The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-02-23
CLERKS IN CONVENTION.

= CLERKS IN CONVENTION. At the opening of the Clerks con lventioh President John E. Roberts congratulated those present upon their numbers and interest in the or. ganization, recalled the progress which had been made during the year past due to the activities of the as- sociation and called particular atten- ton to the Reilly Eight Hour law, which had been a boon to the indivi- duals in the postal service He men toned the Lloyd Anti-gag law and, the Mann Sunday closing law as meas ures which had been stimulated and forced into being by the interest of the united mail clerks. He called attention to the Retire ment bill which was one of the most important subjects before the lawnlak- CTS at this time. He said that it was both just and advisable that com penSsation be given and that in an eff I fort to secure this the Formation of the National Sfvi1 Service Association was effected.
 SECRETARY,S REPORT.
 The sixteenth annual report Of State Secretary Francis T. Wade called es- pecial attention to the volume of bus during the year and the fact that the books are clear from indebt edness- Constitutioh and bylaws were print ed and disseminated to members. An engrossed copy of resolutions of thanks to Congressman Reilly was presented with appropriate ceremony.
 According to the report membership in the association has increased ma terially, four new branches having been established and seven new mem bers- s-at-large having been elected It was the belief of the secretary that many other new members will be se- cured. The report showed a. members ship net gain of 39 for the year: amount per capita tax collected, $31S 50. One death was noted in the ranks during tha year.
 TRIBUTE TO B. F. ROOT. While dwelling on the interest talk en by Brother Parent in this associa- tion especially during our early strug- gle, we should not forget the other members who are also active in our upbuilding, many of whom are still taking an active interest in our af- fairs, some of whom are attending this convention, having as delegates today such old timers as Benjamin F. 1 Root of Bridgeport, Frank & Caldwell of New Britain .and Arthur L. Clark of MiddEetown, who were also dele gates at the formation of the Con- necticut State association.
 At that meeting Brother Root was honored with election as our first president, and I believe that today while we are celebrating the honor of George Washington, the father of our country, we should be and are proud to have with us and be permitted to pay honor to Brother Benjamin F. Root, who may be truly termed the father of our organization in Con necticut.''
 CONG. REILLY ARRIVES.  arrived in the city early, was brought to the convention of the Rural Free Delivery Association by a committee and in words of greeting spoke as fol- lows:
 'In the post office appropriation bill passed by the House a few weeks ago, @ provision for an increase in the pay of rural carriers of $50 a, year+or from $1,100 to $1,15o per annum-was strick- out a point of order This same fate attended all other legislative matters in the bill, except the cnm- pensa tion features, which through good luck, and the temporary absence from the chamber of the member who | had assigned to himself the duty of objector to all legislation in the bill was inserted.
 THE RURAL CARRIER.
 e'The rural carrier, under the com
 pepsation amendment, is added to the
 
 paid when off duty on account of in- Juries sustained while on duty and for which the carrier is in no degree responsible. As you we'll known, here. tofore, railway mail clerks, sea post clerks and post office inspectors were cared for in that manner. because their duties were looked upon as es- pectalIy hazardous. For my part. though, could never see where a post office inspector, who was travelling only occasionally, was in a particular ly dangerous business, a business. admit that some inspectors may have made their jobs more Or less perilous because of some of the things they report; things that might make their jobs perilous to the extent of a
 punch in the. jaw from some employe urjrstly reported for trivial matters.
 But that kind of inspectors, am happy to say, are the exception rather than the rule in the service. As class, they are men worthy of their boss Chief Inspector Joe Johnson, off1cia1. So you see, the point make is that they not engaged in haz- ar6ious business; not neaa1y so haz- ardous thalt Of the rural carrier who travels over all kinds of road, all kinds of bridges, in all kinds of weather. whose work lies daily in the
 path Of joy riders trolley cars or mad bulls. If there is any class of postal trnpIoyes in the hazardous risk class it is the rural carrier. l MAINTENANCE ALLOWANCE.
 While an increase in salary is something welcomed by all classes even if it is only a small increase,-I fully realize that, even if the new provisions put in the Post Office bill by the Senate, giving the rural car riers s1,200 a year goes through, the fCy0ufirIIed orl Page Twol