The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1918-03-15
SAM SMALL AND THE MAILS.

are few men in America better
known, is having his own troubles
with the mails. He also has his own
opinion on Postmaster General Bur-
Lessons make-it-pay-regardless-of-ser-
vice policy under which the postal
department is being mismanaged.
This opinion he freely aired in a
signed article appearing in a recent
issue of The Constitution, and It is
pretty clearly summed up in the
adominition which he said he felt
like giving the public: Don't buy
postage stamps! What's the use!"
lie declares that, Notwithstanding
he lives on a rural route, "just five
miles from the general postoifice in
Washington city" and is a subscriber
to The Constitution, the issue of this
paper of December 90 and mailed
that morning reached his home "in
regular delivery" on january 20;
the paper issued and mailed on jan
uary II reached his home on Feb
ruary 10: and that 81 have been re-
ceiving back numbers in lunches of
three and five every two or three
days"
Worse than that, because Of the
added Importance of frst-class mail
over second-class. he says
"An important letter from Col
umbus. Ohio. mailed to me January
90 has come to hand on February 10.
and another very urgent letter about
a lecture engagement that was mailed
to me from an Office in Washington
City on February IL has not yet arriv-
ed on the 10th"
The postmaster general has assured
the public that such delays OF the
mails is because trains are belated /;
but Mr.. Small shows the utter fallacy
and the preposterousness OF such a
contention when he says:
81 am an almost constant traveller
and have recently been over many
leading railway lines, south, east and
middle west. While in recent mon
this | have seldom been upon a train
that was on schedule time, neyerthe'
less | have not been at any point
more than seven hours late
There is hardly man or woman
or a business firm in the United
States having frequent occasion tC
use the postal service who, 1t Is
safe presumption, has not mad ex
periences similar to those recited b!
Mr. Small, experiences equally exas
perating and equally expensive.
Elsewhere upon this page is com
munication from an Atlanta business
man citing an instance i'm his exper
fence in which it required almost al
long a time for a letter to reach hin
from Indiana as it did for nail com
munication to reach him from th'
Antipodes!
Unwarranted. ineycnsabie letter
delivery delays between postoifice
are of daily and general occurrence
and complaints have gone forward
by the thousands from all corners o
the country. And the only repl!
that can be made to them is that
while the service has been neglected
and the public punished the post
= office department has been pilini
money into the treasiry-and MI
Burleson is enabled to announce Will
distinct pride aui qualification tina
the department pro,ited during tn
last year to the eat nj of something
like 100000!
1t is as Mr.. Small quotes a cer;ail
: senator as having remarked. VIVA
; the people want is service, and no
aavings."
In asmuch as Mr.. Burleson
hopelessly welded to the saving an
monetary profits policy-a let-the
2 public-go-hang policy-the peopl
: can reasonably hope for no relief S
long as he retains his portifoio in tn
cabinet.
1t is, therefore, high time, an
: more than high time. that he sc
out; or, refusing to get out voluntarl
ly, that he be put out!
| A rnNCTITITTION