New-York tribune., 1920-05-16
$'6,OOO,OOO Is
Asked for P.O.
Building Here
Calder Introduces Bill Pro-
viding for Structure
Near Pennsylvania Sta
ton for Foreign Mail
Move Urged by Burleson
Present Facilities made
quate for the Growing
Postal Business of City
Erom The rribnne,s woshimoton Bureau

From The Tribunc's Wushinotos Bureau
WASHINGTON. May 15.--An appro
priation of S6.0O0,000 for construction
Of new postotfice building near the
Pennsylvania station, New York, for
handling foreign mail, was asked of
Congress to-day in an amendment to
the Sundry Civil bill introduced by
Senator Calder, of New York, at the
request of Postmaster General Burle-
son. Postal facilities in New York
City are Inadequate to handle the in
creasing volume of mail, Mr.. Burleson
said in letter to Senator Calder.
The proposed new building would
have $4,000 square feet of floor space.
1t would be used principally for the
foreign branch postal service, but
would accommodate also the overflow
from the Pennsylvania station post
oftice, the Grand Central station and
the Hudson Terminal or City Hall sta
ter. In his letter Mr.. Burleson said:
"Practically every postal station of
tie New York Office, occupying quarters
leased prior to January 1, 1916, is in
urgent need of additional space, and in
some cases it is only with the greatest
difficulty that business is being trans
acted in the accommodations available.
Eighth Avenue Station Inadequate
"The General Postoffice quarters in
the building adjoining the Pennsylvania
Railroad Station on Eighth Avenue, be-
streets, are much overcrowded 1t is
the desire of the department to Sc
cure, if possible. a building that will
provide for the foreign branch station
and at the same time relieve the Cen
eral Postoffice by transfer of certain
work now being done there.
statistics show that there has been
l
postal service in New York City dur
ing the past decade, but the increase
during the first ten months of the fiscal
year 1920 has been phenomenal.
"The quarters occupied by the for.
eign branch station are totally made
nuate. The space consists .of two old
buildings constructed on different
grades and providing approximately
5000 square feet of floor space. The
number of pieces of mail matter han
died for foreign countries in 1901 was
t76,357 .0S3. and in 1919 total of 272,-
859,244 pieces was handled, or an in
crease in business in eighteen years of
257 per cent. The records show that
the total parcel post mail dispatched
to foreign countries in 1909 was 246,
545 pieces, while in 1919 the total was
1,636. .107, or an increase Of 563 per
cent.
AN unprecedented and abnormal in
crease of mail to all foreign countries.
particularly parcel post, both ordinary
and registered. is expected within the
next few years.
General Office Also Congested
ain addition to the necessity of pro-
viding adequately for the foreign
branch station, additional space must
be provided for relief of the General
Postoffice. The average number of can
cellations of letters in the General
Postoffice during the first four days of
December, 1919, was approximately
.244 900 day. The General Postotfice
is at present being operated at its CO
pacity. BASED upon reasonable aver
age increase Of 10 per cent per annum,
q fair estimate of the future require
ments in the mailing division may be
considered as 1928, 900 cancellations
daily in 1929.
The delivery section is crowded, the
basement and platform are badly con-
gested. and express strikes during the
last year and the recent railroad
strike have shown that it is imperative
that open and mobile space for the
handling and distribution Of incoming
and outgoing parcel post mails be pro-
vided. During the recent railroad
strike the postofcc was the only pub
lie transportation utility which ope-
:
this service was maintained at great
disadvantage and at maximum cost,
owing 70 lack of space and proper
facilities with which to handle, dis
patch and deliver the immense volume
OF parcel post, which at times was SOC
per cent above normal in quantity.
"The registry section, on the second
floor Of the General Postoffice, is bad
ly congested and the corridors are used
for storage. The platform upon which
public vehicles must unload is wholly
inadequate.
THE postal station at the Crane Cen
tral depot is being operated to capacity.
Sufficient additional space is needed to
eliminate the necessity of a mailing
division at Madison Square Station.
Based upon a reasonable average
increase of 10 per cent per annum in
collections and drops, fair estimate
of present and future conditions would
appear as follows:
Total cancellations per day. 4,057 ,O0C
Expansion in five years. 6,491 ,20
Expansion in ten years. 10,l42, SOC
rive years .....,........ 6O per cent
len years ................ $50 per cent
"From present indications the mini
mum requirements for space in which
to accommodate the foreign branch sta
tiOn and relieve the General pnstoffi cc