Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1918-01-18
Postoffice Department
BIamaes Mail Delays on
Congestion of Railroads

holiday season show that with this enor-
nous increase in the volume of mail the
only point where a congestion occurred
| in postofTice was at Washington, ID. c..
and the congestion there was due to fail
ure on the part of the railroads to fur
nish sufficient cars, the mail matter
| through this office. by reason of its be-
! ing the gateway TO army cantonments
and mobilization camps, having been in
creased to at least ten times the normal
amount.
The delay in the transmission of the
mail, like that of freight, express and
passenger service, is due to the conges-
tion of the railroad system. During the
month of November, 1917, there were So
712 failures by maiP trains to make their
scheduled connections. One of the most
important mail trains carrying mail OF
Washington, Philadelphia, Baltimore and
points west failed sully 20 per cent of
the time during the past four months
and the principal train between New
York and Chicago failed II times of its
southwest connection during three
months and 81 times of its northwest
connection.
Handling Mail Prompt
The distribution and handling of
mail at all post offices is on a defin-
lite and prompt schedule. The failure
of train to make it's connection oper-
ates to delay the handling of that mail
until the next delivery, which in some
cases means the next day. 1t also pileSe
up the load of mail of the delayed
train with that Of trains to follow,
enormously increasing the work to be
done by the postal clerkss. within the
limited time between deliveries. Yet
these deliveries have not been delayed
Of dalf no 9
rapidly as the mail has been delivered
to the postoffices by the railroads il
has been distributed and delivered at
its destination. The department is not
criticising the railroads for the exis-
tence of conditions, but in all fairness,
II is felt blythe Prepayment, that the
delay in mails, it should be known by
the public, is due entirely to railroad
congestion, and should be measured up
against the delay in other railroad traf-
fic. The result of such a comparison
would disclose marvellous efficiency
on the part of the postal service The
postal service has delivered it's mail as
rapidly as ii received it and made
better record in 1917 under more adj
verse conditions, than any previous
year.
The fact that in addition to improv-
ing the. service, $900O.O0O has been
paid into the general fund of the
treasury by the postoffice department
should not be made a subject of COM
plant. Nor should inconvenience to
the public resulting from war conditions
which are felt with respect to all
forms of traffic, should not be made
an excuse for demanding the unneces-
sary expenditure of postal service
revenues, when benefit could not re-
suit from such additional expenditure.
Postal Employees Pay
The implication in some criticism
that inefhciency has resulted from poor
pay to the postal employees, is not JUS
titled by the records of the department
or testimony Of employees before the
committee of congress.
The economy accomplished by the
department has not involved a reduc-
ton of the salary of any of the en-
ployes. These salaries are fixed by law.
In the report for the year ending
June 80, 1916, Postmaster General
Bulreson said:
''It has been the earnest effort of the
department to fix the standard rates of
pay for the different classes of work
at from 10 to 80 per cent above the
average rates paid for similar services
by the leading commercial institutions
of the country. The same rule has been
followed throughout the postal service
in fixing salaries that are not fixed by
law. Whenever an employe or a group
of employees is found to be receiving
salaries below the standard, the depart
ment will make an effort to secure ap-
propriate increases. 1t is the depart
ment's desire to maintain not only a
living wage for all its employees, but by
the adoption of every safety appliance
possible to establish sanitary and COM
Portable working conditions for both de-
partmental and postal service employees
and in no case to require of any postal
employee more than eight hours work in
any one day"
Mr. Burleson adheres to this policy
in dealing with the employees of the de-
partment