The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1913-03-08
NEWSPAPER DELAYS
LAID TO NEW LAW
Mail Clerks Can Only Work 8
Hours. and Time Loss
Not Made tp.
RAILROADS CONGESTED
Delay in Delivery Also Due to
Bad Handling In Country
Post Offices.

MANY complaints have been received
by the circulation department of 1HE SrN,
and every other New York newspaper re-
garding the delivery of newspapers TO
out of town points. The complaints have
been based on late delivery. wrong de-
livery and non-delvery, and have come
from all sections of the country.
The trouble is not local il is largely CON
fined to- the railway service, and to bad
handling in post offices to which news
papers are sent The blame is laid on
| new law which went into effect on March
providing that mail clerks shall work
! only eight hours in ten hour day, also
on the fact that the railroads are going
through thrty-one day period OF check
| ing up the weight Of mail the Government
| sends over the roads.
This last cause is responsible for added
congesti ion at the railroad stations, but
: if newspaper il able TO get papers to the
station ten minutes earlier than they have
been required 10 do before this period set
in this should not result ii "A delay in the
time papers are delivered by mail to out
of town points.
| The real trouble il. thought To Toe that the
new law cuts down the working time OF
the railway clerks and that no appropria-
ton has been made to add extra clerks
enough 10 make up for the working hours
lost. The parcel post mail handled by
the railroads has added to the duties of
the clerks, and not enough extra men
have been put on to make up for this.
Locally the new law was Offset in its
effect by the appropriation of enough
/ n,
900 clerks a day from the auxiliary ser
vice Some of these men have never
done any work in a post Office, but they
have been able to nelp out the situation
| so thar there has been little local cause
for complaint.
country the po-tmasters have not been 10
fortunate The resu, il that they have
not been able TO get mail through n
promptly as before and i'll many instances
newspapers. being heavier than the first
class mail. bore the burden of the local
congestion.
| Usually in newspaper mailing the
papers are weighed in the presence OF
a post Office official in the newspa PER Office.
put in the bags, sealed and IA ticket Specl-
ifving the weight L. given Ia the driver of
the wagon He drives to the railroad
station. shows his ticket and the mail is
!
weighed again. The ticket is the basis
of the amount the newspaper pays the
Government and the amount the Govern
mcnt pays the railroad.
~ "A matter of business precautiOn
the railroads every few years decide to
80. that these tickets are all right. 30
now the adjustment is going on Tor all
this month. bags of newspapers being
weighed in the newspaper office and again
al tn" station,
The post Office officials have asked
newspapers to get mail to the trains ten
minutes ahead of time during the period
So the papers can make their regular
trains after being weighed again. Inc
newspapers have been usually able Ia
do this
ON saturday 80 600 papers which got
to the Pcnnsylvania station on tim"
destined for Philadelphia and points
south. wer" delayed for three hours.
although they got 10 the station fifteen
minutes before the train left. ! nL
Sun was ahl" to get its papers on this
train. tut som" of these papers, even
failed 10 reach their destinations as soon
as they should hav" done.
F. NJ. Norris. superintendent OF Rail
way Mail Service for the Second dis
trict has his Office AZ the Pennsylvania
station lie said he has given ord"r'
thai newspaper mail shall have prefer
ence over al! other mail in the early morn
/. ing nourr. ! ne lldil ~ ll' htdi pl 'i'
service is James \ lri;t, Third Assistan
Postmaster. whose Office l. III Washington
, All IN" newspaper can do 10 insure
delivery of papers by mail 10 oul OF tow
subscribers ~ TO see that u paper il All
dressed, weighed and sent TO the station
IN time. There Is in every CIr1uiauoi
department Il checking system which i
the result Of years ot study and il "a
accurate as any human devic. can be
When the complaints which have beei
received are looked up II is usually foun,
that the paper WAS not only sent on time
but was delivered 10 an out OF town pos
, office in plenty of time for gllicii delivery
Complaints that papers have not b"el
received for four days after publication
have developed the fact that they wor
delivered in III" town of the addrcS~c
, the day after publication and have hcel
blocked in the local congrst ion for tn
4 | ipf arN IN