Arizona republican., 1907-01-06
THE POSTAL SERVICE.

postal service was laid in part to tho
civil service There is sufficient truth
in Tie news item TO warrant the prom
inence given the story by your news
paper. but the cause for the steadily
lowering standard Of efficiency should
not be laid i'm any degree. Think, %
the civil service.
The requirements Of the postal ser
vice are such that a man capable OF
filling an office or desk position in u
postoffice or i'm the railway mail ser
vice. is also capable Of filling a pos
tiOn in commercial life at much
higher salary and in the present con-
ditiOn of commercial activity. when
capable men are i'm greater dsrrand
than ever before i'm the history of the
country. The bright young man Uncle
Sam is looking for to handle his mails
is too bright to do the work required
for the salary Uncle Sam offers. 1t is
not surprising. therefore. that as As
sistant General Postmaster Hitchco- X
says in his last report. the failure to
increase materially the compensation
of postoffice employees will seri-
ously jeopardize the efficiency OF the
service" The failure has already af-
fected the standard i'm all large post p
offices and in many small ones and in
this city, | am informed by Postmastcr
McClintock, there is not at this tim =
one name on the civil service waiting
list. II the postOffice department paid
its employees adequately the civil ser
vice waiting list would show a far diff
ferent condition, for the work in many
n ufsfsn afar,fa
~ pleasant, the pay Is sure and the
hours Of labor not excessive. The worl:
however, is onerous. requiring exceed
ingiy close attention. and especially
during the holiday season or at other
times when for any cause the regular
routine is interrupted (and this occur;
much more often in all postofnces than
the public is aware Of there are album
dant opportunities for making errors:
Vet the percentage of errors is so small
that the public rightfully believe the
mail service OF the whole country i,
perfect.
The writer speaks from slight ex-
porience. having been regular en-
ploye in the Phoenix postoffice for the
ten days Of the holiday rush season.
and in that time occupied nearly ever
position from the registry division
down 10 cancelling stamps
As an educational example of what
is expected OF a registry division
clerk the record Of a registered letter
may be of interest. \ receipt is issued
10 the sender, a duplicate being kept IN
the originating office. This receip.
shows date OF mailing the letter the
class Of mail il belongs in QetteTs are
first class) its serial number. name Of
sender. name and address OF person
addressed. postmaste-'s name and III
itial Of clerk issuing receipt-seven en-
tries. The serial number is entered on
the letter and it then goes to the for
wa9ding clerk who fills out two cards
with as many or more entries. one OF
The cards being returned To the sender
of the letter. with the signature OF par
ty receiving it at its destination in.
dorsed thereon and the other being re-
turned To the office at which the letter
was mailed. Here are more than twen-
~ entries for one letter. but il is not
quite ready to be sent To the mailing
room; il must BE- put into an envelope
Of certain sort. which entails further
bookkeeping. must be sealed i'm a GER
tain manner and must then be incloseI
IN certain style Of pouch known
technically as a stripe" because il is
made Of heavy red and white striped
canvas. Before it is sealed in IT.
striped pouch. more bookkeeping is
done; the forwarding registry man
must have q receipt from the mailing
room showing that letter No. $685. has
been placed in striped pouch No. i'll
"a. and an entry must yet be made To
show that pouch 4-I1-44 was locked
with registry lock No. I'll Now this |
is merely the detail Of the outgoing let
ter; upon arrival at its destination a
considerable part of this red tape must
be unwound, entailing nearly as great |
an amount Of bookkeeping. and the |
system is so closely interlocked that !
an error i'm any one Of the entries. !
whether Of omission or commits |
sion is almost inevitably bound to |
show UP and carries with its disclosure /
the evidence Of the "Carciessness' of |
the clerk guilty OF committing il. \ |
good postal clerk will handle perhaps a |
hundred registered pieces in an office |
like the one in this city. in a day. AMI |
at the same time suffer hundred in
terruptiOns while doing the work and |
not be charged with an error once in q
year. During the holiday rush in one
day 400 registered letters ard parcels
We're received and the other work kept |
going along with almost the usual Il
machine like precision.
4 man capable of carrying on the II
work required in the postoffices must
be reasonably bright and he must be
accurate and careful in
lis work or his error list would be eX- II
,essive; and a man capable OF Killing Il
he requirements of the registry di |,
-ision Of an office i'm the class with the
Phoenix postoffice. is capable an
bright and accurate enough TO keep II
books in a bank or to engage in other
occupations where the pay is more in II
-eeping with the service performed
\ registry clerk may receive as high i
Is $1,000 year but before attaining |,
O this pinnacle Of prosperity he must
lave given considerable time to the
erivce in less remunerative positions;
II he must have started in at the reg
stry desk at $500 a year and worked
Ip to the $1,000 salary only after two
o four years service at less pay. Tie
anne attention to his work. the same