Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-01-02
NEW POST OFFICE
ALREADY IS TOO
SMALL FOR CITY
Postmaster Sites Would Have
New Quarters in Pennsy
Station
STILL ABLE TO GET ALONG
Force of Clerks Learned How
to Manage in Crampcd
Temporary Quarters

That the Harrisburg Post Office by
no means meets requirements OF this
growing community has long been
evident TO discerning persons who
are familiar with conditions. To-
| day Postmaster Frank Sites sug-
gested a shift in the establishment
which would solve all problems and
give the Capital City an even better
service than it has to-day. The fact
is that the post office service here,
| as In many cities, requires unneces-
sary trucking. the mail and parcel
post being lugged all the way UP
! from railroad stations and then
hauled back. One difficulty is that
the recently .reopened building was
! planned more than five years ago.
IF the Pennsylvania Railroad
! builds new station. facing on Wal
nut street and the Capitol Park. {"
observed Mr.. Sites to-day, I'VE sure
| ly hope that the Post Office will have
its headquarters in the place, thus
| following the pase set in other cities
and giving Harrisburg a modern,
up-to-date exchange for this essen
tial activity"
Uncle Sam realized that the postal
! service was by no means as efficient
! as 1t should be when he located the
.
| great Pennsylvania railroad struc-
ture. The same. change was made
! in Washington. and arrisburg
should get in the king row. If it is
! going to keep up the progress now
under way.
| The local office is one of many
| victims of the governments system
of turning over post office building
TO the Treasury Department, instead
! of giving 1t TO experts of the Post
Office Department who know pre-
cisely what is wanted, and, who like
the planners of the Penn Harris. can
fill the bill. t.+ -
The original appropriation for the
office here was too small, only $125,-
/ GEO, intended to add story in Lo-
cuust street. In 1918 Pennock &.
Company, of Philadelphia, started
operations. When Postmaster Sites
took hold he saw that with parcel
! post and other demands required a
! larger appropriation and through
! Congressman Kreider was able to get
$4,000 more; the plan being to
build two wings. If an appropria-
tion of 100000. the amount given
to York had been secured when the
contract was given out fine mod
ern structure might have been put
up here. But the same now, with
! the increased cost of materials would
cost million.
The city of York was fortunate in
having Samuel Lewis, then secre-
tary to Congressman Lafean. who
personally saw that the plans for the
new building there were very mod
ern, and in fact almost perfect.
II have no fear that we will not
be able to handle the work here
for ten or fifteen years." declared
Mr.. Sites to-day under the present
! circumstances. l am convinced OF
this because we managed TO get
4 along four and half years in the
temporary quarters and that. too
although business increased from
s372,000 in 1918. to $615,00O in
1917. due much to the introduction
of parcel post. | was his later in,
novation which makes it essentia
the post office be close to- the rail
1 road for we are now handling muci
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