New-York tribune., 1922-03-21
Senate Votes
Restore n. Y.
nj all Tubes S
Measure for 1923, 733.OOO
Postoffice Appropriation
Approved After Fight;
SO Million for Highways
Provides for Air Service
Amendment to Improve
Postal Service Here Bitter
ly Attacked by Mcclellan

WASHINGTON, March 20.-The post
office appropriation BILL carrying s623,-
$4,000, was passed to-day by the SEN
ate after a hard fight. The measure
contains provisions for the restoration
Of the New York pneumatic mail tubes
and for continuing the New York to
San Francisco air mail service. 1t also
appropriates s50,0OOO0O for the con
struction of highways. The vote on the
tube amendment was 36 to 10, and came
after bitter attack had been made on
it by several Democrats
Senator McKellar, Democrat. of Ten
ncssee, asserted that the Senate was
giving its approval to something that
was dangerously near brazen steal
of Federal funds" The tubes had many
defenders, however, and the amend
ment finally prevailed Senator Norris,
Republican, of Nebraska, predicted that
another generation would see the con
struction of these tubes for the trans
portation of mail between other large
cities.
Mr.. McKellar said that if the New
York tubes were restored, then Chr
cago, st. Louis, Philadelphia and Bos-
ton would seek "to push the camels
body under the tent" and get those
systems restored. Mr.. Norris replied
that he was unacquainted with the
questions in those cities, but regarded
the use of tubes as "a step in human
progress and he did not think that the
Senate should stand in the way.
Fight on Appointments
fight centering around postoffice
appointments, originating early IN dis
cussion of the bill. resulted just before
adjournment in the introduction by
Senator Harrison, Democrat, of Mlssls-
sippi. of a resolution calling on the
President to supply the Senate with
the number of executive orders he has
issued removing postoffices from civil
service classification. The resolution
went over under the rules.
The fight which eliminated IN the
Harrison resolution was precipltated by
an amendment increasing the number
of postal inspectors from 420 to ozo' a
move which Mr.. Harrison charged was
to make more places for Republicans.
The debate quickly entered the subject
of postmas appointments, and the
President was charged with having re
moved the Marion, Ohio, office from
civil service by executive order so that
he could appoint the postmaster IN MS
home town.
S235.000 Involved
This amendment isyolved S232,oVo'
but it required tw&-h ours OF discussion
and record vote, 40 to 81, before 1t
was finally put into the bill.
During consideration OF the amend7,
ment to increase the number OF postal
inspectors from 420 to $40 the Senate
defeated an amendment by Senator NC
Kellar to increase the number only
thirty instead of 100. Senator Harrl-
sons charges of politics aroused the
Republicans and Chairman Townsend,
Of the Postoffice Committee, informed
the Senate that there were pending
approximately $4,000 claims and pro-
tests in the postal service and ne be,
lieved the additional inspectors would
save the government as much as
$40 900 900 a year in cleaning up those
cases. Many of the cases, Senator
Townsend said, had been pending from
two to five years because the force OF
inspectors was absolutely inadequate.
He declared that many of them were
due to the heavy increase in parcel post
business. but that fraud, inefiiciency
and incompetency and other reasons
were included in the protests and
ri