New Britain herald., 1916-05-31

l in a general way perhaps than vou l realize, and you may rest assured that l the energy, brain and loyalty which you put into your work Is receiving 1 due measure of appreciation from the 1 people whom you are serving so well. few moments ago l spoke of the
 efficiency of the great department of l which you are part. Equally sur prising is it's magnitude. You postal 1 clerks form a division in an army of l more than 300,000 in the greatest gov l ernmental establishment in the world The growth of the post office business 1 since the experimental days of Ben- l Jamin Franklin, our first great post ] office man, would astound the fathers | who framed the federal constitution 1 could they know. The authority for every line of post office activity rests 1 in this short sentence in the consti- l tution "Congress shall have power to establish post offices and post roads," l This enormous power involved close 1 relationship and consequent active in terest in highways, railroads, steam ships, canals, lakes and navigable riv- 1 CTS. Beginning with the carrying Of 1 letters, newspapers and pamphlets,
 
 1 enlarged until practically every com modity, excepting explosives can be l sent by mail Articles which can hardly be classed as commodities. for 1 instance, live babies, it is said, have been shipped by rural delivery. Be- sides being carrier and distributor the postal service is a banker and transmitter of funds. The money or der system sends and receives money in all parts of the world. and the postal savings system affords he pro- lection of reliable bank for it's pa irons.
 Improvement Astonishing. The improvement of recent years in the whole machinery of the post office department is truly astonishing At the time the first postal service was established in this country during the colonial period, it was specified that the post office should furnish horses to carry letters, packages and passen- gers. A mileage fee was charged, and men and packages were carried on horseback. These provisions were part of the postal bill passed in the time of William and Mary for the establishments of post office in this country. The post office in the time of the Romans and the first postal service in America in the early days were conducted on similar lines. Of course, the coming of the railway revolutionized these conditions It is said that the records of the English post office show that less than one hundred years ago among the articles ranked to foreign countries by the old English packet service were if- teen hounds, consigned to the king of the Romans and two maid-servants going as lawn dresses to Lord Am bassador Methuen.
 We know how indispensable are the privileges of the postal service to the cities. But think of what the post office means to the smaller commun- ities. What the post office aims to do for the smaller places is well ex- pressed in the language of the post office committee of 1844 in the House of Representative at WashingtOn ITO content the man dwelling more remote from town with his lonely lot by giv ing him regular and frequent means of lnter-cO communication; to assure the em1grant who plants his new nome on the skirts of the distant wilderness or prairie that he is not forever sev- cred from the kindred and society that still shares his interest and love; to prevent those whom the swelling tide of population is constantly pressing to the verge of the wilderness from sink ing into the hunter or savage state; to render the citizen, how far soever from the seat af government, worthy by proper knowledge and enlighten- ment of his important privileges as a
 
 ment; to diffuse throughout all parts of the land enlightenment, social inn provement and national intelligence, elevating our people in the scale of civilization and binding them together in patriotic affection-these objects are the aim and end of the post of- fee.
 Close indeed to the interests of peo- pie of all stations and circumstances in the United States at the present time, is that fine example of govern ment service at minimum charge-the parcel post. The ever-increasing VOL ume of business is best evidence of its popularity, and the department is now carrying successfully parcel post at the rate of over a billion pieces a year. An idea of the volume of busi- ness transacted by the department may be gained from the information that last year the first and second class offices approximating 2,700, accumu- lated receipts amounting to 232 mill lion dollars.
 The Three P's.
 It has been said that three "P's" rule the world, the Pulpit, the Press, and the Postoffice. There is no deny ing the influence of these three factors in our civic life. One of the surest ways of maintaining and increasing the influence of the postoffice is through, good courteous efficient ser