The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1913-10-05
Collecting Mail in Baltimore by automobile

political business of the postoffice de-
partment and of Its closeness to the peo-
Pile. Postmaster General Burleson said:
The postoffice department outranks
any other of the executive branches In
its direct value to and connection with
the people. 1t Is the department. that is
closest to every individual and 1t is,
more than anything else, a representative
of the national government In many
communities 1t is the only representa-
tive of the national government. The
state department Is very important
part of the administration, but there are
millions of our citizens who never come
into conteact with it, or have any knowl-
edge of what 1t Is doing The agricul-
tpral department and the treasury de-
partment touch hundreds of thousands of
our citizens, but the postoffice depart
ment comes into almost daily contact
with every individual in the United
States who Is old enough to read and
write. 1t is a concern that touches the
individual, and that every day. If there
is any department that should not be
controlled by politics, It is this depart.
ment. And STILL" continued the post
master general. with a smile" the head
of the postoffice department is the man
who Is supposed to keep the executive
and legislative departments in touch
with each other. He is the intermediary
and go-between of the two"
But why Is that. Mr.. Postmaster Cen
eral?" asked.
zone reason for 1t is that the post Of
flee department is the one place to which
every congressman must come from time
to time The senator or representative
may seldom have occasion to go to the
state department. He may never have &C.
easion to go to the agricultural depart
ment, but he is sure to come to the post
office department. 1t is for this reason
That the postma ster general has dropped
INTO the business of keeping harmony
between the executive and legislative
branches There is no reason why this
should be so, and he does not always sue
coed in his job, but II seems to have de-
Neloved upon him, nevertheless"
referring to the political aspects of
the department, 1 see that you are making
the fourth-class postmasters undergo a
civil service examination to show their
fitness for office"
That is result of the executive order
OF May Z, 1913 which prescribed a test
for determining the fitness Of fourth class
postmasters under the civil service law 1t
was President Roosevelt who first brought
fourth-elass postmasters into the CLASH
lied civil service. He did that in 1905 as
TO certain of them in the northern and
northwestern states, and 1t was In Oc-
tober, 1912, that President Taft extended
the order to cover the United States
ihese oruefs Drought all the poStmasters
unoer the civil service laws without re-
quring them to show that they were fit
FOR such protection. President Wilson's
order requires that every fourth-eass
postmaster whose compensation is $3.50 or
upward must submit to a competitive ex-
animation, and 1t is based upon such ex-
aninations that the appointments were
made On March and since then we
have had over $500 fourth-class postmas-
terships vacant, and of these 100 have
been filled through civil service examine
tons or on inspectors reports. We have
between 2000 and 5000 of these fourth-class
postmasters yet to be disposed of. We are