Omaha daily bee., 1912-09-20
POSTMASTERS ASK MORE PAY
President Barry Discusses Effect of
Recent Changes in Salaries.
RECOMMENDS A SALARY BASIS
Rural Delivery and Decrease OF Box
Rents Has Reduced Pay In Many
Offices--Allowance for
Clerk Hire Needed.

RICHMOND, Va, Sept. ia readjust-
ment Of the pay in the offices of the
third and fourth class in keeping with
the present demands Of the postal serv-
ice is urged by Charles o. Barry, presi-
Itentgof the National aIseagues OF Post
masters In an address delivered before
that body here today. He said in part:
s'Some very interesting figures may be
gathered by reviewing the last official
register. 1t shows that out Of 1862 Of
fices of the fourth class, 25,S17 pay less
than 500 per year. The third district has
the largest number of this class, with
6,lSS, and out Of the number 4,2Os pay
less than $l00 per year. The eighth dis
trict makes the best showing, but even
in this 1,793 pay less than $500 and 9O5
less than $780,
over $77,000OoO is now being ex-
pended to give city and rural patrons
daily mail at their doors without ex-
pense to them. This has caused much
complaint among the patrons in the
smaller cities and towns on account Of
the present schedule of box rents and
during the last session Of congress bill
was introduced to allow free box rents In
these places Under the present plan OF
basing salaries in the third and fourth
class offices, it Is plain to be seen what
penny postage and free box rents would
do 1t is coming, and to prepare for II
I would raoon, and that tha .,o,,nro r.-...
own all postoffice fixtures and that all
offices be placed upon a salary with no
office paying less than $500 per year;
that the pay be based upon the amount
OF mall handled and to include the per-
centage on box rents and postal savings
business in fourth class offices; that
clerk hire be based upon the postmaster's
salary as follows: All offices paying less
than $1,000 and having rural delivery, the
allowance stall be 10 per cent OF the
postmaster's salary; from $1,000 to $3.50
Is per cent and from $3.50 to and in
cluding $500 40 per cent OF the post
masters salary.
Civil Service Text Needed,
"Civil service in order to be successful
must be based upon some merit of eff
cheney and in order to hold that standard
all employees should submit to a certain
test at certain stated intervals. There is
a fear, and there Is some grounds for It,
that the placing of the employees under
come Indifferent, thinking that they are
protected by a. life tenure and that no
exertlon on their part to keep abreast Of
the time Is necessary. This could be
overcome by making our annual meet
ings schools Of instructions and requir-
ing all to attend and once in four years
test them upon the working points of
the office and all new orders.
THE use and abuse of the appointive
power OF the great postal department
that Is made such prominent feature
by the newspapers each year has caused
many to view the postal system with
disgust. President Taft and Postmaster
General Hitchcock, who have been COM
PEELED to spend nearly one-half of their
time In deciding the merits Of these
cases, are heartily in favor of the ex-
tension of the civil service We decided
to submit the matter to the 5000 cities
and towns of the country for an indi-
vidual expression on the further exten-
sion Of civil service. We expect to be
able to furnish at the close of this con-
vention the petitions from 90 per cent Of
these cities and towns asking for the
extension of the classified
service. This evidence will be placed In
the hands of the postmaster general to
be submitted by him to the president
when definite action on his part will be
urged by the legislative COM
mittee Of the league" /