Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-11-02
THE LINE BETWEEN .
UPKEEP AND UPKEEP
CONTINUED from First Pase.)


necessitates q special requisition on
Washington for every little needed
thing, even a snow shovell
IF they protest they are placed in
the position of the fellow who went
to the railroad magnate for relief.
This railroad magnate was visited in
his office by a boyhood friend, whom
he had no seen for many years. The
boyhood friend told a pathetic story
of misfortune. comprising bankruptcy,
the loss of wife and children, and his
own recent illness. He concluded
with a plea for assistance. and the
railroad magnate, overcome by emo.
ton, touched a bell on his desk. A
burly coiored man responded.
John" said the magnate, his voice
choked with sobs, throw this poor
fellow downstairs. He's breaking my
heart"
Now, dear editor, have a heart. Do
you suppose that the zone" postoff1ce
janitor is satisfied with $720 a year?
Can a man support his family decent
Y on $50 a month? Is II right to
work him twelve hours day? Don't
fire him downstairs!
las for scrub women. Do you de-
fend the practice of giving them $500
a year-less than a dollar a day? Is
II not a fact that in the homes of the
taxpayers they receive at least half
as much more and In many cases
double the pay the government al
lowsp
p. o. Employees underpsid.
II can name six or seven postoRce
employees who resigned their positions
because they were worked like
horses kept on duty long hours, and
The late Sunset Cox de-
voted his life in Congress in an effort
to ameliorate the conditions for letter
carriers, and r. Wayne Parker did
similar yeomen service for the clerks,
but even now these men are not paid
enough for services rendered. The
Newark newspapers have all printed
editorials decrying this injustice.
THE mail delivery contract has for
years been a subject of adverse criti-
cism, and the late Henry Reinhart,
who had the contract for many years.
publicly stated that he could not af-
ford better horses and wagons for the
small compensation allowed.
"The postoffice has no paper drink
ing cups, as you say, not even dip
per, but most public places indulge in
such extravaganza because it's sani-
tary. II the postoffice has no appro-
priation for removing snow, mores
the pity, because the City Hall be-
lieves in safety first
Surely you do not defend these
inadequate facilities In the small
corridors of the postofflce. where the
public is cramped to make room for
stuffy departments. If so, please
note these are facts: The postoffice
has bad, rusty pens and cheap PEN
holders; there Is just one bottle of
for the use of the publici
Even the postoff1ce clock goes on
strike occasionally for the want of
and so little of impor-
lance Is the federal building that the
trolley cars do not stop there! Why
1t with the modern City
Hall?
Watchman's Poor Pay.
1.-THE postoffice sports one watch
man, whom it pays $50 per month
starvation wages). Now, If the gov
eminent was wise enough to employ
a few more, as is the custom at the
City Hall, rest assured there would
be no need of extra expense to the
people for postoffice inspectors to
trace robber's5. which occurred there
recently, and have occurred semi-oc-
why. ever since I can remember
the postoffiees were robbed nearly
every night within a radius of fifty
miles of Newark Consult your files),
and as far back as 1889 the then
postmaster, William II. F. Fielder,
under bonds for the safekeeping of
the government funds. pleaded in
vain with the Washington authori-
ties for an appropriation for night
Waterman. was mall distributor
at that time, and, being single, at
the earnest solicitation of Mr.. Fled
Ter, l consented to sleep in the dirty,
building on hard
couch, with a revolver and a dark
lantern at my side-all paid for by
Mr.. Fielder after a futile effort to
make the government pay for the
implements for its own protection.
my hours were from midnight to
5 a. m. las a sleeping guardian). and
then distributing mail from a. m.
until 1870 p. m. am ashamed to
tell you the salary the government
paid me for this double service, but
in the badly ventilated and ill-kept
building, with stencil of bilge water
from the foreign mails in my nos
trils, / contracted case of malaria
which 1t took years to drive out of
my system. That was in 1882 OF
course, l resigned, and am stating
the truth, which can be easily veri-
fed, so that your readers will under
stand what I mean by saying that II
they vote against Mr.. Haussling on
the strength of your story they
sadly prefer misunderstanding condi-
lions, starvation wages and killing
hours to sanitary conditions and fair
compensation. l do not believe that
they will be influenced by such false
economies.