Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1901-12-16
SEEKING MORE PAY
Rural Mail Carriers Organize to
Secure Increase in
Salary.
IT PRESENT SESSION OF CONGRESS
First Assistant Postmaster General
in sympathy With the
Movement.

Rural mail carriers in this section of
the state are organizing to secure at
the present session of congress an in
crease of salary. The carriers are
just now the most discontinued lot
of workers in Uncle Sans big de-
partment, and il is claimed that many
of them will quit the service unless
they can get more money. 1t is any
thing but a pleasant job in winter,
and with the cold weather of the
last week or so there has come in
creased grumbIing. Under the pres
ent law a carrier must furnish his
own team and feed his own horses
the year around. He must purchase
a uniform and give bond for $500.
His salary is $500 a year and it takes
nearly all of the first years income
to equip a twenty-five mile route, and
few of them are less than that in
length. 1t requires about 5000 year
for horse feed and wagon grease, so
that the average carrier has about
S25 a month with which to keep him
self and family. In hundreds of
cases he must be up before daylight, |
and when his team is cleaned off and |
stabbed the afternoon is well spent.
William NJ. Johnson, first assistant |
postmaster generaI, in his recent re-
port had this to say:
Conditions East and West.
Many very urgent representations
have reached this Office that the an
nual pay of the rural mail carriers
should be increased. Many proposed
services are held in allegiance on this
account. The carriers are more dis
inclined to accept the present low
salary because the pay can only be
transmitted to them monthly and the
warrants are often necessarily delay
ed in Washington. In some states
where horses are cheap and forage
abundant $500 for n service which oc-
cupies only part of Il day is regard
ed as good pay, and there is
scramble among farmers sons TO get
On the other hand,
in New England and the extreme ives
tern states, where forage is scarce
and dear. n man who owns a team can ,
make more money with it than a
rural carrier receives. ,
1t is not deemed desirable To es-
ablish a graduated scale of salaries ,
IT the present time, except on the ,
,tItTdl rune Ol allowing olOO lOI edcn /;
i've miles of n route. Nevertheless, :
he hardships presented by individual I
asses have not failed to command at ,
ention, and it is the earnest wish of ,
his office to adopt some plan that ,
will afford relief, without making q
calculated 10 pro i
note jeaIousies between states and
sections or to Justify n charge of un- I
air preference" :
Farmers Help. q
Inquiries develop the fact that some G
armers who have greatly appre- a
lated the service are helping TO keep 5
t going. On one of the eastern Illi-
ois routes is n young man who re- =
ides in town but has Il brother-in-
ishes the carrier all the oats, straw,
nd other feed he needs, and also
ives him jug of milk for his family =
Sc every day. The carrier is credit
d with being one of tine best in the b
ervice. and the farmer has taken so p
luch interest in the route that he is e
elping Uncle Sam to keep il run N
ing. There are hundreds of cases
Ike this. and many routes would be
DnstantIy changing carriers were
ley not similarly encouraged.
The northern Illinois carriers have e
CURED that they should receive not p
ss than $3.50 a year, and the work g
Iey have already started is in this h
rectiOn.