The Mena weekly star., 1916-07-20
INTELLIGENT MANAGEMENT
 or i BIC PUBLIC INDUSTRY
Thousands of Dollars Saved Annual ly by the Introduction of Modern
 Methods in Post Office Dept

Methods in Post Oifice Dept. i The interest of people in public
 affairs is considerably heightened when they learn that the revenues Of the Government are wisely and
 judeiousiy handled A statement
 IS susceptible of proof will always
 attract attention and please the
 thotful reader. Aft 4st.s
 Among the varied industrial en-
 terprises of the Post 0ffice Deparit- ment in Washington is all establish ment devoted entirely to the mafiu- faeture of mail locks and. the bag attachments used in mail transpor- tation. When this administration came into power, the Department sorely needed an improved type of mail lock. The shop was imme- dlately reOrganized. placed on a business basis, and its activities en- larged so as Co meet this imperative demand Within a very short time a new and greatly improved lock had been dlYlsea and it's production begun
 The loek in use weighed 54 ounces, the new one Weighes 2 4-5 ounces As 830.000 of this new pro- duet have been put into service, the difference ia weight lthe govern ment paying as much for the weight of equipment as 1t does for the mail ltself can be easily calculated The locks replaced by this new and bel ter style cost 2i cents each t0 make, those now being manufactured cost Sla cents, direct and indirect charges considered, the saving thus shown on original cost of production Co date amounted to S53, ,750 Of the old style 36,000 were annually re- turned for repair at a cost of about 9 cents each. Of the new style. out of the great number sent into the service, but e06 have been returned, and as these new style locks can be repaired at q cost of 3 cents each, the annual saving will amount to over S2.i00.
 The Department has in this ad- encouraged its employ es to give their best service to the and many instances have recently come to notice where- by the department has greatly prof. ited by this wise public policy In the lock shop a recent achievement in this direction in an improved cord fastener. the work of three of it's employees, for use on bags, also one designed for locking large quan- titles of parcel-post matter. which has heretofore been without this protection. 1t can be made at a very low price. requiring less mater ial and a fewer number of opera Lions, The significant part of this lies in the great number required in the service. between three and four millions, the output being 500,- GOO annually. As the cost has been reduced by the new method from AZ to 3 cents each, it will be seen what splendid showing this makes for administrative economy.
 Another valuable improvement has been the perfected locking cord fastener designed for use on tie sacks, something which the depart ment fcG. years has needed and vain ly endeavored to accomplish. This device will be of great value to the postal service at large by increasing the capacity and efficiency of mail HdSS tD d UtHitt UiuiCQlt lO tStllildlt.
 Active experiments are constantly being made for the betterment of the service. For many years a tre- mendous expense has been the la beling of the immense quantity of mail bags in use The form of label used in the past and still used by clerks all over the country is the doubling and refolding of what is known as a facing slip" The pre- paration of these labels by the thousands has been and is an ex- pensive proposition, yet there ap- pears to have been no effort on the part of previous administrations to progress from the old method tIn- der present direction a perforated lahcl in sheets and runs has brcn designed which ic practically ready fer ase when furnished to employ eSs. Every postal clerk in the coun- try and thousands of post-nilice Q employees will find this new meth cd of great advantage and il will result in large economy in the scr- Nlec.