Los Angeles herald., 1906-12-11

postal employees, and stated that I was
convinced that in many cases the sala-
fies of certain employees were made
quate: that while In recent years the
cost Of living had increased, partcu-
larly In the larger cities, there had been
no corresponding advance in the re-
muneration of postal employees, as there
had been in the cases of persons em-
ployed outside the service I then ex-
pressed the hope that the matter would
receive the earnest attention of con-
gress and that n scale of salaries be
devised that would place the question
of compensation on a more satisfactory
basis The experience of the past year
convinces me that the time has arrived
for the consideration of this important
feature of the service.
1.-THE general advance in salaries in
all industrial and commercial pursuits,
as well as the recent fiat advance of 10
per cent i'm the salaries of their en-
ployes by many of the leading railroad
systems, has naturally followed upon
the great prosperity of the country.
That the pay of many government en-
ployes is less than that of equally i'm
portant employees of railroads is admit
ted; and while it may be said that the
ranks of government employees can al
ways be recruited, 1t would seem that
this department must inevitably lose
many of the best trained and most de-
sirable among it's personnel If nothing
is done for their relief.
Competent employees are constantly
leaving the service to obtain better
wages elsewhere. The salaries paid in
the lower grades offer little inducement
to those seeking employment. Numer-
GUS vacancies caused by the reslgna-
tion of experienced clerks have to be
a hxr
thus lowering the efficiency of the SER
vice. Much of the work in our post
offices cannot be performed satisfac-
torily by such men, as years of train
ing are required before proficiency is
attained.
"The employees of this service have
right to expect that their chosen vo-
cation shall yield a sufficient income
tc meet current expenses and provide
little in addition for the needs Of the
family in times of sickness and misfor-
tune. The increased cost of living, to-
gether with the multiplying RESPONSE
bilities which result from the pheno-
menal growth of the postal service,
fairly entitle many of it's clerks and
| other employees to an increase in
salary.
Especially do the foregoing com.
ments apply to postoffice clerks, rail-
way mail clerks city carriers and rural
carriers, many of whom are, in my
judgment very inadequately compen-
sated This view isHconcurred in by
the assistant postmasters general hav-
ing immediate supervision of the work
of these employees and by many other
officials of the department who have
had occasion to investigate conditions
surrounding their employment. A COM
prehensive plan for the readjustment of
salaries of postoffice clerks and city
letter carriers will be presented in the
report of the first assistant postmaster
general.
while favorable action by the con-
gress looking to an increase in the
compensation of large numbers of en-
ployes would necessitate a substantial
increase in the appropriations, it is be-
lieved that the granting of adequate
relief would be a measure of true
economy and would instil new life into
the entire service.
Rural Delivery a Success
June 90, 1906 marked the close of ten
years experience in the free delivery
and collection of mails to and from the
residents of rural districts of the
United States living remote from post
offices and previously debarred from
easy interchange of communication by
letter with the outside world. Origin
| ally established as an experiment in
the closing months of the year 1896 and
! the first months of 1897, with all regu
lation as to it's extension, its contlnu-
arce or discontinuance, and the pay of
those engaged in the service left en-
| tirely to the discretion of the postmas-
ter general, it was continued as an 'eX-
pertinent by the express terms of the
! appropriations made for its support
until the fiscal year beginning July l,
1902 BY the postoffice appropriation
| act of that year it was formally adopt
ed as part of the permanent postal sys-
! TEN of the United States. Even then,
though the aggregate sum provided for
the service was increased several mil
lions of dollars, no explicit regulations
for its control were enacted by the con-
gress."
In concluding his report Postmaster
General Cortelyou says:
1.-THE highest efficiency in any service
can be attained only by furnishing tht
natural and proper incentives of recog.
milton of merit and adequacy of com
pensation. These are the essentials
from which develop unity of purpose
and unity of accomplishment in any
large body of employees.
zone of the most important steps
therefore that can be taken for the i'm
mediate betterment of the postal ser
vice lies in the suggested increases Of
compensation among certain classes O
employees. This is, however, but one o
many improvements that can be made.
-S>S-
, Major Allen Dies
SAN DIEGO, Dec. 1O.-Major William
, T. Allen, the British vice-consul at this
= mort was found dead in bed this morn.