Evening star., 1902-03-12
MAIL BAG REPAIR
MR. KERN SAYS HE HAS RECEIV
ED MANYs COMPLAINTS.
Wants Congress to Make a Change
Has Not Criticised the Department,
but the System Employed.

II have noticed" said Representative
Kern of Illinois to a Star reporter today,
'the interview of Mr. w. s. Shallenberger.
the second assistant postmaster general, in
last nights Issue of The Star. in which
he sees mt to take exception to some re-
marks which 1 made on the floor Of the
House In speech delivered by me last
Saturday, In which I called attention to
conditions prevailing in the mailbag re-
pair shop operated in this city by the gov
ernment. And he undertakes. with figures
and unwarranted presumptions, to refute
my arguments
Piece Work, Not Contract.
''Mr. Shallenberger accuses me Of charg-
ing that the mail bag repair shop is oper-
ated under the contract system. II the
gentleman will take the trouble to read the
authentic report Of what / did say, as it
was printed in the Congressional Record
and correctly reported in the columns OF
The Star. he will find that did not so
charge, and that the truth Is that / very
distinctly stated the very opposite. l un-
derstand the mechanism and operations OF
the system In vogue there perfectly. 1t Is
the plecework syStem-the same system
under which every sweat shop In this coun-
try Is being and has been In days gone by
conducted. Happily some OF our state leg
1slatures. actuated by considerations of hu-
mantty and Christian principle, have abol-
ished some of the worst of these by stat
utory law.
THE second assistant postmaster general
jumps at the unwarranted conclusion that
the information in my possession relating
to conditions existing in this shop was I'M
parted to me by a certain employe OF the
establishment. He thus commits the error
OF lactng under unjust and undeServed Sus-
piciOn some entirely innocent person. l
assume full and complete responsibility for
all of my statements myself. l do not ask
anybody to share that and 1t is a wrong to
attempt to make anybody else share 1t: l
made a scapegoat for remarks l make
which may be displeasing to persons in
authority.
Received Many Complaints.
Il have not been around searching for
complaints against the mailbag repair
shop. Dozens Of persons, some of them en-
ployes In the institution and some not, have
spoken to me on the subject. The system
In use there appears to be universally con-
demned by all right-thinking people. 1t Is
notorious for its unfairness and FOR the
burdens which 1t imposes. One employe,
whom l have never seen in my life. writes
me: 1T is not merely a sweat shop; it is
slave pen
Want Change Made.
II want Mr. Shallenberger to know. and
1 believe him capable of discriminating.
that 1 was not criticising his department
nor him. / not discussing mon nor
departments when l made that speech.
was discussing principles and the relative
merits and dement's of systems l know
that he is conducting his department along
lines which We're laid down before he took
charge of it. and SO far as | am Informed,
he is doing his work with both fidelity and
efficiency. l have no fault to find with him
or his superior officers. l am asking the
Congress to make the change, which. In
my opinion, would be wholesome. humane
and in line with the enlightened demands
of the century. l want the wage system
substituted for the piece-work system in
all Of the departments of the government,
and 1 want the hard workers for the gov
ernment, the people who are required to
perform the actual work. the real and
bona fide toiiers, to be well paid for their
labor and to be provided with pleasant
and inviting surroundings
''The tendency tha country over is along
the line Of . amelorating the conditions.
Tightening the burdens and elevatins the
standard of the toflers. thanks to organ
lied labor. This Is one of the healthiest
signs OF our times The government should
not lag behind in this prodigious ard prom
Using movement. but it should rather play
a leading role in 1t.