The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1916-11-10
PROGRESS IN POSTAL REFORM
Iniudicious Management Checked by
here Thorough and Careful
Control.
BETTER METHODS AT LESS COST

The Division of Supplies is now one
of the efficiently organized forces OF
the Post Office department. 1t was not
so, however, until the advent Of this
Administration, when the management
of this particular branch of the SER
vice passed into the hands of the pres
ent Jurth Assistant Postmaster Gen
eral, of whose bureau this division is
an Important part. 1t deals directly
with the postmaSters throughout the
country, and its duties are to see that
they are properly and promptly sup
piled with the means of conducting the
public business, the blanks, books,
forms, and various supplies which the
service requires.
The $4,000 post Offices in the United
States naturally require an enormous
amount of supplies with which to con-
duct 1he business Of the Government.
For instance, there will be required
this year for the service $4,000 miles
of twine, weighing 100000 pounds,
enough to encircle the globe q times
and which would fill go big freight
cars; $4,000 gallons of ink and muci-
lage; more than a billion facing slips;
and all other forms of supplies in cor
responding magnitude. This division
alone has supplies in transit every
working day of the year, practically
all postal supplies being now sent by
freight, at an annual saving of ap-
proximately quarter Of million dol
lars. When it is considered that the
purchase, control, and issue of all
these supplies is centered in the De-
partment at washington for the more
effective supervision which such a vast
business demands, in order that ju-
dicious economy may be considered in
contract and purchase and discover
able waste checked in issue, it will
be seen that, properly interpreted, this
means unremitting attention and vigi-
lance on every hand, so that all pos
sible benefits be secured from these
wise and necessary provisions.
Wasteful ExtraVagance Checked.
Under the old custom which years Of
precedent had firmly established, it
was the practice to honor all requi-
sitions for supplies irrespective of
character or amount. The consequence
was that the government was annual
ly put to an expense exceeding by many
of dollars the amount ac-
tually needed for the uses of the ser
vice. This practice and the loose
methods of business management
which were part of this old system.
wsre severely condemned in a report
made by an expert committee appoint
ed by congress Tor tine purpose Of in
quiring into departmental methods
and procedure. Frequent changes of
administrative heads and general dis
inclination to make tie radical changes
required resulted in nothing being
done, and things we're allowed to drift
along and conditions to remain just
as before.
The waste in the uSa of supplies thu:
literally furnished, as not the only
item of expense wh;9 these methods
entailed. Absence of Ssroper oversight
into the details governing the business
permitted a force Of clerks to remain
upon this work whose :nrvices could
have been more usefullv employed
elsewhere or discontinued altogether.
All this, together with the inapDro-
pirate and unsuitable system in oper-
alton, led to mass of unnecessary
correspondence, in which the COM
plants of postmasters 1t protractca
delay and errors in filing acquisitions
formed a considerable pert, and which
q better system and wiser management
could have measurahly !.ssened, If
not entirely abolished. Numerous
changes in the method Of operation
we're accordingly made, ,'areful scru-
tiny of acquisitions required, as we'll
as all requests for monetary allow
ances with the result tl;at very con-
siderable economies were effected in
time. labor, and expense.
Measures of Economy adapted.
Another discover d need for which a
remedy was promptly applied, was a
revision of the specifications under
which blanks. books, ETC.. for the mon
e order service were furnished: By
this revision a reduction of practical
" one-third of the blanks formerly
under contract has been accomplish
ed. Careful study of the amount need
ed during contract period resulted
in greatly reduced bids being made
possible by furnishing contractors
with true estimates of the actual
quantities required, the amount so
saved for the four-year period begin
ming December l, 1915, being approx
imatsly s13N.000.
There is also another matter of con-
siderable expense to the department
which a wiser policy has now greatly
lessened and will eventually altogether
abolish. viz. the practice Of renting
the canceling machines used in the