The Minneapolis journal., 1901-11-13
MORE POSTOFFICE ROOM
1T is NEEDED IN MINNEAPOLIS
Representative of Local Interests
Discuss the Matter With Messrs.
LOvejOy and Fletcher.

Minneapolis must have increased post
Office room. The question is, how shall
she get it?
committee of newspaper men and rep
resentatives of the Commercial Club, at
the invitation of Congressman Fletcher,
met at Postmaster Lovejoy's office yes
terday afternoon to look over the build
ing and hear Mr.. Lovejoy's statement of
his requirements
recent addition to the building has
enabled the postmaster to bring a portion
of his force out of the dark and poorly
ventilated basement to the ground floor
where they can work by sunlight, but the
capacity of the building is still made
quate. About two-thirds of the carriers
cannot be accommodated in the building
at all and must work in connection with
the stations. This involves delay in the
delivery which might be saved if all car
r1ers could work from the main office. 1t
is we'll understood that the erection of a
new postoffice will involve eight or ten
years delay before it could be occupied.
In the meantime, additional capacity
must be obtained. To do this Mr.. Love
joy proposes to raise the building one
story and thus gain on the top floor ca
pac1ty for a large part of the mail handl-
ing force. 1t is thought that accommo-
dations can be provided here for $3.50 900,
of years. Mr.. Lovejoy's statement of
expense was made upon the estimate of
a government architect, who has recent
ly calculated the entire expense of en-
larging the building, as proposed, and
equipping it with suitable elevator serv-
ice and furnishings. 1t was the sense of
those present that such an increased ca
pacity was an immediate necessity and
that 1T would be no obstacle in the way
Of 11rhn
should be needed.
Weather Office Consolidation.
Another matter brought to the attention
of the Commercial club people and the
newspaper men by Mr.. Fletcher was the
proposed consolidation of the weather Of
flee in Minneapolis and st. Paul at some
point between the cities, probably on the
state farm. 1t was the conclusion of those
present, however that the location of
weather station or the state farm would
be inconvenient and calculated to impair
the service in both cities. The state
farm is more than half mile from the
interurban railway and the delay in Sc
curing reports and information, it was
thought, would be serious. For that rea-
son 1t was thought inadvisable to favor
the consolidation, but rather to insist
upon maintaining the local Office even If
it's present facilities could not be i'm
proved.
Mr.. Outram, the local observer, states
to T b e ] Journal that it is not pro-
posed to locate the station on the state
farm, but that the government buy ground
on the line Of the Como interurban and
erect a station. He thinks that arrange
ments can be made by which the reports
will be delivered more promptly to the
Chamber of Commerce than they are now,
while cards and maps would follow almost
II not quite as soon as they are now dis
tributed. He would have the telegraph
reports received at the Chamber of Com
merce and sent from there to the weather
station. In this way these reports would
be available earlier than they are now,
although the maps and other detailed in
formation will follow later through a.
special messenger delivery service.