The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1903-03-12

ing precedent, was one allowing 50 for
the payment of a money order, which for
some reason has been declared invalid I'M
der the ruling of the Comptroller. This
was n Senate amendment, which was re-
jected by the House conferees.
1t is fact almost startling to contem-
plate that the largest disbursement of the
postal system does not figure anywhere in
these appropriations. l allude to the pay
ment of foreign and domestic money Or
ders Contrary to all other theories and
practices of the Government. these pay
ments, aggregating about $4OO,OO0,OOO 4
year, are held to be outside the law and
the Constitution. If you buy 80 cents
worth of stamps at pOst-office, the money
technically goes into the National Treas
ury, and can only be drawn out under
some section of this bill. But if you buy
$50 money order, it is held that the De-
partment merely undertakes to transport
your money and pay it, on your order, at
another Office.
PosTMAsTERs' SALARIES.
The appropriations for the "Ofice of
I the First Assistant Postmastcr-Generaf'
T cover compensation for vast mum erical
ma jority of the salaried officers and EN-
ployees of this entire SYSTEM, p In addition
| to the post-ofiice clerks and letter carriers
tof all classes, there are the 5000 Post
pIONiutu luE. lhC+-tOttti Nohh
pensatiOn to Postmasters" is fixed at sd,
10000. As this compensation is estab-
lished by law, based on the postal bust
ness, which is constantly increasing, there
is an annual deficit in this item, some
times, reaching over million dollars.
A jealous student of Departmental
methods, who is also an enthusiastic friend
of postal employees, says: Had l the
shaping of postal legislation for the conf
| ing fiscal year, / would first closely esti-
mate the cash resources of the Depart
ment, then add $10.0O0,00O for the work
done free for other Departments, and 3d.
100000 for the educational influence of the
service-and cheap enough at that, l am
sure. l would then largely absorb the
accruing surplus in elevating the compen-
sation of Postmasters, clerks and carriers
to the standard which such wonderfully
accurate and laborious service would COM
mand from any private employer. No
class should be overpaid-little danger of
that. But all should be fairly compen-
stated. And then, for the first time, the
sensitive American citizen who is posted
as to the facts could open his letter with
something less of a sneaking conscious
ness that the dozen or score of feet
thOughted and swift-fngered men through
whose hands it had passed in rapid, uner-
ring flight to the portals of his home. have
each been robbed of portion of their just
dues in the frantic effort to make sim
gle Department of his grand, free Govern
ment 'self-supporting.'
More than 10000 Postmasters receive
annual cOmpensatiOns of less than $50
each-anOther 10000 each receive between
$50 and 500. 1t might be inferred that
the settlement of these official accounts
would be easy. But the fact is that they
cause more trouble in the Auditors Office
than those of the larger Offices.
PosT-oFFICE CLERKS.
| The aggregate appropriations for clerk
hire in post-oflices for the year is SIS. 3d.
800, an increase of S2,674,900. This in
crease will permit an additional force at
many offices where badly needed, and will
also permit the Department to grant we'll
earned promotions to thousands of these
overworked employees. The process of
classification and adjustment which Gen
eral Superintendent Beavers, in charge Of
this branch has been skillfully carrying on
for four years, will thus be measurably
| completed. And there was need. When
he took hold of the matter chaos reigned
No two offices were alike; seldom did two
| clerks working side by side, equally eff
| cient, receive the same pay. Each city
| Office had grown up from village Office
on system, or lack of system, all its own;
throwing out roots and branches as fancy
| dictated; designating departments and the
| heads thereof, and involving the whole or
ganiZatiOn in such maze Of contradictory
functions as brought distraction TO the
superheated mental equipment of any De-
partment official who sought to compass
comprehension of it. He who has reduced
this chaos to something like harmony and
ordained justice to the hidden army of dill
gent employees is indeed a public bene-
factor.
FREE DELIVERY IN THE CITIES.
The leading item under this lead reads
as follows: For pay of letter carriers in
| Offices already established, and for sub
| stitute letter carriers and for temporary
carriers at Summer resorts, holiday, cleo
ton, and emergency service, S19,02S, 800. -
This is an increase of 81 sos, $50, and
will enable the Department to keep up
with the demands for additional help. The
present is the 10th year of its operations,
and the city delivery service presents a
record of remarkable expansion and
growth during that period. 1t is the one
branch of the Department with which the
pubic is familiar in its smallest details,
and has been APPLY described as ''the fin
growing appreciation of the value of time
and the universal endeayor to accomplish
within few days, or even hours, results
which short generation ago required
weeks and months, the importance Of the
carrier service has grown enormously. and
it is to be noted that the public-especial-
ly the business world-becomes more ex.
acting each year in demanding deliveries
and collections of the mails and the extern
sion of the service to new territory.
/. Not all claSSificationo nf noctoI avnnlov