New-York tribune., 1921-06-16
Hays and Party
Here to Study
Postal Needs
Expenditure of 10 to 20
Millions Declared Neces.
sary Properly to Handle
Vast New York Business
Hearings to Begin To-day
Mail Traffic of City Equal
to That Of Entire Domin-
ION of Canada, He Says

Postmaster General Win II. Hays
and the federal Postal Commission,
headed by United States Senator
Charles E. Townsend, of Michigan, yes
terday made an official inspection Of
postal buildings, equipment and sites
for new buildings in New York, pre-
paratory to the expenditure of from
Sl0.000,000 to $20,000,000 in the metro
politan district.
The commission Is composed of Sem
ators and Representatives from the
postoffice committees of the Senate
and the House. Mr.. Hays said it had
been in existence for number of
years, but that Mr.. Burleson would not
let it work Now, he said, he was going
to pile onto the commission everything
it could handle for the betterment Of
the department.
"The time has come" he said, in dis
cussing the commission and it's work,
"to do something for the service here,
which handles as much business as the
entire Dominion Of Canada. The VOL
ume of business of the New York post
Office has increased 289 per cent in the
last eight years, while the physical IA
cilities have not been creased--with
the exception of the plant at Times
Square"
Adequate Facilities Forecast
To this end, he said, it was expected
that the Federal government will
spend from 100000 to $4,000 600
"The problem here is so big" he said,
that it is not city problem at all.
but rather national problem. New
ork City is the neck of the bottle of
the nation. We have agreed to weld the
Senate and the House and the Post
once Department into one big director
ate to get the right degree of team
work"
The visitors were busy all day and
VIII be motoring again all day to-day,
tomorrow it is expected that the com
mission will begin hearings at the
Hotel pennsylvania to acquire informa-
Non TO guide them in their task Of
spending the money wisely.
The commission includes Senator
townsend, chairman; Senator'S Thomas
Sterling, of South Dakota; George n,
Moses. of New Hampshire; Kenneth
M liar, of Tennessee; David /.
Walsh. of Massachusetts,; Representa-
tlVes Halvor Steenerson, of Mime sota;
Calvin D. Paige, of Massachusetts,; W.
W. Griest, of Pennsylvania; Arthur B.
Rouse, of Kentucky, and Thomas w.
Bell, of Georgia John G. Koons,
former First Assistant Postmaster
General, is an advisory member of the
commission. The advisory council of
the commission includes John Gribble,
of Philadel lphia, chairman; Charles M.
Bancroft, Boston; William c. Redfield,
New York; W. 7; Smith, San Fran
cisco; T. D. Dwight, Sioux Falls, S. D.;
l. c. Wade, Cornelia, Ga, and N. d.
Cooley, Ann Arbor. Mich.
Representative Steenerson is vice
chairman, and E. H. McDermot is sec
retary Of the commission. Will Hays,
not the Postma ster General, who has
been in the department thirty years
and Edwin L. Post, dean of the corps,
who has been in the department forty
six years, accompanied the party.
Comfort for Employees
The Postmaster General, at the Times
Square station, indicated what may be
expected in the reorganization of the
system here SO far as it affects the
comfort of the employees. This sta
tion contains rest and reading rooms,
lavatories and shower baths and has a
Hays had inspected these he expressed
great satisfaction at the beginning the
department had made in their installa-
tion and said:
"These comfort facilities are as es-
sential and vitally necessary as is the
floor space or any other part of the
equipment. The men need some COM
forts and intend that they shall have
them wherever it is possible to install
them. 1t inspires in the men spirit
of loyalty and desire to make the
service better. Where tho stations are
without these facilities it is impossi-
bic for them to keep clean. SO these
improvements are as essential from a
health standpoint as for the morale
that they instill."