Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-07-24
BURLESON COOK
AIDS MAIL SORTING
Letter Carriers Head Tells
of Efforts Made to Cut
Down Postal Expenses.

Witnesses testified before the postal
merce last night on the alleged pres
ent inefficiency of the postal service.
The unanimous verdict of the three
former postal employees who appeared
before Chairman Charles w. Darr and
his fellow committeeman was that
Postmaster General Burleson has con-
sistently attempted to make the Post
Office Department show a surplus at
the end of the fiscal year. with the
result that service has been minimize
ed and expenses cut to rock bottom.
E. J. Gainor of the National Asso
citation of Letter Carriers in reply to
question by Robert n. Harper. pres
ident of the chamber. asking what the
amount of money spent for salaries in
the department was from 1913 to the
present. cited figures from the an
nual audit of the department. show
ing that while there has been ap-
proximately 80 per cent increase in
mail business it has cost anywhere
from one to five millions less per an
mum to conduct that business. This.
he said. is the evidence that shows
all the way through the present policy
of the post Office administration.
Evidence Points to Policy.
Mr. Darr asked him whether Post
laid down policy of money saving so
as to have an unexpended surplus.
Mr.. Gainor replied that such policy
had never been set forth, but that the
evidence of the mass of facts regard
ing service and comparative cost
Overwhelmingly points to such
policy
NJ Hilton, a clerk in the delivery
department of the local post office.
said that experienced men have left
10 office emnlnV in Snch large
numbers that the efficiency of the
service has been greatly. impaired.
Night work and an entrance salary
of 40 cents an hour will not draw
men when they find that no provi-
sion is made for the extra work and
that years of training are necessary
for them to rise to $1,000 job. Re
garding night work. Mr.. Hilton said
newcomers in the service dread this
more than any other phase of the
work and men who will work at night
are scarce.
Mr.. Burlesons Cook Aids.
Postmaster Chance has complained
of this, Mr.. Gainor said. and on oc-
caSions Mr.. BurleSon has sent his Chi
nese cook at night to Mr.. Chance to
assist in sorting mail at the city
post office.
An effort to bring back. the Post
Office Department to its normal posi-
ton, which is not to show surplus.
but rather to give service, must first
contemplate enough man-power to
run the service. Mr.. Gainor said. Sec
ond. the wages must be sufficiently
attractive to secure trained men, and
third, service must be rendered even
at the risk of contracting a deficit.
Others who testified were E. ]. Ryan
for the railway mail clerks and
Thomas S. Flaherty of the National
Federation of Postal Employees. Messrs
Gainor, Ryan and Flaherty are
all former employees of the Post Office
Department and have been diScharg-
ed, Malcolm Kerlin, assistant post
master of the District of Columbia,
said today. Mr.. Kerlin held the view
that Mr. Hilton's testimony that al
legged inefficiency of the Department
is due to lack of man-power rather
than to system favors the depart
ment.
Mr.. Darr's committee will meet witch
Mr.. Kerlin today at the city post
Office at pm.