The Cordova daily times., 1921-05-18
TO IMPROVE MAIL SERVICE

Postmaster General Will H. Hays has taken firm hold of the postoffice reorganizing the big department, and will be so occupied for many months. Some assistant postmaster generals have already been appointed, and it is said chiefs of bureaus are to be retired or shifted to other duties as soon as possible. MT. Hays has already effected one improvement in the service. He asked business men to mail their letters when the let ters were ready, and not to hold mail until office closing hours in the after moons, which has been the custom in most business concerns for many years. Such customs resulted in the mails becoming clogged in the late afternoons and at night so that mail often congested in postoffices and delay occurred in transmission. If the postmaster generals sugges- tioH cDout llldIlluSo otll IcIItl0 ttS SOOl as they are ready to mail is generally followed throughout the country there will be vast increase in the speed in which firstclass mail is forwarded to destinations.
 MT. Burleson, the former post master general, who served eight years as head of the postoffice de- partment, was in continual "hot water" during his whole service, and there was hardly a week in the eight years in which there was not some kind of row in the department. When MT. Burleson was not fighting various interests, including labor, he was usually involved in a scrap with congress. There are a lot of things that MT. Burleson did, however, to improve the postal service, that are recognized by the public, and winch were of great benefit to the postal service. One of these was the par cels post and the other the aerial mail service. MT. Burleson made other improvements in the postoffice department, but the parcels post and the aerial mail were his two great est achievements. It is hoped that both will be developed and extended greatly by Postmaster General Hays.
 It is too early in the new admins tration to forecast just what MT. Hays plans to do to improve and ex- tend the postal service. It is said, however, that he had ambitious plans for the department, and is now lay ing out a comprehensive scheme for Improvements. The Indianian has tough job in front of him because the postoffice department is one of the most difficult, if not the most diff ficult, in the federal government to manage, so that there is no criticism from the public and no attacks from the employees or from interests that feel themselves hurt by official ac- tions of the postmaster general. With probably the exception of Frank Hitchcock we have not had a postmaster general since the Civil war that did not have a continual series of fights of various kinds and a lively time during the time he held office. The postoffice depart ment, too, is always favorite taget for attacks from the minority party in congress. Burleson was assailed on many occasions by the then Repub- ican minority in congress during the Wilson administration. Mr. Hays no doubt figures that he will have plenty of fights before he serves out his term, but he hopes to avoid conflicts with congress. If such lights occur he can of course count on the aid of the large Republican majority in the senate and house.
 Such is the pressure of his depart mental work that MT. Hays is said to be very anxious to resign as chairman of the Republican national committee, but he can hardly do this before the next meeting of the com m1ttee, which is scheduled to be held early in July.