Evening star., 1924-03-03
POSTAL PAY RAISE
HEARINGS STARTED
About 1900 Employees in Dis.
trict Affected Coolidge
and New Opposed.

| Hearings on the so-called Kelly
Edge bill giving increases in salary
to more than 100000 postal employees,
begun today before a joint meeting
Of the Senate and House post Office
committee.
About 1900 postal employees in the
District of Columbia would be affected
| by tho proposed bill 1t is estimated
that should the bill become a law the
postal expenditures would be in
creased about 1922, ,O00, 900 a year.
| President Coolidge is opposed to the
bill, it has been said, because of the
to the budget. Post
! master General New also is against
the legislation, and a letter written
by Mr.. New was read to the commit
tee today by Assistant Postmaster
General Stewart. In this letter Mr..
New explained that either it would
be necessary to increase postal rates
or to draw more money from the
Treasury to meet the salary increases
proposed in the bill.
Parcel Post Costs.
Suggestions were made that if the
rates on parcel post were increased
so as to make the business self f-sup-
i
| the increases proposed in the Kelly
Edge bill. AS an example of the loss
to the government on the parcel post
business. it was said that the rate
from Toledo, Ohio, in certain zone
was one-seventh Of the express rates
1 in the same zone.
Mr. Stewart told the committee
that the government is now conduct
| ing a scientific investigation to de-
termine just what was the cost of
/ n n nnCf To c1il hn
expected to have the report ready by
May or June for submission to Con-
gresS. Until that data was in hand,
he said, the Post Office Department
could not make recommendations in
regard to the parcel post rates to the
Interstate Commerce Commission.
w. l. Sprohmann, an expert in Mr..
Stewards Office, was questioned by
the committee also in regard to par
Gel post business.
New Opposes Bill.
Declaring that there are several
classes of employees. regating "a
large number of postal employees"
the so-calIed Kelly bill--Postmaste
General New said he thought it ap-
parent that mo bill which leaves
out any considerable number of en-
ployes will be final
Postmastcr General New said that
the Increases contemplated in the
bills would raise expenditures SO that
the postal deficit would total $780,
eo0, 900
He said. in part:
ANY rcadjustment Of salaries of
postal employees must necessarily in
clude- the whole postal establishment.
and this fact is evidently recognized
by members. for during this session of
Congress there have been introduced in
the House and the Senate over fifty
bills. some general in scope and others
! applying to individual groups of en-
, ploycS. Perhaps sixteen of these are
duplicates. being the same bills intro
duced in both houses, and the others
fall under about twelve classes relat-
ing to as many general or special
groups of postal employees. These bills
cover changes in salaries. conditions
OF employment and work, leaves of alb
sence. pay for auxiliary and overtime
work and night work, etc.
1T is probable that "a readjustment
for the whole service along the lines
provided for in these bills would in
rolre an increase annually in expendi-
lures of sl50.000,000 for the postal
service. Besides these there are a
number of bills proposing the reduc-
zion of postage rates.
Wants Men Well Paid.
This letter is not and I do not
wish it to be taken as an expression
of my opinion upon the subject as to
whether there should be a readjust-
ment of these salaries. l have always
favored adequate and just salaries for
government employees and since TAX
ing charge as the head of the Post
Office Department, I have been i'm
pressed with the important services
performed by officers and employees,