The Morgan City daily review. (Morgan City, La.) 1916-1920, 1916-10-30
PROGRESS IN POSTAL REFORM

The Division of Supplies is now
one of the efficiently organized
forces of the Post Office Depart
ments. 1t was not SO, however, until
the advent of this Administration,
when the manager Of this particular
branch of the service passed into the
hands of the present Fourth Assist
ant Postmaster General, Of whose
Bureau this Division is an important
part. It deals directly with the post
masters throughout the country, and
it's duties are to see that they are
properly supplied 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 requires an
enormous amount of supplies with
which to conduct the business of the
Government. For instance, there will
be required this year for the service
100000 miles of Irvine, weighing
100000 pounds, enough to encir-
Gle the globe 27 times and which
would fill 60 big freight cars; $4,000
gallons of ink and mucilage; more
than billion facing slips; and all
other forms of supplies in CORES
ponding magnitude. This division
alone has thirty tons Of material in
the way of supplies in transit every
working day Of the year, practically
all postal supplies now being sent by
freight, at an annual saving of ap-
proximately a quarter of a million
dollars. When it is considered that
the purchase, control, and issue of
all these supplies is centered in the
Department at Washington for I. the
more effective supervision which
such vast business demand, in or
der that judicious economy may be
considered in contract and purchase
and discoverable waste checked in is
sue, it will be seen that, properly in
terpreted, this means unremitting at
tention and vigilance on every hand,
so that all possible benefits may be
secured from these wise and neces-
sary provisions.
The great number of acquisitions
annually sent in from the post Off
ces Of the country for the numerous
articles needed, amounting during
the past year to something like
500, 900, demanded system and meth
cd for successful operation. This was
met by the establishment Of the CEN
trail distributing office plan which
provides offices selected with refer
ence to their railroad or other mail
transportation facilities for the ter
ritory to be supplied, embracing sew
eral countries and to which offies
within this territory were to be tri-
butary.. Depots were to be stocked
under general acquisitions submitted
at schedule periods to the Depar-
ment and shipped thereto from the
Department or the contractor, usual
ly by freight in bulk, thus saving the
long and expensive mail hauls for
merly necessary. These third and
fourth class postmasters thus deal
directly with their distributing CEN
tiers instead of writing directly to the
Department for every trifling need,
and they ordinarily receive their sup
plies within twenty-four hours,
whereas by the old method, day and
weeks were often necessary. Another
advantage of this system is the SUI
pervision which these distributing
offices can exercise over the char
acter and amount Of supplies to be
furnished. Being in close touch, any
tendency to over stocking or waste
so commonly by the old method, is
easily checked and prevented. Dis
tributing offices have taken on their
added duties without increased
force, and reports from the service
generally indicate that the local sup
ply points are both popular and
practicable.
The Inauguration of the new sys-
tenn has lessened the clerical force
formerly required and may be ex.
pected to produce still further econ