Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1904-02-03
COMPLAINTS Of
LETTER CARRIERS
They Will Have a Hearing Before
House Committee On
POstofflces.
WILL ASK INCREASE OF SALARY
Added Work Has Not Been Followed by
Added Pay-Strange Promotion
PraCtises.
speclal Corresponding.

Special Correspondence,
Washington, Jan. 20. lsi.-A great
many interesting facts are expected to
be developed In the hearing this week
to be given members Of the Letter Car
riers association and the Association q
Railway Mail Clerks before the house
committee on postofllces and posiroods.
These men who consider themselves the
poorest paid and hardest worked en-
ployes in the government service VIII
make the strongest kind Of an effort
to influence the members Of the COM
dmittee for an increase Of salary. The
railway mail service Is In particular
~ bad way Just at present because OF
its lack Of adequate force which makes
II rather hard on the present force and
this is In a measure the fault OF the
pOstoffice department In falling to make
both reasonable and seasonabe estl-
mates to the appropriations committee
OF the house. This Is evnced by the
report Of the second assistant postmas.
ter general, who deals with this sub
jet as follows,
ESTIMATES.
THE estimates submitted to Congress
in my last annual report for increase
in force Of railway postal clerks have
proven inadequate TO handle the unpre-
cedented increase In postal business.
The recent weighing in thn middle west
demonstrated the fact that the Increase
during the past four years In volume OF
mail handled was 1906 per cent as
against our previous estimate of 10 per
cent. This explains the fact that our
clerical force has proven inadequate 10
properly handle business thrown upon
It, and II becomes necessary to ask con-
gress to provide In the urgent deficiency
bill for 300 additional clerks OF the va
rous grades"
The appropriations committee COM
piled with this request In a most re-
markable way. After the language OF
the appropriation for the railway mail
SO modified as to allow this Increase
asked for by the second assistant post
master general this clause follows;
Provided that this change shall be
made without increasing the aggregate
sum OF money appropriated for clerks
Of the several classes Of the railway
mail service In the postoflice appropri-
alton act Of March 3, 1903
A STRANGE SITUATION
After reading this clause and then
studying the other pages OF the urgent
deficiency bill the situation would
strike anyone as being very unusual.
An allowance Of 800 additional men for
the railway mail service. ~ IN each 81
the first three grades and 22S In the
last and without an addition Of one
cent to the expense Of the government
while every other item In the deficiency
bill is an appropriation 10 supply a
shortage OF funds In some department
or bureau. The question naturally
arises, how can 300 clerks be paid for
five months work at salaries ranging
from $1,000 to sii0O without any addl-
tIonal appropriation, In other words
the postofiice department which last
November did not ask for this increase
has IN some way at It's command from
the appropriation OF the current year a
sufficient amount to take care Of 800
men whose aggregate salaries for five
months would be more than $4,000
A sELF-sUPPoRTING PLAN.
II Is promised from some quarters
that on investigation II will be shown
that the men now IN the service are d.
rectly taxed 10 support the government,
that while salaries on the face are so
much yet in various ways dollars by
the thousands are kept from the men
every year. II IL alleged that part OF
this money is collected In this fashion,
A railway clerk gets promotion, He
continues on his old run and after he
has been there for month or six weeks
any advance In salary he re.
cclves notice that he has been selected
for the new place and anywhere from
three to six months after he receives
the additional compensation the pro-
motion calls for, which should have
been his long time previous, the de-
partment In the interim having practl-
cally saved or rather taxed the man
from 500 TO 500. There II no doubt
that the committee In the hearing win
take cognlzance OF this surprising sys-
tenn Of economies and may also lnves-
tigate In the future the complaints OF
business men and publishers OF news
papers and periodicals as to the inef-
hciency Of the railway mail service in
not having an adequate force Of men TO
handle the mail which Is increasing EN-
every year At present rail-
way mail clerks, working overtime as
they are, are unable TO handle the mall