The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1921-07-26
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
Information Bureau
FREDERIC J. HAsKIN, Director,
washington, d. G,
HUMANIzTNG THE POSTAL sERv-
ICE

I
after VIII H. Hays, late chairman or
the Republican national committee,
i took charge of the postoffice DEPART
ment in the administration OF Presi-
dent Harding. he attracted country
wide attention by declaring that the
postal service must be humanized. He
said, that the 100000 employees of the
postoffice department were not to DE
regarded as commodities, but that
| they should be made partners in the
! conduct of the business; that having
i 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
work at the business of humanizing
| the service which he heads. He is
| trying to see all of the postal en-
ployes it is possible for him to meet.
He has talked to 1000 of them in
| Washington, and in New York and
Chicago to about $4,000 more He
! invited to Washington to confer with
| him the heads of the seven postal
workers organizations Postmasters
and division superintendent of the
here that their views might be ascer-
| tanned.
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 confer
| enee every side of every question af-
feeting the service and the men and
women responsible for it was gone
| into. What is regarded as the cap
stone of the humanizing 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 serv-
ice. Mr.. Hays confidently looks for
a steady improvement in the mail
| service as a result of this system, and
that is where the public will get it's
| reward.
/ Mr. Hays's travels thru the coun-
| try in his political campaign days
| brought him in touch with many big
| in their plants, he came in contact
with the systems of welfare work they
| have found it desirable to install and
build up. If 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 postoffices, which means
! practically everybody in the United
| States.
| Postal Welfare Work.
Mr.. Hays accordingly secured the
| services of Dr. Lee X. Frankel, vice
president of the Metropolitan Life In
| suFance company, known far and wide
as the head of the welfare work built
| up among the employees and policy
| holders of that company. DIR. FrankeI
! is serving the postoffice department
for an indefinite period without pay.
! Another step taken by Mr.. Hays in
| following out his system is a change
in the seniority rights of postal en-
| ployes 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 em-
ployes just one grade below that held
when they resigned.
/ Mr.. Hays found many instances,
| too, where the retirement law worked
injustices to employees and hurt the
| service as we'll The arbitrary re-
| tirement of clerk whose mental and
physical faculties are unimpaired
did not please the new boss of the
postoffice department. He put into
| effect a policy of continuing for two
year periods, those who were fit and
restored several who had been arbi-
tFarily retired
| To carry the humanizing effort OUT
side the exact confines Of the service
and make it apply directly to the pub
| lie, the postmaster general has asked
postmasters everywhere to take an
active interest in commercial 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
! thru proper addressing and mailing
during the day instead of dumping
quantities of mail on the postoffices
! just at the close of the business day.
| Postmasters have been told to en-
| courage constructive criticism and
| legitimate complaints 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 in
structed to get in touch with school
authorities with a view of educating
school children in postal matters.
| Mr.. Hays is not claiming credit for
! the system as the child of his brain.
1t has been urged for years. He does
I believe. tho, that he is going to get re-
suits from pushing the plan as hard
as it can be pushed.
EMAIL Early'' Campaign.
In the campaign to induce mailing
turnout the day. the begin at home
policy was adopted. The postmaster
members of the cabinet and brought
! the mail situation to the attention of
members of congress. 1t was found
that nearly every governmental bureau
| had been holding mail until the close
| of the day, then depositing it all with
the postoffice This clogging of the
mails naturally resulted in delays
/ which We're often unavoidable.
| One of the first results of the plan
was that it was possible to shift many
of the night mail workers to day jobs,
from which these employees naturally
benefited. To business men Mr. Hays
appealed on a give and take basis He
asked them how they would like the
postoffice department to hold their
mali all day, then dump it all on them
at the close of the business day at
is just as blessed to deliver mail to
the postoffice hour by hour as it is to
receive 1t hour by hour" he pointed
out. Almost immediate results were
seen.
In order to give postal employees a
close interest in the detection of mail
Foooers, Mr.. Hays astonished them by
offering a reward of $4,000, without
any strings to it, to any postal employee