Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1919-10-16
bURLES0N SAYS HIS DEPARTMENT
 MOST EFFICIENT
POstmaster-G General Defends His Administration of
 Portfolio.

Portfolio.
 Atlantic City, N. J., Oct 15.~ i Vigorously turning against his crit ics in the first public address he has delivered since entering the cabinet, i Postmaster General Burleson today told the American Hardware Manu lecturers Association, in session here, that the postal administration was remarkable in development, wonderful in organization and that it's standard of efficiency borders on the miraculous"
 Speaking of his policies and eff forts made to obtain reversal the
 postmaster general declared: "Record has been made of what I stand for and that record is not going to be changed"
 Critics of his policies were divid- ed by Postmaster General Burleson into two classes, those were honest and those who were actuated by ul- terior notices. The former he ad- mitted frankly included the bulk of the people because they have not understood difficulties under which the postal service has worked. The latter were said to be those interests affected by economics made for the benefit of the people, the express companies insured in the develop ment of parcel post, the railroads which objected to space payment for carrying the mails, the owners of pneumatic tube systems which were abolished and the newspapers and magazines which fought an increase in the second class postal rates. Train Service Bad.
 In his first public account of his stewardship after nearly seven years in office. MT. Burleson said the aver age tenure of postmasters general had been only two years. He de- clared this was easily explained by the fact that the employees in the service come in daily contact with the majority of families in the na- tion, which gave fertile opportuni- ty for criticism.
 "When the entire world was read iusting itself to war;" he asked, "when our splendid railroad system broke down completely, is it any wonder that there was some slight disarraneement' of the postal serv- ice? Yet there were people who complained they did not receive their mail with regularity and dependa- bility."
 q don't blame them for complain ing. it is human, but it was unjust"
 "As the only government depart ment with nationwide organiza- tion, the postal service was called upon by all other departments to aid them in war work" MT. Rurle- son continued, land this. in spite of the fact that tens of thousands of trained postal employees had been called to the colors or been put in cantonments to give soldiers eff cient mail service.
 "In one month, also there were 97 ,n00 missed train connections"
 For the treasury, MT. Burleson said his department distributed tens of thousands of tons of Liberty Loan propaganda, sold 82 per cent of all new tax stamps which included the auditing of 50.000 accounts. The postal service also distributed mil lions of nuestionnaires and acted as 8 recruiting service for the war de- pdfCIHeHU. dlueU III IndklHV tue 1000
 conservation measure effective and played a leading part in administer ing the espionage act and register ing alien enemies.
 Suppressing Propaganda. "Exclusion oe seditious matter from the mails was a very unwel- come task" MT. Burleson said fre- quently. "I was denounced as sup pressing free speech, an autocrat and Prussian, but l moved on in the even l tenor of my way performing my duty with moderation. exercising no arbitrary power whatever, but en- forcing the law as written. It is great subject, in that every case where my action was contested, the courts have upheld me-"
 | Declaring he was not going to be harsh, the postmaster general turn ed to individual policies for which 1 he had been attacked. In reducing parcel post rates and increasing the weight limit of parcels, he said, he turned deficit into a surplus, but encountered opposition from the ex- press companies which came within one vote in the senate of repeating the law.
 CAILLAUX CHOSEN.
 Paris. Oct 15.-M. Caillanx has been chosen candidate for the