El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-12-02
Urge Postal Merit System
Assistant POstmaster's Association
says 1t VIII Give Men in the
Banks n Chance.

who work under contract, such as star
route carriers and employees of the
screen wagon service in the cities. The
main body of these employees represent
a high type of the middle class clt1-
ZenShip of the country, most OF them
men with ideas and Heads, and ready
to promote their own interests in par
ticular and those of the postal service
in general
Under previous administrations or
CARNATIONS Of postal employees were
encouraged to take up and consIder
matters outside Of their relations with
the postOffice department and the
government, but they were rlgidly de-
barred from taking their affairs up
with congress or otherwise doing any
thing that might be construed as going
over the heads Of the departmental
officials. Under the present admins
tratiOn there is different policy, but
it probably is too early to predict what
the outcome will be-
Letter Carriers Exceed 100000.
Of the total number of employees OF
the postal service more than 100000 are
letter carriers in the city delivery OF
fees and clerks in pOstOffices other
than the fourth class. There are ma
tiOnal associations Of letter carriers
and also national associations of post
office clerks They meet annually,
and their membership rolls show prob
ably a majority of those on the rolls
of the postal service. While they have
had an important hand in the promo
ton of their interests and were some
what instrumental in getting the IN
creased salaries that were granted in
1907 they have never been as active
politically as some OF the other as
sociations of postal employees
Rural Carriers Have Influence.
Perhaps the most influential of all
the associations OF postal employees IS
the national association of rural let
ter carriers. Most Of these men have
been more or less interested in pOl1t-
ical matters in their respective COM
munities, and usually the members Of
congress from their several districts
regard them as valuable friends to
have when a congressional election
comes around. The result has been
share of attention at the hands OF
congress and have no reason to COM
plain in that II has been parsimon1OuS
when their interests are pending IN
the house and the senate. The as
ISOLATION has a membership of about
$4,000 carriers, and a paper is published
in Washington devoted to their inter-
ests-
The rural carriers association is
now making a campaign to lineup
every rural carrier in the country as
a member. With the development of
the parcels post there is a possibility
Of great expansion in their business,
and they want to increase II. since
that may mean extra work and extra
compensation. With a solid front, it
is claimed. the association could IN
many ways promote the efficiency OF
the parcels post and increase the
amount of business using it in such
way that the rural mail service would
become the most important of the fac
tors in the reduction Of the high cost
Of living to the city consumer
UpheavaI Helps Railway Clerks.
One of the most active Of all the
postal associations of the country has
been the national association Of rail-
way mail clerks. It has larger mem
bership in proportion TO the total num-
Der of eigibles than any other of the
associations Of postal employees. It
was organized many years ago. There
have been times in its history when
1t was asserted by many that 1t was
used by its officers to feather their
own nests, the while leaving the rank
and file to hold the bag. AS proof OF
this it was cited that for years every
increase OF salary that came was
given to the class of clerks from
which the officers Of the association
came and that as soon as a man rose
to prominence in the association he
got a better berth in the service,
while those who remained in the ranks
continued in their own places. A few
years ago there was an upheaval in
the association as a result OF that
widespread belief among the mem-i
bers, and the cOterie who had dom
had advanced their own personal in
terests rather than those Of the as
ISOLATION, were unceremOniously kicked
out
Each of the principal classes Of post
masters have their national associa-
tons. The first class postmasterS as
ISOLATION is the smallest Of all the pos
tai associations in, point Of numbers,
there being less than 500 first class
pOStmaSterS IN the United States. But
the character of the business they do
may be inferred from the statements
that more than half Of all the postal
revenues of the country originate IN
the so largest offices Of the country,
and two-thirds of all the postal in
come originates in the offices presided /
over by these less than 500 first-clasS
pOstmaSters. In other words, in 1872,
two dollars out of every three that
was collected by the postal service was
collected in ASH first-class pOstOffices,
while the other dollar of the three
came from the more than $4,000 post
offices of the other three classes
Assistants Urge Merit System.
The assistant pOstmasters also have
their national association, and one OF
the things that they especially stand !
for is the application of the merit
system in the appointment OF post |
masters. They say that N this way J
men can start down IN the ranks IN /
the postal service and work UP to
the position of postmaster. That this |
lQea VIII ultimately De carried out ap-
pears probable. and that 1t will go
even further than that is more than
possible.
Under this idea postmasters would !
seldom serve in their home towns. |
When a fourth class postmaster at !
Ruralville proved himself unusually |
efficient he might be promoted TO /
third class office 100 miles away. And /
then, if, when there were a vacancy !
in a second class office somewhere /
else, he made an exceptional record in I
the third class office he might be called /
still higher. and so on. For instance,
under this plan a postmaster at Valley /
Forge, Pennsylvania. might be moved /
up to Carbonate, and from Carbon |
dale up to JOhnstOwn. from Johns /
town up to Pittsburg, from Pittsburg !
to Philadelphia, and even from there /
to New York.
It is pointed out that this idea does /
no violence to the usual practice in /
the business world. Who cares, it is /
asked, whether the local agent Of the /
express company comes from the home /
town or a thousand miles away2 Who ]
cares whether the bOokkeeper Of a /
hank is a home product or from an /
other state? Who cares whether the !
of a big department store in 4
Washington is Washington bred and I
born, or whether he halls from New |
York or Germany? What the people !
at large want it is commended is SER
vice, and the best way to give them /
70 % IONS