Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-06-12
Positions in Fourth Assistant
Postmaster Generals Office
to Be Abolished.
DIVISION CONSOLIDATION
WILL REDUCE employees
Mr.. Burleson Declares Systematiza-
tion of Business in City Post Of
flee Explains Dismissals.

Forty salaried positions in the Office o.
the fourth assistant postmaster genera
are to be abolished and forty persons who
hold them will lose their jobs, unless l,
be found possible to place them in Other
departments. according to authoritative
| utterances from the Post Office Depart.
ment today.
| Postmaster General Burleson indicated
prior to the cabinet meeting today, that
when President Wilson calls upon him
for report upon the facts involved in
the protest made by local committee as
to the discharge of veterans of the civil
war by Postmaster Praeger he will make
practically the same report to the Presi-
dent he did to the Senate, in response to
the resolution of that body calling upon
him for report.
| The statement of Mr. Burleson as to his
| probable action referred to the call upon
| the President yesterday of local COM
| mittee consisting of Fulton R. Gordon
Louis p Shoemaker and Charles w
| Darr.
None of those men were dismissed
| for partisan or other reasons beyond
! the tact that their services were abso-
! lutely not needed, and there was no use
\ for the government to continue to pay
| out money for work that could be done
| by others in the service said Mr.. Burle-
| son.
Reductions Due to Systematization.
The plain fact is that by the systemati-
zation of business in the city post Office
| We were enabled to dispense with the
services of eighteen employees. whose
! places We do not expect to fill. There was
nothing for them to do, and We are not
using the Post Office Department to pro-
vide soft places for anybody. 1 do not
mean to charge past officials Of the de-
partment with cooking up easy places for
certain employees in favor at the time, but
it is certain that under this administra-
| ton the department is not to be run
along those lines. l have tried hard, since
going into office there. to stop PARTISAN
ship and to run the department as great
| business institution should be run.
I'VE are now up against dispensing with
| the services of about forty employees of
the dead letter office, simply because
| there is no work in that bureau for that
| many employees. The work of the office
has been systematized so that We can do
with forty less people than are now on
the rolls"
Mr.. Burleson said the President had not
called upon him for a report, but it was
done at the cabinet meeting or later in
| the day.
Mr.. Blakslee's Explanation.
Fourth Assistant Postmaster General
Blakslee, who was later asked as to the
proposed dismissals in the dead letter
office which were indicated by the Post
master General said the latter probably
had been misunderstood to some extent.
He explained that the division of sup
plies, which Is now located in the annex
at 1st and X streets northeast, occupying
parts of the eight floors of that building.
would be moved to the new city post
office building, where it all would be To-
Gated on one floor. Also that the dead
letter office, now located in the depart
ment proper. would be moved to the new
city post office building and consolidated
In part at least, with the supplies diyi-
sion.
This he said would enable the DEPART
| ment to take up the slack and have
the duties OF both divisions performed by
| smaller number of clerks, and the re-
organization of the division of rural mails.
| 1t was thought, would also result in re-
| ducing the number of positions there.
In all probably forty places would then
exist for which no duties could be pro-
| vided. The clerks holding them, there
| fore. must be dropped, unless it was pos
sible to place them in other bureaus or
| departments. An effort he said would be
made to do this. for it was not the desire
| Of the Postmaster General nor of him.
| self to put these people absolutely out OF
the service If they could be provided for
elsewhere. Further than this Mr.. Blaks-
| lee did not care to say until he had first
had an opportunity to confer with the
Postmaster General who was at cabinet
meeting at the time