Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1914-10-20
National Political MeUs

Washington, d. c., Oct. 17.--Since
Postmaster General Burleson Is coming
to Iowa to speak on behalf of the adj
ministratiOn, it may be of interest to
call attention to the bitter feeling
which has been created in various
branches of the postal service by orders
and threats issued by his immediate
Ilieutenants. The rural carriers, the
postoffice clerks and the railway mail
clerks are the ones who have most
heavily felt the weight of his authority.
According to the rural carriers, Bur-
Lesson not only asked the senate COM
| mittee to put rural delivery on con-
tract basis, in which the carriers would
be employed by private corporations of
firms, but he enforced a regulation
which deprived them of an increase In
pay of 500 a year, after the money
had been voted by congress.
The complaint Of the railway mail
clerks is that Supt A. Fl. Stephens OF
that service had declared that he
would remove any man who signed a
petition favorable to the Borah bill.
prohibiting the use of the stop watch"
system for speeding them up. This
charge was made by Senator Borah in
the senate a week ago, when he read
into the record extracts from report
of Stephens speech threatening the
men.
Anybody that signs that petition
with that statement Stephens is quot
ed as telling his subordinates, lis up
| before the general superintendent for
clerks that. have the power and the
authority and the inclination and the
decision to remove that man from the
service"
The statement in the petition to which
Stephens took exception was to the eff
feet that the clerks believed that they
| had furnished enough data on speed
tests" and that this data was going to
| be used to their disadvantage. They
| said that clerks failing to show GER
tain speed had been given demerit
| marks
II am wondering" said Sen. Borah
| where Mr.. Stephens got his authority
| to say that he has 1.-The power and the
authority and the inclination and the
decision to remove the man from the
service for the mere fact OF signing a
respectfully written petition concerning
measure in which the individual sign
| ing the petition might be himself in
terested. 1t would be in violation Of the
civil service law, in defiance of both
the letter and the spirit Mr.. Stephens
language can have no other construc-
| ton than that the postmaster general
will connive at and aid in violating the
civil service law and in Furnishing en-
ployes for the exercise of fundamen-
tai right Of citizenship"
The senator then read into the record
a number Of letters from frightened
| clerks in various parts of the country
begging him to strike their names from
the petition. He called attention to the
law which expressly guarantees to goy-
/ eminent employees the right Of petition
and he quoted zone of the noted works
of modern fiction-the democratic plat
form" which declared: 1--WE also recog-
nize the right Of direct petition to con-
| gress by employees for the redress OF
/ grievances"
After challenging Postmaster Burle-
son and President Wilson to turn theil
attention to this situation, Senator
Borah declared: Citizens of great
republic, interested in matter Of pro.
posed legislation, are deprived of thei1
right to express themselves concerning
it, even in the most orderly and re.