Evening star., 1917-12-18
ACCUSES OFFICIALS
OF INTIMIDATION
Head of Railway Mail Clerks
Also Charges Coercion by
Post Office Department.
SALARY INCREASES URGED

once Department have practiced IN
| timidation and coercion against rail-
way mail clerks; that men in this
branch of the service havessbeen re-
duced in salaries and discharged be-
cause they were unable to take as
signments far distant from where they
had established homes. featured the
hearing today before the subcommit-
tee on post offices and post roads of
| the House.
e. ]. Ryan. president of the Railway
Mail Clerks Association, refused to
give members of the committee the
names of the men who had been re-
duced in salary unless absolute pledge
was given that they would have i'm
munity from Congress against reprlsals
by the postal authorities
| Mr.. Ryan submitted a long list of men
| who had been discharged because they
were unable to obey an order which
| would force them to break up their
homes in Syracuse and go to work at
| the New York terminal station, and
stated that the ma ajority of these men had
bought liberty bonds, even up to S1,000.
Favor Larger Salaries.
Declaration in favor of largely in
creased salaries for all government
workers was made in speeches by a
number of members of Congress at the
opening of the hearing, which is being
| held on the bill. of Representative Mad
den ito regulate the payment of sal
| aries of post Office clerks in first and
second class post offices and letter car
riers in the city delivery service" and
! the bill of Representative Steenerson
| for equipment and maintenance al
| lowance for carriers on rural free de-
livery mail routes and for other pur-
poses"
Representative MondelI of wyoming
cfat tad hat ha 10 in 70 af
tial increase to all government en-
ployes, especially to those whose salary
| is $500 year. although he thought that
many above that grade should also
receive worthwhile increase. He
said thar the rates of increase provided
, IN the Keating bill, which is the union
measure introduced at the request of
| the National Federation of Federal En-
ployes, were about as near right as it
will be possible to make them at this
time He thought this should be the
standard rate of increase for all gov
ernment workers. postal employees and
| Washington.
Deterioration Is Seen.
Representative E. E. Denison of H.
linois impressed upon the committee
the fact that the postal service in par
ticular and the government service in
other departments are suffering de-
EteEioxation OF encffncys en- account Of
designations. Th5 - nj
that the men and Ieu = We sif
many years intos krnfnE fUs2do well
some phase Of the government business
double the compensation from some
outside business.
Representative Little of Kansas paid
his respects incidentally to- the Hoover
food administration by referring to fact
that this branch of the government
service had been organized with view
to lowering the cost of food. He said
that as it is evident the food prices are
not to be lower, but are on the up
grade. the only thing left Is to increase
the salaries of government workers SO
that they will be sufficient to keep the
government employees from starving on
the job.
For General Increase
When Representative Blackmon of
Alabama asked what he would suggest
as a means of relief, Representative Little
said that he finds a general feeling exists
among his constituents that the Madden
bill is proposing 4 fair increase in GER
tain lines OF postal employment. and that
they would favor a general increase at
about the same percentage.
Representative Bacharach of New Jer-
sey said he is backing the Madden bill
and wants general increase at the same
rate for the rural free delivery carriers,
every one else In the federal service
L. J. Ryan, president Of the Railway
Mail Service Association, was asked by
Chairman Bell for a report on the num-
ber of railway mail clerks killed and
injured while in the performance of
duty and he submitted detailed re-
port as made for the fiscal year ending
June 80, 1916, by the Post Office De-
partment. This showed that the life
Of the railway mail clerk is hazardous
and this fact was commented upon by
members of the committee.
Demands Information.
I'VE thought we had restored Amer
ican citizenship to the postal employees
by giving them the right to petition