The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1910-06-03
TWO


Georgia tell it to Senator Bacon and
Senator Clary and their congressman;
let the carriers Of Massachusetts tell
it to Senator Lodge and Senator
Crane and their congressman; let the
carriers of California tell it to Sena-
tor Perkins and Senator Flint and
their congressman. Tell it all along
the line, in every State in the Tn
ion, and if you carriers do not get
what you want it will not be your
fault. Those representatives in Wash
ington> are patriots, but, they are hui
man patriots. They are there to rep
resent the will Of the people, and in
order to know exactly what the will
of the people really is, they keep one
ear close to the ground. Give them
the "vox populi" good and hard and
things wont be so quiet along the Po-
tomac.
The rural mail carrier is the poor
est paid man in the service of the
United States government when you
consider his necessary expenses and
the responsibility of his position.
When the subject Of rural free de-
livery came up in congress last win
ter, John A. Sterling, a member
from Illinois, made an argument fav-
oring an increase of salary. In his
argument he presented a statement
showing the average, net earnings of
rural letter carriers, after providing
and maintaining the equipment nee
essary for the performance Of their
duties, for six months ending Decem-
Der 81, 1909. That statement was
compiled from expense accounts fur
nished him by carriers in practically
every congressional district IN which
rural service is operated. That state
ment shows the average net sal
airy of carriers throughout the United
States to be $3.50 per month. That
statement also shows that the aver
age net salary of South Carolina car
riers, after providing and maintain
ing the equipment necessary for the
performance Of their duties, is $29.58
per month. I am simply giving you
the figures presented by Mr.. Spalding
on the floor of congress. I do not
vouch for their accuracy, but assume
they are correct. The carrier now
receives a salary of 5000 a year. That
salary is entirely too small. He
should receive an annual salary Of
from $1,000 to $4,000, dependent upon
the length of his route and the num-
Der Of people he serves. The govern
ment is generally liberal, and some
times lavish, in its pay roll, but in
this branch of service it is attempt
ing to save and economic at the ex-
pense Of the man who faces the
weather and the storm. The argu-
ment that this department Of service
is not self-supporting is a lame *
cuse in the face of the large and ex-
travagant salaries paid clerks and
higher officials in other departments
in which millions Of dollars are
spent annually for service that has
never been and will never be self
supporting. The government has no
right to place salaries of it's employees
on an economic basis of self-support,
because the people pay their taxes
for public service and "a laborer is
worthy of his hire" whether he be
employed in the army, navy, pen
sion O. postofhce department. The
government has no right to make fish
of n and fowl of another. The men
in this service are entitled to better
pay. They are entitled to the moral
support of the whole people and
every citizen and every commercial
organization in this State, and in ev-
cry State, should get behind this
movement and let the government
know that the citizen and tax payer
recognizes and appreciates the great
benefits and advantages they are re-
ceiVing at the hands Of these men.
I have talked to you Of the service,
its needs and its remedies, but most
important of all is the R. F. D. man
himself. His work is not easy when
the sun shines-it is hard when it
rains. His work brings him nearer
to the homes and closer to the hearts
of more people than men in any other
vocation in life. He, is their daily
visitor. He is on the road amid the
rains and the sleets and the SHOWS of
winter and the smothering dusty
DAYS of midsummer finds him log