Omaha daily bee., 1919-08-20
URGE PAY BOOST
TO BETTER CITYS
MAIL SERVICE
Committee Finds U. S. En-.
pIoyes Are unable TO Ex-
ist' On Salaries They
Receive Now.

Q the executive committee OF the
Chamber Of Commerce. the special
committee appointed 10 investigate
the cause OF the poor mail service
given Omaha has submitted its re-
port. together with recommends
tons.
The executive committee has ap-
proved the report and will forward
II to the postmaster general re-
guessing early action.
The special committee finds that
the principal cause io- the constant
~ inefficient mail service is largely
due 10 the fact that employees in
the local office are underpald With
this finding goes Recommendation
that the salaries Of clerks and car
rIers be increased not less than s.
Is per cent.
The finding Of the special com
r1ittee shows q majority Of the
clerks IN the office are paid less
than 800 . month and that due to
the high cost OF living, they are
ceived.
On account OF the low wages, =
large number of the older employees
have quit the employ Of the gov
eminent and found other positions
As result, II has been necessary
10 put substitutes in their places and
they IN turn have quit as rapidly
as they found other employment.
The special committee finds that
al the Council Bluffs transfer. where
a vast quantity Of the mail is han
lied, truckers who handle mail from
the cars 10 the transfer points are
paid Sl25 month, while clerks who
require months Of experience in ord
er to become efficient in the han
ding and rout g OF mail receive
but 500 a month.
Quit Jobs Rapidly.
Relat tive to the city carriers. the
committee finds that among the
Younger men, they are quitting their
Jobs as rapidly as they find others
This is especially true with the car
riers who went TO war Upon their
-eturn their old positions were open
o them. Few went back TO work
md those who did have quit when
ever they have found something that
paid better.
The committee recommends the |
Inauguration Of arr mail service be |
ween Omaha and Chicago at once. |
instead Of waiting until next May. |
II is suggested that the government |
has a large supply Of airplanes and |
that in order TO keep pace with the |
trend OF progress the Omaha-Chl- |
cago extent'on is a necessity.
To expedite the movement Of |
mail to the east, business men are
urged 10 have their letter mail de-
POSTED in the postofhce not later |
than o'clock each afternoon. Thus
il would 60 out on the and ,
o'clock trains, reaching Chlcago .
early the following morning Other (
wise il would not leave Omaha IN
II after 9 o'clock at night and would
not reach Chicago until nearly noon .
the next day. Postmaster Planning
that an average Of 10000
pieces OF mail destined Tor the east
come to the postoffloe daily after
O'Clock. 1t IS impossible to get this
out by : o'clock.
Motor Trucks Urged.
The discontinuanc OF the street
cars for the gathering Of mail from
susurban stations and street letter
boxes is urged, and il IS recon-
rended that as soon as possible,
motor trucks be used for this pu--
pose.
More than 90 OF the largest cities
Of the United States have been car
wing or ar investigation OF mali
conditions. Their reports, together
with that from the Chamber OF
Commerce will be presented 20 the
postmaster general 1t is under
stood THAT all OF them have found
conditions similar 70 those existing
here and that similar recommended
lions have been made, barring the
recommendation relative TO air mail
service