East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1921-11-10
NATIONS BUSINESS
DEPENDS ON POSTAL
SERVICE SAYS HAYS
Postmaster General, Who is
Out to Increase its Efficiency
Explains Business Value
BY HARRY WARD.
international News Service Staff
CurrpsUOuGent.

1potheut.
WASHINGTON. Nov. 10. - "On
more than any other one thing the
nations business depends on the pos
tai service"
Postmaster-General VIII H. Hays
made that assertion recently and pro-
Iceeded to give many facts and figures
to bear it out. The postal establish
ment is the biggest business in thn
lworld,' he said. "employing 325 600
men and women. or about one postal
employe to every sos Of the country's
hundred million population.
IN order to visualize the immens-
lity of its business operation contin-
lued the postmaster-gener "let us
roughly estimate that there are H.
100000, 900 letters and 100000, 0o0
parcels handled annually. There are
I33. 600, 600 copies Of daily newspapers
lprfnted, many Of which go through
| the mail service Nearly 1000, 600 =
OO0 postage stamps, 2,700, 600, 600
stamped envelopes and 1.125.000, 600
postal cards are sold annually. The
enormous sum Of $1,500, 100000 is is
sued in money orders annually. There
are 100000 depositors Of postal saw
tngs, larger in number than any bank
ing institution existing, and their de-
post9 amount to $152,000 900"
Big Rural Delivery.
Postmaster-Ge General Hays pointed
out that the postal establishment op-
crates its railway mail service over rail
trackage long enough to encircle the
earth ten times. The rural delivery
system serves over six and one-half
million families. The length of the
routes is about 1,17000O miles and the
carriers travel annually back and forth
over these routes a distance of 1863,
OOO, 900 miles,
Some other amazing figures were
used by Mr.. Hays to emphasize the in
mensity Of the postal service. For in
stance. the railway mail service uses
$1,000, 900 mail sacks in which to c'
! ry the mail. and 1t takes 5000, 600
| yards of canvas to make those sacks.
Nearly 100000 miles of tw,ne is used
annually to tie up the package of let -
ters in transit, or enough to wrap
around the earth thirty-two times. The
facing slips used on these packages
amount to 1875, 900, 900 annually. The
| pincushion of the postal service Is
kept filled from 100000 boxes Of pins
annually and 100000 lead pencils
and 100000 pens are used each year.
"The postal service has been taken
for granted pretty much as the Sc
quence Of the seasons" said the post =
master general. The task involved
N its operation is not apparent to the
average man, who is too much con-
lcerned in his own business or has nev-
er been invited to give thought or sug-
lgestion to postal Improvements. He
shall no longer have occasion to say
that the postal problems have not had
consideration by business men, be
cause he is going to sit in on the So
luton of these problems, which will
lensage the best minds of the biggest
business men in the country In or
der that we might have the benefit Of
the largest possible way of the ideas
of business men as to improving the
the postal service we have called into
conference and have appointed to inn
portant positions bus ness men, some
of whom are serving without pay
According to Postmaster G Gcneral
Hays the weak link in the postal ser
vice has been the low morale of the
IemploNes. 1--WE are trying to improve