Arizona republican., 1909-06-30
THE MAIL SERVICE
 IS HARPOONED SUGGESTED CORRECTION OF ITS
 DEFECTS. A Phoenix Publication Starts on That
 Mission.

| tionar reputation.
 The new publication is owned and edited by Urban A. Walter of Ohio. a | former mail clerk, who is in Arizona in the hopes of benefiting his health. | The magazine is devoted to the dis cussion of some of the questions which 1 vitally affect the welfare of the rail way mail clerk, and is intended to throw light upon some of the methods of the postoffice department which, it is alleged, work hardship and injus tice upon this hard working class of government employees. The editor has no personal animositv which prompts him to undertake the work. He does not make scurrilous general attacks upon the administration but states that he merely seeks to state the condi- tions as they are and to attract the attention of the business public to the wrongs which the public is allowing to be perpetuated in a branch of the peo- ples service.
 The editor himself was a mail clerk for eight years, running between New York and Chicago. During his service, when he was actually on duty and un- i der the orders of his superintendent, he received injuries in a wreck which resulted in the breaking of his health. According to his statement, he was | given leave without pay for the time necessary for the recovery of his health. The department has several times asked for his resignation be- cause his physical improvement has been too slow.
 Finally, MT. Walter came to the con clusion to publish The Harpoon and, in spite of the fact that its issue may be followed by his dishonorable dis | charge because of his violation of the rules of the department which forbid those in the mail service making com | plaints, criticisms of, or suggestions | concerning the service to any but their | direct superiors, he has fully decided | upon his stand and to make the publi- | cation permanent.
 The Harpoon does not purport to be the official organ of he railway mail | clerks, nor does it claim to have their | sanction. The new magazine is the work of an individual who desires to throw light upon some of the methods | of the department in the treatment of the government employees and the edi- tor depends upon the truth of his statements and the forcefulness with | which his argument is presented to win the allegiance and the support of the clerks Without the backing Of the clerks the circulation of the publica- | tion would be impossible. With an as- sured circulation numbering nearly all of the clerks among its patrons, and other person in each locality in the l fn ment which will rapidly force upon the department the adoption of the i'm provements suggested Until the cir culation among the mail clerks, of whom there are 16,0O0, shall reach IT, 900, each of the magazines will be sent with a stamp and the publication will not seek to obtain entrance to the post as second class matter.
 Besides being sent to all who are engaged in the work of throwing mail on the railroad postoffices. each of the newspaper offices in the country will be mailed a copy. In many quarters there will be papers, according to the claim of the editor, which will give their strongest advocacy to the secur- ing of the improvements which he de- mands. All of the publicity which is possible, is the motto of the editor. who merely wants to have his infOr- nation placed before the public
 The first number will hold the at tention of any who may look within the covers. The articles are forcefully written and picture evils which, if they exist in the degree the editor as serts they do should be remedied, and that immediately
 The Harpoon is attractiveIy bound in yellow cover, on which is a long, red harpoon placed diagonally across both the back and front. Below the , weapon is printed "The magazine that . hurts" Then For postal clerks" and . tn signature. Phoenix, Arizona On the , back is the written sentiment of the . editor that this issue is but begin |. ming. and that he has not yet got his . hand in.
 . Throughout the book reference is frequent to the so-called Gag rule and the fact that the gag is nailed. Seri- . Ous protest is made against the rules : by which postal employe is forbidden upon pain of dismissal to make public any of the details of a wreck in which : he himself may be. or any wreck which
 
 may have been due to a non-compli- ancS with the laws or with criminal , neglect on the part of the railroad company or its employees, the lips of the man in the government service are sealed. On the first page is a cut of a head-stone with the Tn Memorium" engraved thereon. Above the cut Is the word 'Silenced," and below it are some pointed questions as to the con struction of the car in which two pos- tai clerks burned to death in a wreck on the Pennsylvania lines last Feb ruary.
 The first article is an announcement of the purpose of the Harpoon. At the top of the page in bold letters is Strike? No, Publicity? Yes," The statement of purpose covers several pages. but its pages may be summed up in the following paragraph:
 Its purpose is neither to antago- nize nor to conciliate the postoffice department. To us a spade is a spade: cowardice Is cowardice; abuse is abuse; justice is justice. In the inter est of the peoples service and peoples employees our talk will be plain, blunt, straight from the shoulder. We do not l-l.a hn af .l.I,