Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-03-01
Complaint Continues Against
Poor Postal Service.
CASES ARE NOT "IS0LATED"
Claim of Postmaster Not Substan.
tiated by Facts.
PROTESTS STILL NUMEROUS
Letter Addressed to a Department
Official Twelve Days on Trip
Through the City. ;

postmaster Barnes says that the present
city delivery service is better than IL has
been at any time since he took charge Of
| the office, and that complaints about de-
layed letters are merely isolated c6eS
1t Is quite true that one case OF a de-
layed letter, segregated or fenced off all
by itself, is an isolated case. But then
the question arises. How many isolated
cases make an epidemic? Complaints
about delayed letters pour into the Office
of The Star constantly. "Isolated cases"
are brought in without number, each COM
plainant usually declaring that the spe-
cific delay or oelays which he recounts
are merely one or two of q great. many
which he had passed over in the hope that
some improvement in the service would be
made.
How Is This for Delaye
Occasionally a complainant is amazed
that persons should worry about a letter
being only one or two days late when
there are worse things happening. That Is
the case with an official of the Depart
ment of Commerce and Labor, who writes
as follows to The Star:
1.-The city post office. or it's management.
is receiving some criticisms for DELAY in
delivery of mail. which seems remarkable
considering the fact that the delays COM
planned of only cover periods of from
twenty-four to forty-eight hours As "A
matter of fact. have a letter which was
mailed from station B on February II
and / only received it on the morning
delivery OF February -. Twelve good
days between sending and delivering is
going some.'
The Star has adverted before to the
serious consequences that may follow de-
lays in the delivery of letters. For years
the public has had confidence that the
city post office would deliver letters ac-
curately and promptly, and this conf
deEce was justified. so that it was con-
sldered that the mailing of a letter viz
tually guaranteed its delivery within "A
reasonable time. Once in great while an
error would occur. but these were so in
frequent that it was always understood
that some adequate explanation of the
mistake existed. Even letters imperfectly
addressed would reach their destination
swiftly and surely. But now ii is the
common experience that letters with adj
dresses plainly typewritten are either car
rted to the wrong address or are allowed
to remain for days in the post Office pos
sibly buried under pile Of other letters
also waiting to be carried from their tomb
to the persons impatiently awaiting them.
Where Responsibility Rests.
1t is undeniable that laxity of admins
tration. shown clearly in the poor results
now SO definitely established that they
are matter of public comment and OF
everyday knowledge, is referable in the
last instance to the directing chief, upon
whose shoulders must fall the blame OF
errors committed by those under him.
But Mr.. Barnes does not recognize tho
existence of any cause for complaint, and
this seems to promise no relief for the
poor postal service offered to the Wash
ington public.