Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1921-12-28
LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE
Hays and the Postal Service.

Hays and the Postal Service.
Mr.. Editor: s. n
Through the columns of your pa
pers l would like to see the following
! in print. It may be appreciated by
the rural letter carriers of this coun-
| ty and also others interested in the
postal service. Taken from the r.
F. D. News Of November 9Th, the
address of the Postmaster Cen
eral, Will H. Hays, at the con YEN
ton of the National Rural Letter
Carriers Association.
Postmaster General Hays, my
friends, don't know why I should
, be picked out, but l am very glad to
be picked out to express for us all
our appreciation of the moment
| You speak of "humanizing We
are all very human in these matters,
and | hope l always remain so, and
feel that we would be very inhum-
an and we would be very unfair TO
you, if we did not express that which
we feel, which is really heartfelt
appreciation and gratitude for what
you are all doing.
! 1 have decided That the postoffice
business is the most important thing
in the world. Religion is the one
essential industry, but I believe that
| have considered that next to relig-
ion-and / am not certain sometimes
which is frst-the Postoffice depart
ment is the most important thing in
the world. (Applause.) / thought
/ had an adequate idea of some of
the institutions of my government,
when l came on here for this work,
but l had ne adequate idea at all of
/ what the Postoffice department was,
nor any adequate idea at all as
to what it meant to this country.
I have said frequently that we take
the Postoffice department good deal
for granted, like the sequence of the
seasons, as people do. If the mail
is five minutes late some morning
they want to call up somebody and
! see what Is the matter with the whole
world. Of course it doesn't happen.
! Things do not happen in this world,
my friends; they are brought about,
and this great business we call the
/ "Postofice Department" far and
away the biggest distinctive bust
it is just as certain in its execution
and no more so; it is as full in it's
functioning, and no more SO; and as
competent and honest as those units
! which perform the business, Gap
plause).
Of course it is a fact that the real
consequential development of the
| last three decades in the postoffice
service in this country, the one most
consequential thing of perhaps the
most far-reaching Importance is the
development of our rural mail SER
vice. (Applause). The rural mail
service more than anything else has
moved in the direction of making GER
(, tain that we are in this country a
nation and not polyglot boarding
house. We can take the thought
and the products of the centers that
est corners daily with this lap, the
rural mails, and it counts a very
great deal in the life of the nation.
1t is not my purpose to discuss ser
vice problems; it is my purpose and
only that, for the officials of the de-
partment who are partners with you
in the business, to bring from us to
you the most earnest and sincere
expression of the most earnest; hon.
est and sincere regard that is is pcs
sible for partners to have one for the
other. (Applause).
/ This thing is not done down here;
! this job is not performed, that
means so much to the business and
happiness and prosperity and well
fare of this country-it is not done
down in the Postoffice department; it
is not even done in the postofiice by
! the postmasters. I cannot in truth
say even that it is done by the rural
carriers exclusively, but is done by US
all working, all for one and one for
all, to the great objective of the fin
est postal service IN the finest cum
try in the world. applause.
I One word more, and then we will
go on and let you continue your de-
! alterations, which we regret we car
not participate in completely, and
that is this: / want unequivocally,
for myself and the department, to en-
dorse your organization. (Great ap-
plause and cheers). Organization is
4 just as certain a step forward; it is
only by organization and grouping
! that these large things are accom-
plished, and [ want you to have, the
department wants you to have, we
all approve, the organization, we
want to act with you, and there will
never be a time when the organiza-
/ ton as such, it's Officials as such, or
any individual member as such, or
otherwise, cannot bring to the depart
ment any trouble, any problem, any
complaint or any suggestion at any
time that any of you may have. Gap
plause).
Now let us not forget as we go
about our business that we all have
a very large duty to do daily the task
which is ours, and to try to help 9TH
ers. We are in a period of very SER
ious consequence to this country and
its people. The great man in the
White House bears burdens none of
us know about, We are in a period
of more far-reaching consequence
for the future of this country and the
world than the world has ever been
in before. We must all take every
opportunity to help.
| want you to take very seriously
and earnestly this suggestion of hu-
manizing the postoffice service. The
rural carriers, as such, with their ac-
tivities as they are, do not need this
effectively and can do their work
less subjectively than other branches
of the service in this regard. Hum
AIMING is simplv the rule of the