Perth Amboy evening news., 1920-11-11
BURLESONISM GAIN

manner In which the Post Office De
partment at Washington has beer
run under the Democratic admins
tration Is only one of the many rea
sons for the tremendous Republican
Landslide In the recent election. Thu
election was no solemn referendum
on the League of Nations for The
thousands who held these things up
permost in mind. Rather, IL was .
solemn referendum on the manner
lin which the postal affairs of the
country were being handled, or a
solemn referendum on the manner
in which other affairs at Washington
were being conducted.
The latest instance of B~urlesonism
is the manner In which the postal
employees who were supposed to have
been retired on a pension last August
are being treated. 1t is common
knowledge how Burleson opposed
any increase in wages for these hard
working, underpaid government en-
ployes when the cost of living had
mounted to unprecedented figures.
Thanks TO the Burleson attitude, all
during this period of the high cost
of everything there was hardly an
employe of the postal department
who was able to live on his salary.
II he had anything saved UP he was
forced to draw upon it to make ends
meet. II he did not have anything
saved-and the meagre salaries made
it next to impossible for any of the
postal employees to save-the men
were compelled to do outside work
to help exc Out q living or else re-
ceive outside assistance.
When, after a long, hard fight in
and in spite of the oppo-
sition on the part OF Burleson, a
pension system was finally adopted
and the old employees of the govern
ment were supposed to be provided
for, Burleson's department., ap-
.parently in the attitude of one who
been beaten determined to
make 1t as announcement for the VIC
tors as possible, fixed August 20 as
The date for the retire ment of all en-
ployes who had reached the
age without regard
10 the discrimination allowed
by the law, and, 1t now appears. re-
CARELESS of whether the department
was ready to care for those retired or
not.
The result is, many OF the men
who were retired on August 20 in the
expectation of receiving pension
money by which TO continue to meet
expenses, were dumped out In the
cold and some have not yet received
, penny from the government. ust
what BurIeson expects these for
.er government employees to
live on is hard to understand. If the
government was not prepared to be-
gin to pay them the pension money
at once why were they dismissed
without means of a livelihood? Why
were they not retained in office so
that they could keep on earning a
living until such time as the govern
ment would be ready to pay them
the pension that is due them?
Having held these men down to a
petty salary all through the war
when they we're forced into debt
rather than being in a position to
save anything, and then turn them
out of office on the promise of a PEN
sion which, in many instances, is not
yet forthcoming, is about as rank a
piece of injustice as a rank admins
tration of the postal department can
be guilty of.
Inquiries as to when the payments
of the pension are going to be made
brings only the response that the
claim is being investigated. 1t Is
a pity that if these pensions are to
be considered as Claims against the
government that the employees were
not allowed to retain their positions
and earn their salaries until the
claim was established. We cannot
see that much investigation is need
ed regarding the claim" of a man
who has been employed by the gov
eminent for twenty-five or thirty
years.
Regardless of the feeling on any
other issue in the recent political
campaign. many a person will thank
God that March 4 next will
see the end of the Burleson regime In
the Post Office Department of the
United States government.
Prince Paul had better make sure
that the scepter is not septic.