The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1915-07-19

THESE men are ABOUT the only ones
in the land who can toll lifetime
with nothing to look forward to but
old age fundamentally. The police
in practically every state In the union
are provided with pensions; 80 are
the f1remen, the school teachers, and
even municipal employees to consid.
cradle extent. Railroads pension
their faithful workers after they
reach an age when they are unable 70
carry the burden Of work and respon-
sibility; insurance companies lay up
funds to take caro- of the insurance
agents after they have trudged the
streets and climbed the tenement
house stairs for twenty-five years;
hundreds, yes, thousands, Of small
business concerns reward their faith
full employees with half.pay pensions
IN old age: even IRE horses, after hav-
ing served faithfully for years, are
often turned loose in pastures green
and wellkept country stables to end
their days in comfort rather than per-
hitting them to pass into unknown
ownership and uncertain treatment.
Yet letter carrier after toiling the
hot streets Of summer, the sunny side
a. well as the shady side, and the
bleak streets Of winter, the snowdrifts
as we'll as the wind-cleaned spots, can
look forward only to old age and-un-
certainty. Eddie" Odell, for instance.
who has won the love and esteem Of
every citizen of HOboken, who 10 cap
able of appreciating honest duty, no
matter whether In humble lie or
otherwise, might be taken sick tomor-
row-God forbid-and, after forty
three years Of the best kind OF service,
become dependent upon what little he
may have been able 10 lay aside from
the meager pay Of postman, or be-
come dependent upon the charity, or
the gratitude. Of public that would
never allow such q man to want for
anything. But charity, or the benefi-
cence Of public gratitude, should not
be the final resort Of faithful service;
these CREST United States should guar
antee to Eddie" Odell, OF Hobolnen,
and to every Eddie" Odell in the
United States, the reasonable COM
forts that every honest toiler should
expect in odd asa.
Uncle Sam Is very careful-rigidly,
ruggedly careful-of the kind Of men
and the kind Of service he gets In pos.
tai service, and that kind Of service
should get better reward than the
miserable uncertainty to which these
men must now look.
Now Is the time for the men to do
the work Of urging congress to take
up the pension matter at its next SEES
sion.
The example set by the Hudson Dis
patch, II followed by live publica-
ton In each city. will do much good
in awakening q loud clamor for Jus
tice to superannuated letter carriers.
There are a number Of instances that
can be brought to the attention Of the
press, affecting some particular en-
ployee, which Will appeal to the sense
OF fairness Of editorial writer's, and
they will be pleased to give It the
publicity It should have. Hardly day
passes but we read OF the retirement
on half pay Of some old and faithful
employee who has become superannu-
ated in the service OF one Of the many
corporations. These old men and
women are retired on annuities as
reward for years OF faithful service.
When we read Of the retirement of a
superannuated letter carrier It Is sell
dom that the public is correctly In
formed Of the fact that he has been
forced out Of the service on account
of his efficiency becoming impaired
through the ravages of time, and that
he is left on his limited resources to
exc out an existence during his few
declining years.
We further advise the formation Of
a social organization composed Of
postal employees in each congression-
al district. Such an organization
would not only be effective in bring
ing about the enactment of retire.
ment law, but would enable the en-
ployees to meet on a common ground
to exchange ideas that would be of
benefit to themselves as well as the
postal service, and would also encour-
age social intercourse and instill
feeling OF mutual sympathy and CO.
operation that will be beneficial to
the postal service. At meetings Of
employees in congressional district
the hopes and ambitions Of men are
given opportunity for development.
and by interchange OF opinions many
complaints and grievances can be
remedied. The member Of congress
should be invited to attend the meet.
ines of the Congressional district club,
as In this way he can learn first hand
from the employees the details for
handling the mail, as well as become
familiar with the environment In
which the employees do their work.
Should you get any expression OF opin-
ion from your United States senators
or representatives in congress regard
ing their attitude on the question OF
retirement, it is recommended that a
statement be submitted to the secre
tary OF the National Association of
Letter Carriers.
No Place for Organs.
Webster City Journal: The demo-
Gratis are planning to start q daily