The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1914-12-31

~oAAASiS compensation cNOtllu DC ILL.
creased Instead of Decreased
Rightly Says rlr. Eddy.
Good, old Frank Eddy is en-
dowed with a large amount of plain
common sense, and he has the
faculty Of saying the right thing at
the right time. If the republicans
of the Sixth congressional district
are not satisfied with Mr.. Lindbergh
and apparently many of them are
not--let them get behind Mr.. Eddy
two years hence. Anyhow, if ever
Mr.. Eddy is again a candidate for
office he ought to have the support
Of every r. f. D. carrier in the
state. Here are a few excerpts from
an article written for the Sank
Centre Tribune by Mr. Eddy, of
which the Union heartily approves:
'Postmaster General Burleson, in
his annual report, calls especial at
tention to the fact that during the
fiscal year the r. F. D. system cost
the government approximately $780,
900, 900 more than it returned in the
way Of revenue, and pleading the
dire need Of economy in govern
mental expenditures, strongly ad-
vocated that it be put under the
contract system, the same as the old
Star Route;' that is, that these
routes and positions be put up at
auction and given to the lowest
bidder.
1T is curious fact that whenever
a spasm Of economy selves upon those
in high authority they always try to
bring it about by cutting the wages
Of the little fellows and never by re-
ducing the salaries of the big fell
lows: by deteriorating the value of
the governmental service to those
that receive but little, but never les
sening the value of those that re-
cei7e much. High otficialdom always
acts on the principle: That to him
that hath shall be given, and to hin
that hath not shall be taken away
even ti1tst which he hath. - ------- 81.
''It is undoubtedly true, that the
cost of the r. L. D. could be prac-
tically cut in two by putting up the
positions of r. +. D. carriers at auc-
ton and granting them to the lowest
bidder, and it is equally true that
there is not an elective or appointive
position under national or state gov
eminent that could not be filled at
from one third to one-half less than
the present occupant receives, by
the same system.
"a postmaster general, fully as
able and qualified as Burleson could
be secured for much less salary
than he receives. There is not a
position from scrub woman of the
capitol steps to president of the
United States that could not be
filled by persons equally as COM
petent, and in many instances more
competent, than the present incum-
bents, if law were passed giving
them TO the lowest bidder.
x & = ::
"The R. F. D. carrier is Just as
much of an appointive official of the
government as is the postmaster
general and has more of a vested
right in his position.
''The idea Of comparing the R. F.
d. system with the old Star Route
system is mendacious in the ex-
IRENE. The Star Route mail car
rier was merely mail transporter.
It requires no more intelligence to
merely transport a sack Of mail from
Sank Centre to Padua than it does
a sack of -four between these two
points. The r. E. D. carrier is not
only mail carrier, money order
clerk, a registered mail supervisor,
an express agent, postmaster and
several other things. 1t requires as
high an order of Intelligence to be a
good R. f. D. carrier as it does a
postmaster, and it requires as much
ability to be good postmaster as it
does to be an ordinary postmaster
general.
"Many Of these carriers have sacri-
fed other lines of business and other
places to take these positions. They
have each inyeSted from @dO0 tc
81, 900 in outfits in order that they
may perform their work in way
satisfactory to their patrons. The
parcels post has immensely increased
their labors. They are not overpaid. /
Indeed for the services performed,
they are about the poorest paid en-
ployees in the government service.
One hundred dollars a month is not