Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1912-08-28
New Law Prevents Even Distribution of Mail in
 The Boxes.
UNSATISFA FACTORY
Local P0stOffice Employees Will Have to Work Overtime te Avoid
 Congestion.

der which is part of the postoffice appropriation act, recently passed by Congress, there will be no more lin- ing up in froEt of the general de- livery window; no necessity for business men to go to the postoffice to get their personal mail from the boxes, and hose who have been in the habit of hanging around Uncle Sans station waiting for the news papers that have the funny sheets, will wait in vain as none of the in- coming mail received at the local of- flee from Saturday right at 12 o'clock to Sunday night at the the same hour will be distributed.
 For some time the carriers win- dow have not been opened, the result of petition signed by the residents of the city for the purpose of giving as many clerks as possible rest on the Sabbath.
 Now Congress has gone even fur ther in reducing the Sunday work to minimum and one lone clerk will stay in the office for the purpose of taking care of the special delivery mail, as any missive with special delivery stamp is excluded from the new ruling. This clerk will also handle all outgoing mail and all matters dropped in the office will be sent on it's way.
 In the opinion of some of the To- cal postoffice clerks the law is an unsatisfactory one. A large amount bf incoming mail will accumulate be- tween the hours named in the new law and it is said that it will take practically the entire force, working hard from Sunday night at 1i2 o'clock to get the matter properly distributed for the carriers to start on their routes by o'clock Monday morning. None of the clerks now work over eight hours.
 A copy of the new law and the rul- ing of the department has been at the local office for several days.
 The letter accompanying the order states "the department desires to re- duce Sunday work to the minimum, so that as many employees as possible may enjoy a complete day of rest on Sunday"
 Many postoffices in cities have been closed on Sunday in the past under regulation of the postmaster general where public sentiment de- sired it. Now. however, the closing Is compulsory by law. Nothing is said about suspension of the order during the holidays.
 The Official Order. 1 Postoffice Department, Office of First Assistant Postmaster General, Washington, D. c.. August PA, 1912
 Postmaster, Pine Bluff, Ark.
 sir: The postoffice appropriation bill for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1913, provides:
 That. hereafter, postoffices of the first and second classes shall not be open on Sundays for the purpose of delivering mail to the general public, but this provision shall not prevent the prompt delivery of special deliv- cry mail.
 Under this law you will close the general delivery, carriers windows and lock boxes, and discontinue all deliveries by carriers on Sundays. You will note, however, that special delivery mail is excepted and you will arrange, therefore, to have a suffi- cient force on duty to handle this mail promptly.
 The departmen desires to reduce Sunday work toethe minimum so that as many employees as possible may enjoy complete day of rest on Sun day You should therefore, require only sufficient number of clerks 10 report for duty on that day in or der that transit mail and the mail collected for dispatch may be handled without delay. If no mail is dis patched on Sunday, very early col lection should be made on Monday morning and the mail for local de- livery distributed before the carriers ] leave for their first trip. Respectful ly, ''G. P. GRANFlND i'tFlrst Assistant Postmaster General" iis,'s Yiiss,t's soarl saspiissiHt ssosoasE dssparys