Twin city review. [volume] (Champaign, Ill.) 19??-1929, 1924-11-28
JUSTICE TO POSTAL
EMPLOYEES

This time next week. j, very likely
will be definitely known whether CT
not the postal salary bill S-1S9S,
vetoed by President Coolidge will be
come a law over his ill-advised ana
brutal veto.
Ii is confidently expected that Con
gress will reaffirm its former almost
unanimous vote for this meritorious
bill, for nothing mas happened since
il was vetoed which would afford the
slightest excuse for any senator or
congressman who voted for this bill
10 now change his vote from "yes"
to mo" Ii Is barely possible some
member of Congress, who is strong
for the administration aud his party
may think it is his political duty %
sustain the veto. That attitude, how
ever, is clearly wrong. for TO follow
that course would make the President
an autocrat debating legislation and
would defeat the very purpose and
intent of the Constitution, which
provides for laws to be passed over
veto when Congress in its judg-
ment deems il wise TO do so. A con-
gresham should remember he is
elected by the people and il is his
duty to represent them, not the Presi-
dent, when it comes to the considera-
tion of veto. If he represents his
constituents when he voted for a bill
he should continue to support that bill
over veto unless later develop
ments convince him that the voters
of his district, have changed their
attitude on the bill in question. Pos
sibly ii might be said that the big
vote given Mr.. Coolidge was sufri-
cient reason for sustaining his veto.
That might apply to anything that
was an issue in the campaign, but
potsal salaries never were mentioned
as an issue in the recent election
Therefore the postal salary bill
should be considered on its own merits
independent of election results.
A congressman might be justified
in reversing his vote if veto mes.
sage contained new and important
matter which convinced him he haC
made a mistake in supporting the bill
that had been vetoed. In the vetC
message on the potsal salary bill
S-19S9, there is absolutely nothing
of this kind. Everything the Presi
dent says. in criticizing this bill wa;
laid before the Joint Postal COMMITTEES
by the Postmaster General or hi:
authorized representative during ths
hearings which extended over a perioc
oT more than three months. After
due and careful deliberation on the
great volume of testimony they hac
! before them, the committee reported
| favorably S-1989. The President
carefully ignores the fact that the
steady rise in the cost of living has
had the effect of an actual reduction
in postal salaries for the last tel
years. 1t also was convenient to for.
get that the maximum postal salary
is far below the Government "healtf
and decency' budget in the lowest
cost city.
He seemed to amply justify his veto
on the ground that the bill did not
provide the means of raising the ad-
ditional revenue to make it effective
This is beyond the control or juris-
diction of postal employees, yet ac-
cording to Mr.. Coolidge's reasoning,
they must suffer for it. He evident
ly forgot that he had approved bill
raising certain postal salaries in the
Department at Washington from $5,-
10000 to $7,50000 and this bill con-
tanned no provision for raising addi-
tional revenue. In 1914 the railroads
received $51, ,4S1 900 for transporting
the mails, in 1923 $50, 6,239, 900, an in
cerase of CT per cent; rent, light and
fuel cost 81, ,6S4, 900 in 1914, in 1928
$11 ,472,000 or las per cent increase ;
supple sin 1914 cost $4,000, in 1914
they cost $750,000, an increase of SO
per cent. The bills which have pro-
vided for these increased expendi-
lures have not carried provisions for
raising the additional revenue re-
quired Yet when the postal workers
ask for a just and merited increase
to partially restore the purchasing
power of their debated salaries, they
are told their bill, unlike the others,
must contain within itself the pro-
vision for raising the necessary rev.
enue to merit the increased amount,
but they are not told why they are
subject to this discrimination. There
fore this veto message which is so
unfair to the 100000 postal employees
cannot carry weight with any mem
Der Of Congress who is honest with
himself and his constituents.
"A Reader