The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1917-12-06
BurlesOn Recommends That
Congress Repeal Law Per-
hitting Organizations
S9,S36,211 SURPLUS
BREAKS THE RECORD
Increase for the Year Amounts to 566
Per Cent-Urges Government Control
of Telephone and Telegraph and Elk
tension of Civil Service.


submitted to congress yesterday, de |
clares organizations of postal employees
are rapidly becoming 4 menace to pub
lie welfare and recommends that Con-
gress repeal that the employees may
organize and become affiliated with 9th
or bodies 50 long as they do not impose
am obligation to engage or assist in
a strike against the government.
Emphasizing the need for unselfish
cooperation on all sides while the coun-
try il in the world war the Postmaster
General continues:
Notwithstanding this fact, and at
this critical period in cur nation 5 his
tory, it is rcgrettablc to state that the
organized postal employees are making
many selfish demands and insisting that
they shall not be required or permitted
to work in excess of the usual number
Of hours; also that their salaries be
permanently increased. although they
are justly compensated. receiving more
than three times as much as those
fighting in the trenches who must of
necessity suffer the hardehips OF war
fare and sacrifice their all if necessary.
I" Efforts of these organizations along
other lines have been severely crit
cized by men in public life, as they
attempt to control political as well as
! legislative matters and openly boast
/ of the influence they claim to exert
4 in the furtherancc OF their selfish in
| tereSts.
! : An outside organization has during
| the past several wears attempted to
unionize government employees. includ
/ ing those in the Postal Service. and a
large number Of postal employees are
now affiliated with it, and others soon
will be, Notwithstanding the fact that
such utilization is believed to he con
4 trary to the act Of August y. 1912
II The ACCESSIBILITY Of permitting govern
ment employees TO affiliate with an out
side organization and use the strike and
/ boycott a. a last resort TO enforce its
deqand> is seriously questioned by
those interested IN thu public welfare.
Postal employees have become bold
because of this utilization and have
within recent years threatened to
,tuke, and IN one ease actually did 81
10y rendering their designations and
abandoning the service in a BODY In
this ease they were promptly indicted
and prosecuted in the federal courts
While ssrikes i'm the postal service may
bc atertcd for the time being vet they
viii inevitably come. and the public
viii then be brought face to face with
a most serious Situatiou--onc which vii
toe menace to oar government.
If by combining, the report says
government employees are enabled t
undulv influence members of congress
and others seeking election to publ,
office the situation will naturally arise
| il it has not already arisen, where Con
| gre's will BE- mdulv influenced by sucl
| organizations, the appropriations 10
| the salaries of such employees, will b,
| greatly increased and economic proyi
sion for the conduct of the service i'm
| pa ,ible
/ The report explains that postal en-
/ | ploycS are differently situated from 9th
1 or workers in that they are not EN-
II ploycd by private concerns but by tn
i government whose officers are mcrcl
II executing the will Of the people.
II The report shows an audited sur
II plus for the year Of 80, S36,2lI. tn
Il largest in the history of the depart
II ment. The increase over the preced
ing year was 5.GG per cent while tn
II increase in cost was 4.45 per cent. Til
II audited revenues for the year. incluG
II ing moncy-order and postal saving
business amounted to $500, 726,116.
: Remarkable growth in postal saving
!: is shown. In 1917 there were 614.72
depoSltors with a total of SlSI.9j4 so
TO their credit, The average balanc
!: for each depositor was 1851. Til
was M increase over the previous Yea
/ OF Il.19l in the number Of dcpositol.
H45.934 ,Nll in the amount and So 90 i
per capita balance. The LARGE rropo
tlon of this total is contributed bv il
dustrial centers. In l43 offices in eli
les where there are big maunfacturin
plants - per cent of the deposits al
: held.
The war has resulted in some post;
!: routes not being covered at times Ne
: drawn into industries by larger salari,
often have left posts that could nc
: be filled, the report saws. and recon
!: mcnds that the department be give
/: more latitude in getting carriers whe
|: conditions are unusual
| The Postmaster General again stron.
|; r. urges 4 change in the system {
| erecting public buildings He state
: his belief that the government is ne
I Justified in erecting a building for
postotiice alone unless the rent;
amounts to S 1000 and then only whe
the gross postal receipts are $4,000
the population as much as 5000.
The postmaster general says the ne
space system Of compensating railway
for transportating mails has been su
ceSsful. The report says:
The operation of the space basis
resulting i'll the direct saving Of mi
lions of dollars to the government b
reducing the car-mile service require
Of the railroads, and has released to ii
roads q large amount of car equipmel
and car space Of trains. The numb,
OF full 60foot storage ears alon
W which thr0uph concentration and 10