Evening star., 1920-04-04
V|ND|CATE REPORT
| ON MAIL BAG SHOP
S. E. BIassingham Stated
Conditions TruthfulIy, En-
pIoyeS Tell Postmaster.

Employees of the mail bag repair
shop late yesterday filed a statement
with Postmaster General Burleson
declaring that S, E. Blassingham,
charged with misstatement of facts
as to conditions of employment in the
shop. lis in no sense responsible for
the statements of fact, but acted
merely the employees representa-
tive. in accordance with the approved
procedure of the reclassifcation COM
mission
The employees stated that they alone
are responsible for the statements of
fact contained in the brief sub
mitted in their behalf TO the reclassi-
1ication commission last December "a.
and reiterated their assertions as to
the dust in which they work.
Meeting to Deny Charge.
As soon as the news of the charges
against Mr. BlasSingham reached the
employees they held "a meeting and
drew UP the statement which was
dispatched to MIR. Burleson. In their
letter the employees declared:
AT a meeting held in pursuance of
the plan of co-operation proposed
by the reclassification commission.
whereby groups of employees in the
different branches of the government
service were given opportunity to be
heard by the commission. the cond1-
tions in the mail bag repair shop were
discussed by the employees present
with Mr.. Blassingham and Miss Ethel
NJ. smith, executive secretary OF the
Women'S Trade Union League. with
which we, as members of Federal En-
ployeS Union, No. =, are affiliated. Mr..
BlaSSin ngham and Miss Smith took
notes OF the statements made by us,
and subsequent meeting of the en-
ployes was held at which the brief. or
written declaration. as formulated by
them from the notes thus taken, was
shown to us and read to US by Mr..
BlaSSingham. We accepted the brle1
as prepared and ii was read at the hear
ing before the reclassfication commits
sion in that form by one of our number.
The statements contained in the
brief were true, to the best of our
knowledge and belief, and we have so
stated TO Inspector Spilman, who has
questioned each one of US at length in
separate private interviews. Since the
date of the hearing, however, some
of the conditions from which we asked
relief have been improved. Up to that
time, as stated in our brief, the mail
bags which had come to US for repair
since the removal of the shop to the
present building, had not been cleaned
in any manner before being given to
us. Recently, cleaning machines re-
ferred to in our brief have been put in
operation and some of the dust is thus
removed from the bags before they
reach our hands. We still ask. how
ever, for some system of thorough
cleaning and thorough removal of
dust from the air we breathe while at
work upon these mail bags.
Charges without Basis.
We trust that the facts above set
forth make it clear to you that Mr..
Blassinsham has made no misstate-
mentS in this matter; that the charges
made against him by Post Office In
spector Spilman are therefore without
basis of fact"
Accompanying this statement is a
letter to Postmaster General Burleson
from Miss Ethel NJ. Smith, executive
secretary of the Women's Trade Union
League, who assisted in the drawing
of the women's brief with reference
to the mail bag repair shop and who
claims the sentences on which the
charges against Mr.. BlaSsingham are
based as her own phraseology, in
tended to describe the conditions as
stated by the woman employees. The |
brief, she states, was formulated by !
her in cola boration with Mr.. Blassing- |
nam from their combined notes taken |
at the meeting.
To the best of my information and !.
belief. the statements were and are
true says Miss Smith. That both |
Mr.. Blassingham and i must depend
upon information and belief, however.
and not upon personal observation, is
due to the fact that when we visited
the mail bag repair shop for the pur-
pose of seeing for ourselves what the
conditions were, the official in charge
told us that he was unable to allow
US to see the workroorns From the
Guperintendent's Office, at our request
and in our presence, after he had
stated that he could not allow us to
go through the shop without a permit
from the fourth assistant postmaster
general. he telephoned to the Office of
Mr.. Blakeslee, and the permission to
see the WOrkrOOmS was refused