The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1906-12-26
TOO SMALL
AND MANY RURAL CARRIERS
ARE QUILlNG.
Fourth Assistant Postmaster General
EcGrsw Very Correctly Thinks
it Should be Increased.

Rursl nall carriers sre resignln
from the service st the rate Of 400
mouth. Lsst month the resigns
tions aggregated nearly 500. Diff
Guilty is being experienced bY th
Postofice Department. not cnly Il
! retaining, but in cbssintng, the ser
vices Of trustw orthy nen In the ca
pscity OF rural csrrisrs.
Some Of these fine mornings, ssit
Fourth Assistano Postmaster Geners
De Grav, I'VE shall wake up snd fat
that We have no rural mail service, i
these designations continue at tht
pregent rate"
What is the trou5le?"
Salaries" replied Mr.. De Graw
lscoHicaily. "The men, particularly
those on the more extended routes
where the residences Of the people
are scattered, discover, after . trial
that they can rot make enough fair
ly to pay them for their time an6
labor, We pay the rursl carriers
only $3.50 year SID they have to fnd
themselves. It has been dercngtrss
Cd satisfactorily, I think, that that
Is not enough. The departments Is
tryins to inouce Congress to increase
the compensation OF the rural carriers
but it Il Sc uphill job. I hope we
nay succeed. Il must be evident
that we can not retsin the services OF
the righ, kind OF men fcr such salaries
as we now pay.
The rural mail service lss grown
immensely IN 8 few years aud increas
demands are being nads upon it. It
has been ns6e upon 1t. It has
proved to be as the city delivery snd
now has become an absolutely necesst
sy. Despite the smsn salaries paid
:he carriers. We get very efhcient sec-
vice.
The carriers generally are loyal and
prompt and, so long IS they remain
In the service, do their work well.
Throughout the country We had dur
ing the past year 1866 carriers
That number has been increased a
good many hundreds since the first
d last July. The class OF men who
sre appoint led nay be judged from
The fact that, Of the more than IS, 900
men, only 167 were removed for cause
curing the whole Of the last fiscal
year. In the same period, however,
the designations Ct 4, AL carriers wsce
accepted. Thst is about II psr cent
Of the entire number. Since the end Of
the fiscal yesr, the percentage of re-
has jumped to Is per cent
and befors the close OF the year p;ooa-
bly, will be even greater than that.
II We do not succssd in obtaining
IN increase Of pay to1 the carriers we
shsl be confronted, before long, with
G serious problem. In msny instances
We shall be obliged to reesasbliSh
oostomcss which we're discontinued
wher the rural service was put into
operation. That is 5 backward step
Thich, it Is to be hoped: we may not
nave to take"
'Whas do you think the compen-
sstion OF caIrie,s oughs to bs?'
Perhaps" replied Mr.. De, Gcsw,
the compensation ought to be grad
ed sccording to the route, 1 beleivs
she maximum pay, for routes Of twsn-
5y.f7e niles or more, should be 5000
year. Some OF the shorter routes
ought to pay 3 little le S than thst.
At any rate, at a salary OF $3.50 psf
spnum is too small for man who
has to finnish his own horse and We
atcle and pay sll Of bis own expenses
I heleiYe the arguments in support OF
.he necessary increase will nppeal to
Congress and really hope that in a
short time, We shall be able 20 give
the carriers something like aSeQusse
psy."