The Alaska citizen., 1911-01-30
OUR POST OFFICE
 TROUBLES
FIRST ASSISTANT POSTMASTER GENERAL SIZES UP THE
 SITUATION.

In the mail arriving on Saturday night a copy of the report of the First Assistant Postmaster General was received. A section of the re port. which is of peculiar interest to Fairbanks, app ars under the head of Unusual Conditions in Post Offices" and is here reproduc. ed:
 Unusual Conditions in Post Offices.
 Since The passage of the act of March 2, 1907, fixing the initial sal. ary of p-st office clerks and city letter carriers at $500. the depart, mgul has received numerous com plain's from pCstmaStcrs in Alaska and in certain regions of the West of their inability to keep their off c.s manned with competent help. owing to the great demand for labor in their communities and the high wages paid there in other lines of employment. In many cases it has proved impossible to maintain eff ci nj service without allowing larger salaries than are provided for by the classification act, and in order 70 escape the limitations imposed br that legislation the department has been compelled 10 resort to the use of the appropriation for unusual conditions. The salaries paid out of this appropriation have ranged up to S1,ioO in the United States proper and as high as $2.2OO in Alaska. The total amount expended there firm for clerk hire al offices Of the first and second classes eXcee1ci S35.000 in the last fiscal year. The appropriation has not, however. been adequate to meet all the demands of
 his character and it has conseuuent- lF been necessary in some cities 10 pav for regular srryice at the rate If go cents an hour out of the appro- nriati II for temporary clerks and carriers. while an even greater mum her of offices are still suffering SC -er ly from incompetent and ire 1uentlv changinS help without the 'epartment being able to afford them any relief.
 In order to remedy these cOndi ti~nS and avoid so far as praCtica- hle tho use of the approximations fir unusual conditions and for tenn porary clerk hire in paving for regu- lar service the department urgently commented in several annual re ports the passage of an amendment 'o the classification act prOv'dine that the Postmaster General might, when neC CesSarv. authorize the ap- nnin'mcnt of clerks and carriers at salaries above S60O, the understand ing being that such clerks and car ricrs would be paid from the regu- lar appropriati~ns and graded and promoted in the usua. way.
 Last year congress responded to
 his recommendation by adding to he appropriation for unusual con- litions a proviso which has the cf- feet f limiting to S1.2OO the salar- ics Cf clerks and carriers at offices where unusual conditions prevail and of restricting to $f5.O00 the to- taI amount that may he expended at such offices in localities havino . population of not more than 10000 inhabitants This restriction applies to practically all the offices where T total of $25.O00 was expended for clerk hire during the preceding ifs cal year. The amount allowed by the provisO is utterly inadeuuate to permit he service to be carried on at such offices. The allowances were reduced 10 minimum. but he departm mt has hecn unable to 'een the expenditures much below S15.G00 during the first six months cf he current fiscal year. If, therefore. an additional amount is not prompt ly made available by the congress il will be necessary to discontinue the service at a number of offices in Alaska and Nevada including Nome. Fairbanks and Goldfeld.
 The provision that the maximum salary paid at the Alaskan offices m ntiened shall not exceed sl.20O threatened for a time to make it impossible to secure help at those offices. The department finally sue ceeaed, however. in retaining the clerks in the Nome office by ap- pointing them and their wives at S1 ,200 each while at Fairbanks the box renters have ben making up he sum necessary to retain the ser vices Of the clerks These .cOndi- lions are deplorable and should be promptly remedied by the repeal of the provisO above referred to and the enactment of legislation author i@ing the pOstmaster-general to util- i2e the regular appropriations for clerks and city letter carriers for the payment of such employees at :,l