Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-07-26

wy ASHINGTON, D. c., July 2O-Soon
w after Will H. Hays, late chairman
W of the Republican national COM
mittee, took charge of the post office de-
partment in the administration Of President
Harding, he attracted countrywide atten-
ton by declaring that the postal service
must be humanized. He said that the 3OO,-
600 employees of the post office department
were not to be regarded as commodities, but
that they should be made partners in the
conduct of the business; that having the
brain and the hand to do the job we'll, they
would be given the heart also with which
to carry on.
To prove that he was not uttering empty
words, Mr.. Hays has gone into the thing
thoroughly, and still is hard at work at the
business of humanizing the service which
he heads. He is trying to see all OF the pos
tai employees it is possible for him to meet.
He has talked to 1000 of them in Washing
ton, and in New York and Chicago to about
$4,000 more. He invited to Washington to
confer with him the heads of the seven pos
tai workers organizations. Postmasters and
division superintendent of the railway mail
service have been called here that their
views might be ascertained.
The next step was a gathering of the
heads of the groups of employees and all of
the officials of the post office department,
and at this conference every side of every
question affecting the service and the men
What is regarded ds the capstone of the hui
manizing effort was put on when Mr. Hays
authorized pOstmasters to consult with
clerks and carriers or other postal workers
on matters affecting them and the service.
Mr.. Hays confidently looks for a steady i'm
proVement in tn mail service as a result of
this system, and that is where the public
will get it's reward.
Mr.. Hays travels through the country in
his political campaign days brought him in
touch with many big private commercial Ell
terprises and in their plants he came in con-
tact with the systems of welfare work they
have found it desirable to install and build
up. II private business could benefit from
such systems, the new postmaster general
saw no reason why the postal service could
not benefit as well, and it would follow that
any improvement of the postal service would
Immediately benefit every client of the post
offices, which means practically everybody
in the United States.
Postal Welfare Work
Mr.. Hays accordingly secured the services
OF DR.. Lee K. Frankel, vice president of the
Metropolitan Life Insurance company, known
far and wide as the head of the welfare work
built up among the employees and policy
holders OF that company. DR.. Frankel is
serving the post office department for an
indefinite period without pay.
Another step taken by Mr.. Hays in fol-
lowing out MS system is a CnanSe IN the
seniority rights of postal employees who have
resigned and re-entered the service. 1t was
formerly the practice to put them back at
the foot of the list. Now and hereafter they
may again become postal employees just one
grade below that held when they resigned.
Mr.. Hays found many instances, too, where
the retirement law worked injustices to en-
ployes and hurt the service as we'll. The
arbitrary retirement of a clerk whose mental
and physical faculties are unimpared did
not please the new boss Of the post office de-
Hartment. He put into effect a policy of
continuing for two-year periods, those who
were fit and restored several who had been
arbitrarily retired.
To carry the humanizing effort outside
the exact confines of the service and make
it apply directly to the public, the post
master general has asked postmasters every
where to take an active interest in CONNER
cial clubs, chambers of commerce, boards Of
trade, and similar organizations. This is
primarily to acquaint business men directly
with how they may help in facilitating mail
deliveries, mainly through proper address,
ing and mailing during the day instead Of
dumping quantities of mail on the post Of
fees just at the close of the business day.
Postmasters have been told to encourage
constructive criticism and legitimate COM
plants of inadequate service and have been
told to give personal and prompt attention to
these complaints when they come in. Also,
these postmasters have been instructed to
get in touch with school authorities with