Evening star., 1920-06-02
SICK LEAVE IMP. 0.
IS RECOMMENDED
Suggestion by RecIassifiers
First Ever Made in Behalf
of Postal Employees.

Sick leave privilege for the first
, time in the history of the Washington
city post Office is recommends in the
report and bill just made to Congress
by the congressional commission on
recla ssif1cation of the salaries of pos
tai employees.
Employees of the Washington city
post office. under the terms of the
bill. will be granted ten days sick
leave a year. with cumulative privi-
made law it will give the more than
1900 local postal clerks and carriers
sick leave for the first time in history.
Now without the Privilege.
At present employees of the local
post office have no sick leave privi-
leges. and but fifteen days annual
leave 1t is declared that very few
of the employees ever dare take their
annual leave, under present condi-
nual leave for any possible illness
that may visit them each year.
Under the new bill not only would
the employees be given definite sick
leave privileges. but would be grant
ed the old fifteen days of annual
feel free at last to go ahead and take
their annual leave "in a bunch
The new bill by providing an en-
trance wage of $1,400 for permanent
carriers and leaving the wage OF tenn
porary carriers at so cents an hour
rights another bad situation. it is de-
clared. owing to the fact that at pres
ent the temporary carriers are en-
abled to earn more money than the
regular carriers. Under the new pro-
visions the permanent carriers would
start in at about what an energetic
substitute can earn, and in four years
would be drawing considerably more
than a temporary carrier could ex-
pect to earn.
Postmaster Loses by Error.
Owing to a misprint in the report and
bill, it developed today that the salary
of the Washington city postmaster is
not raised from $4,000 to $500 a year,
but remains at $4,000 per annum. The
misprint made it appear that at post
offices doing 100000 a year postal busl-
ness the postmasters would receive
have read $7,000.000. Thus only the
postmasters at the largest cities, such as
New York, will receive the $4,000 a year
salary.
Postmasters at such cities as Wash
ington, Baltimore, Detroit and similar
cities. which rank next to New York.
Philadelphia, Boston. etc. will remain
with the old salaries of $4,000 year.
The bill provides that when a city post
Office does an annual business Of $780,
900 year the postmaster shall receive
$4,000 a year Thus the postmaster OF
Norfolk. it is declared. receives a sim
liar salary to that of the postmaster of
Washington, although the local city post
Office does an annual business Of $3,500-
900 on the average.
Alleged Inconsistency.
Another seeming inconsistency in the
report Of the postal reclassification COM
mission. it is declared. is the provision
which allows post Office inspectors-in-
charge annual salaries Of $4,000, thus
giving each Of the fifteen inspectors-fn-
charge 5000 more each a year than the
chief post Office inspector in the post
office department receives. The chief
post Office inspector comes under the
regular departmental service. and Is not
included in the postal service. and his
salary is included under the report of
the joint congressional commission on
reclassifcation Of salaries in the Dis
trict. Under the report Of that commits
SION the salary was left to the discretion
of the Civil Service Commission and
Congress.