Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1911-07-09

receipts put behind. But if not. expect to
keep on paying our way"
But has not this cutting down the expense cur
tailed the service?"
mo, indeed" was the reply. I'VE have reduced
the deficit by extending the service and that along
profitable lines During the last two years have
added more than 5000 new postoffices, and have
established more than 1000 rural delivery routes
of an aggregate distance of more than $1,000 miles,
or enough to reach twice around the world We have
increased our force of employees by between 5000
and 5000 and have put the railway service about
500 more men than we had in the past
1--WE have extended the salary list and raised the
rate of compensation in many cases. The annual
amount paid for salaries has been by about
$12,00000O and the average salary of the postoffce
clerk has gone up from 1919 to $1,O51. There has
been an increase in the of the letter carriers
and also of the rural delivery
1--WE have also improved the city postoffices. and
have given them 1900 more clerks, and at the same
time have put 1000 letter carriers. You
cannot reduce the expenses of business like this
by cutting down the force of employees The post
masters general of the past tried that and failed
The trouble lie the you lessen the force you
reduce the efficiency. The wheels of the machinery
become clogged the mails pile up and complaints flow
in. It takes lot OF time to answer the complaints
and to the service to make it efficient
again. AS a result the loss is greater than ever.
Modern Business Methods for the PostOffice.
NO. continued the postmaster general 1.-THE
wiping out of the deficit has been due more than
anything else to the introduction of modern business
methods into the service. We have the waste
wherever possible have adopted all of labor
saving devices and have tried to improve the efficiency
of the clerks. You we have 325 900 employees,
and most of them high-priced men. We have
many here who receiving $1,000 and 81, 200 and
upward years They good men, but we have to
handle them properly to their greatest efficiency
I'VE have done this in the city postoffces by in
PRODUCING travelling belts overhead carriers and other
machines to carry the mail matter from place place
in the offices The letters faced up by machinery
and the stamps Cancelled at the rate of
The mail comes from the cars and after it enters
the postoffice it goes almost without stopping to
the letter carrier who is to deliver it.
1T is the same with other things. We are saving
freight by cutting down the weight of bags
We saving in the rural delivery by studying the
country for ourselves and putting the where
they will serve the most people instead of allowing
congressman to locate them for political purposes.
When establish carrier delivery we make
the town where 1t give the best arrangements
for handling the mail We insist their improving
the streets and-that every house shall have its own
letter box for receiving its mail In this way the
postman drops in his letters without stopping and
ringing the bell expect to the time come when
that will be required in all Of the cities
Railway Mail Service Greatly Improved.
I'VE have also improved the railway mail service
continued Mr. Hitchcock. 1T used to be sort Of an