Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1922-01-08
FUTURE POSTMASTERS GENERAL
MAY BE SELECTED FROM RANKS
OF 100000 In POSTAL SERVICE
New Spirit Already
Brings Speeding
Up Of Mails.
Plans a Future Service
Making That of Today
Look Like a Joke.

interesting to go back a bit and look
at some Of the more simple things
which the present postal administra-
ton has put into effect. For 1t is by
the aggregation Of simple things that
the big things are being brought into
being. 1t was a simple idea the POST
master General had to begin with
why. let's treat these human beings
like human beings!" Only because
many people had lost sight of that
principle was he able to put 1t
over"
After infusing the entire postal
service with his own spirit--"human-
izing" 1t, in other words-he gen
eral" turned his attention to welfare
work among the employees as such.
He got the vice president of one of
the big insurance companies to come
to Washington and go to work for
him without pay.
This man jumped in and established
a national welfare council, and in
Vulnerable local welfare councils at
post Offices throughout the country.
All matters of proper quarters. sani-
tation. ETC.. are being taken care Of
by these employee committees.
Then postal conventions were held.
and leading postmasters called to
postal situation. All sorts of modifl-
cations of existing orders were made.
in every case loosening up some
stringent old order for the benefit Of
employees. The policy Of enforcing re-
tirement at certain age was revok-
ed: rules for reinstatement were
changed. to the consequent benefit Of
those reinstated; rural carriers who
had been paid only once a month were
paid twice a month. Nothing was too
little to be thought of, not even plac-
ing the name Of the Post once De-
partment in large letters over the
main entrance, SO that for the first
time visitors might know at what
building they were looking. ->s-
A stamp agency for the use 5uf stamp
collectors was formed, and al fnf6rs
nation bureau for the use OF tour
lists and others opened in the Post Of
fee Department building. Efforts have
been made to reduce the night work
in post ofdces. and much progress has
been made along this line.
The system of efficiency ratings.
long a sore spot In the side Of postal
administration. has felt the human
izing" process. and now the ratings
are not so much kept in an effort to
find out what a man does wrong as
to give him credit for the things he
does right.
The old system of secrecy in postal
affairs is a thing Of the past. One
does not have to wait two months to
get to see any Official in the big gray
building. In every way possible the
public is taken into fullest co-opera-
ton. Such cooperation is one of the
biggest assets of the postal service,
by the way, but for several years 1t
was looked upon. strangely enough
with suspicion.
How finely the public co-operates
when you take it into your confidence
was demonstrated during the past
Christmas season. The mail early
campaign. long conducted almost
wholly in the National Capital. for
the first time became a nation wide
campaign. Everybody mailed early
with striking results. When the de-
partment asked the people to stop
using very small and odd-sized en-.
velopes. the public quit using them.
BY conducting a general mail.
early I'm the-day" campaign, the mails
have been speeded up throughout the
country. The average man, who has
not paid much attention to the postal
service, except to kick when a; letter
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