an increase of fifty
clerks Tor this bureau. This request was
based upon the anticipated large increase
OF our labors and upon the avowed neces-
slty for better accounting methods in some
OF the largest items of postal expenditure.
The result was that an increase of
twelve clerks was allowed. instead of the
fifty requested. This would not have been
suEnclent to properly take care of the nat
ural increase of business. But even this
apparent concession was more than neu-
trai1Zed by contemporaneous legislation,
Whlch excludes Sundays and holidays from
consideration in computing the thirty days
annual leave given to each employe, and
by more liberal construction of sick leave
allowances.
1T was absolutely impossible, therefore,
TO undertake any new work, however i'm
peratlvely demanded by the public in
terests which involved Withdrawing any
considerable number of employees from that
on which they We're engaged The numer-
Gus changes and improvements hereinbefore
set form We're so adjusted to each other
as TO provide. by the release of labor in one
section through simplifed methods for the
increased labor in other sections
Dismissal of Clerks.
But the increasing pressure of current
work in every division and section soon
compelled resort to the only remaining
alternative - that of recommending the
summary dismissal of clerks whom an i'm
parual investigation showed to have fallen
peioW reasonable minimum standard of
niacns ~ anu the sunstltutlen IN lhelr
This was an infenseiv disaeraaahie and IL,
some of its aspects, almost a cruel task
But 1t was manifest necessity, and the
piooess Is no" gong on, 10 the appreclaple
..,Tbis poaa,s ~ ,;f t.; ,o,,or IT,,
;tad IN axtont u i Leei 10 ,, I'm, IN
Hn,i+ OF tba nracoaa 80 i.t .aSi.;I o,"i
clerks n,ust ba sao,,roa e.. tri h,,rn,, a.
the e.rJv futnre or &c n-orll n,;I, ronid1t,
get in arrears Tbe irs,,itahia consaniianns
of that would no 70 80, serioI,sI,, drinnIo
the nosta1 service and 70 y-astIv incrasse
the pnmhor nf dof,Iint;nu. 80 1,,,t,,aIo
ments for which tba enormous sI,nS of
money order funds handled hv nostmasters
afford a ta,,ntirn f,aIa
.T Shan tbarafora ,aou.s+ tho Tra,srr,,
Denartmnrt " srbr,it ar estinna+a fny
tbirtv add;tionoI aiarlls as tho n,ini,onn,
rnnniranoant of ,,i. hH,r.a,, fnr tha tisani al
wear bepinninp INV 1900 IF that in
croasa SIau bo o,ra|',+ad ,,,a ,,,a,, hona h,,
beln Of Tho in1roued Methods anS in
creased eficianrp aireadI- inanpurated To
taly Of Z oil in hrr-i
49, o1d 70 80 a. n-6ner aoan,n+ing
system to the imnortant unoccunied fields
above aIlnded to = -"
@'io0eu w.
Postai Savings Banks - fostaI Iele-
graphs
1.-The supposed success of the money-order
s,,s+a,,, hae orz,,ron+,,, .+,n,uIa+a1 n do
mas 'pp,'i ei' ~
h'ahu LOT extensions ol soNeliiiiei'ai "u-
mlnistrauon into similar and even more
doubtful fields. Aside from propositions of
gnvarrroant ownershin of railroads and for
-, ,.. -. ,o4 ,,o,.,,e...,,
the apsofptloh oi soiie si'@' iiiaiiui eio' 'oi
Ing enterprises as an aiegeo remedy Ior
trust despoism, neither of which has as
yet assumed a visible concrete FORM there
are AT least two measures which are being
yjporousIv nresssd both Of them s1lbiec 6
OF MANY bills introduced at each succeed
ing session of Congress. These measures
are the estabIisn nment of postal savings
banks and postal tel graphs
ut is not proposed to enter into any ar
e,uments for or against these measures in
this reDort Since under present accounting
regulations the enormous volume of trans
actions which would inevitably suit from
the inauguration of either or both of these
enterprises would at once fall upon this
bur eau it is certainly not inopportune to
suggest that in making provision therefor
it is yitallv important the accounting fea-
ture be very seriously considered.
..The risk of undertaking responsibilities
for which the machinery of government is
not fitted is ever present in the mind of the
statesman This risk will be much more
serious in accounting than in administra-
tive branches
..The snIendid executive faculty of the
American people seems to have no limit to
its capacity for extending the scope of COM
merciaI and financial enterprises Whether
under purely governmental auspices will
develop the necessary wisdom 10 DEVISE
80; a.,.. -, 20 carr,, on tho ,Insantirnentai
unattra Give unpopular work of auditing
and bookkeeping, so that complete cogni-
zance may be kept ana perfect accuracy
assured IS sepai &c anu serious oe qutS
sarIr;oe nndar pnvernmentai control are to
be entered upon prudence would dictate
as an essential preliminary. a carefully di-
gested legislative provision for an adequate
accounting system The one we have for
the postal service seems to have grown up
haphazard, more by natural accreton than
bv scientific development until the legisla-
ton of 1894 sought to reduce it to shane
But that legislation was so hasty and so
faulty at some points that several of its
boasted improvements have already been
abandoned
..Rius were pendng in the last Compress
which appropriated $50 600 900 if necessary
to buy or build a postal telegraph. but did
not even mention. much less provide for
anv pIan or force for keeping and auditine
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