The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1913-06-07
POSTAL SERVICE CHANGES.

Postmaster-G General Burleson ls NOT
doing himself any good nor winning
any credit for himself by the slnrs that
he is undertaking to cast upon the ad-
ministration of the department. by Mr..
Hitchcock, his predecessor. Mr.. Burle-
son has issued circular, the leading
paragraph OF which states that Gimme
diately upon his induction into office
on March 5th, Postmaster Bur
Lesson was confronted with persistent
and serious complaints throughout the
country of generally unsatisfactory
mail facilities - And the circular pro-
ceeds: "Realizing that efficient postal
facilities are vital to the commercial
prosperity of the country, and to the
social happiness Of our people, Mr.. Bur
Lesson set about at once, in q business"
like way, to remedy the defects" The
first quotation is evidently an attempt
to throw mud at his predecessor; the
second an attempt to gain credit to
himself for conspicuously good service.
AS matter of fact, there are always
complaints about unsatisfactory mail
service, and for the most part these
complaints are Just. They are, however,
by no means confined to any one admin
istration, They are precisely as numer-
ous and as well justified now as they
were under Mr.. Hitchcock s administra-
tion, and even more so; and they will
certainly be justified during all the
term of Mr.. Burleson. and also that OF
his successor. For these things cannot
be wholly mended. They exist in the
nature Of the case, and for any man to
undertake to show defects in his pre-
decessor s service by pleas of this kind,
and to exalt his own efficiency by con-
trast that does not exist, shows both
inexperience in Office and presumpt'
uous conceit that is bound to have
fall
The circular proceeds to give whole
lot of ROSY promises about what is GO
ing to be done under Postmaster Gen
eral Burleson, and he explains some
practical points of Importance, He gives
the number Of postmasterships that
were vacant on March 9TH and the mum
Der that nave become vacant since. lie
treats also of the fourth.class postmas
tershps vacant and vacating, and he
claims that all such cases care being
dealt with expeditiously. But this
is not the experience of the country.
On the contrary, the claims of procTas-
tination and delay are very loud and
very bitter
The Postmaster General states that
he has authorized number of new ru
raj routes. as though this were some.
thing out Of the ordinary, when in fact
it is a mere matter Of routine, because
additional rural routes have been au
tborized from day TO dag ever since
the rural service was established.
The Postmaster"Gen takes credit
to himself for discontinuing the back
stamping of mail. In this he has made
a decided retrograde step, for in the alb
sence Of backstamping it is impossible
for the recipient of mail to trace de-
LAYS, and the tracing OF delays, espe
cially in the receipt of newspaper cor
respondence, is very important, The
discontinuing OF this back-stamping is
not step in progress, but step back
ward.
With regard to the railway service,
Postmaster General Burleson makes ref
erence to mistaken ideas of economy
under Postmaster-Ge General Hitchcock 5
administration, which he is endeavoring
to remedy. But he is so indefinite and
vague in this that there is no indication
in fact of what he is doing.
He speaks Of the parcel post as If
it were something entirely new in his
administration, although referring to it
as beginning on January lst. The Sc
putting the parcel post into effect fell
upon Postmaster-General Hitchcock,
and not upon Postmaster~Gener Burle.
son. The latter found the parcel post
service in good working order when he
took office, and is not entitled TO the
least part Of the credit which he un-
dertakes to claim in this respect. There
is one detail, however, in which he is
entitled to credit, and that is where he
has ordered the delivery to the ad
dressee without additional charge of
parcel post matter reaching the office
of address without proper stamps af.
fixed. We have never been able TO
understand why there should be special
stamps for the parcel post service, and
in so far as Postmaster General Burle.
son may modify this regulation he is
entitled to credit,
The circular is very optimistic with
regard to contemplated changes in the
postal administration, and in the mat
ter of the effort to stnndardize the
service. Any improvements will, of
course. be welcomed by the public but
ii would be far more satisfactory to
have accomplishments rather than
promises. The old injunction against
the man that is putting on the harness