Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1912-11-14
Trade BOARD AIDS
| POSTOFF|CE FIGHT.
viii Send Representatives to
Secretary of the
Treasury.
NEED ADDITIONAL ROOM
FOR NEW PARCELS POST
Postmaster Book and Others
Tell of lnadequacy of Pres
emf Building.

A delegation from the Board of
Trade will appear before the secre-
tary of the treasury at Washington
within the next week and lay before
him the necessity Of building a new
postofice in this city.
This action was deeided on by the
board last night aftef Postmaster
Frank j. Book had made a stirring
appeal for the support of the Board
of Trade in lis effort to secure a
4 congressional appropriation for the
new building.
The present p~ostof1ce, Mr.. Book
said, is inadequate, and with the in
PRODUCTION of the parcels post sys-
tenn on January l it will be further
cramped. 1t will be necessary, the
postmaster said, to rent quarters
elsewhere in the city for the accom-
mediation of the parcels post system.
Returns from a of business
men relative to the possible use of
the parcels post here, said Mr.. Book,
showed that it will be extensively
employed by commercial concerns.
Enlargement Absolutely Necessary.
''The facilities for conducting the
business of the postoffice have got
to be enlarged at once" said the
postmaster. "At present we cannot
conduct all the departments on one
floor. and this, in my opinion, Is
4 absolutely essential. 1t is the policy
of the Postofice Department. at
Washington to have all the depart
ments Of the postoffices throughout
the country on one floor.
During the ten months beginning
January 1 of this year the local
p~ostoffice has issued 131, 700 money
orders and paid 294.000, the total
amount involved in these being
49, 500. 900. BY the end of this year
we shall have handled approximately
175, 600, 900 pieces of mail, while the
number handled in 1911 was 49,
$685. 900.
From these figures it can be seen
that 1t is to the interest of the citi-
zens of this city to do what they can
to better facilities. It took seven
years to get the present p~estofice
after it was approved by the POST
office Department, and it might take
as long az that this time
In discussing the parcels post sys-
tenn, Mr.. Book stated that in answer
to questions sent out 1862 firm had
notified him hat they would send
about 5000 pieces of mail matter via
parcels post In a week. and he added
that the amount which would be re-
ceiyed in this city each week would
be far greater than this. He said
that provisions for loss or damage
of goods sent by parcels post or for
a &c. o. d." system were. in his
opinion, not likely to be inaugurated
by the government at the outset of
the adoption of the system. largely
because of the increased amount of
work they would entail.
Favors Flat Rate System.
Former Mayor Henry NJ. Doremus
added to the postmaster's statement
of lack Of room at the postoffice, say
ing that with q committee from the
Board of Trade he had visited the
Office and seen the difficulties under
which work is being performed.
James l.. Cowles. secretary Of the
Parcels Post League, of New York.
addressed the board members, speak
ing against the present parcels post
plan as provided in the Bourne bill,