The copper era., 1908-12-31
REORGANIZATION OF POSTAL SERVICE
Is What the Establishment of Postal
 Savings Bank Means.


 Washington, D. C., Dec. 23.-Con- gress is discovering that to establish a postal savings bank system is going to be a much more complicated un- dertaking than had been supposed, and before it can be achieved it may Le necessary to reorganize the entire postal service. The matter has been up for discussion in the senate and the more senators have. talked about it the more numerous have appeared the problems that must be solved.
 Under the bill as now outlined, a depositor would have to make appi-' cation for any money he wanted to withdraw, the application would have to be sent on to Washington and here audited and check returned before the money could be had. A man out on the Pacific coast would have to wait two weeks, at least, before he could get his money, and that would be a decidedly unattractive feature of the governments venture into the banking business.
 To overcome this objection, it is proposed to decentralize the entire postal service, dividing the work now done in Washington up among some fifteen field districts with their head quarters in cities in different parts of the country. Such decentralization of the postal service is considered de- sirable, even apart from the postal savings system. Such {. scheme al- ready has been put in operation in the forest service and gives every promise of working successfully. The forest service, however, is a small thing compared with the postal ser wee, and reorganization of the lat ter, such as is planned, would be one 0f the most important reforms of many years1 in the executive branch of the government.
 The argument was presented in the senate that as savings banks require from thirty to ninety days notice of withdrawals the requiring of d depos- itor in the postal savings bank to wait fifteen days would not be hard ship. The answer to this was that in view of the low rate of interest the government proposed to pay, some other inducement in addition to the increased security would have to be offered. If a man could apply for his money one day and receive it the next, it was argued, a powerful at traction would be afforded.
 Another point on which there is wide difference of opinion in the sen ate is whether the money of a depos- itor should be withdrawable from any postotfice or only from the postoffice in which he makes his deposits. Un- der the European system of postal savings banks the money may be withdrawn at any postoffice, subject to safeguards as to identification, etc. Under the bill pending in the senate, withdrawals may only be made at the office of deposit. Many senators regard this as the most se- rious objection to the proposed postal bank system.
 It was suggested in debate the other day that any postmaster ought to be authorized to pay out money on the presentation of a pass book, but this clearly is impractical. Clever rogues would most certainly find some way to swinde the government.
 When it becomes generally known that congress contemplates distrib- uting the employees of the postal ser vice in other cities throughout the country, d great wall of protest is going to gU up from Washington Objections to sending employees of the forest service out west were loud and strenuous, but that was only a marker to what would happen if the postal service is to be divided.
 Washington, of course, depends largely for it's existence on the gov ernment employees. Their salaries are never reduced, their pay days are always regular, and even though times may be hard in other parts of the country the depression is not se- riously felt here.
 But this tendency to distribute the government employees oyer the coun- try is appalling. If the thing should become fashionable, what is going to become of Washington? If she for est and postal services may to dd- vantage be divided up o yer the coun- try, why not other departments? There would seem to be as much req son why the general land office should transact it's business in the west as the forest service, and it might be found advantageous to divide army and navy administration up over the country.
 Poetic 0utburst Over A Little Strang:r.