Evening star., 1924-07-12
THIS AND THAT
BY G. e. TRACEwELL.

PoStal employees OF the nation reel
that Postmaster General New rubbed
salt into their wounds when he
caused President Coolidge's message
vetoing the postal salary bill to be
reprinted complete in the Postal Bull
letin, daily publication Of the Post
Office Department.
The employees read the message in
the newspapers first; to have to read
it all over again was something they
willingly would have foregone. Espe-
cially that sentence about "the cost
of living has decreased, rather than
increased"
Frankly. they would put that just
the other way around. Mr.. New says
he printed the message as matter
of record. and at the request OF post
masters and employees. who asked to
be informed of the exact wording OF
the Presidents message.
:: i X i
600 strong, are perhaps the best
sportsmen in the government service.
They have swallowed their disap
pointment over the veto of the pay
bill, and are hard at work. as usual.
sorting, transporting, delivering the
country's immense mail.
Like great river. that never
ceases its flow for an instant, day or
night, the postal service never stops
While you and I sleep postal clerks
are at work.
OF them IL can be said. almost lit
orally, with d few reservations:
The heights by great men reached
Il
Were not attained by sudden flight,
But they, while their companions
slept
Were toiling upward in the night"
Toiling in the night they certainly
are Nor are they all men. In CleVe-
land women are working AT the cases.
sorting mail, the very mail that comes
To your door. for eight and nine hours
ending at midnight and / o'clock.
After that they are free to go home
through the night
In the National Capital the law
would not permit such night employ
ment of women, l believe, and GER
tainiy not longer than eight hours
Postal employees say that IN CleVe-
land and other midwestern manufac-
turing cities clerks are hard TO get,
owing 20 better wages paid in COM
petition. so that it is necessary to
take women. who are willing to work
at the wages paid in the postal
service.
Postal employees are such good
sports. indeed, that some of them ad-
init. in their heart of hearts. that
President Coolidge was right in
ye,oing the postal salary bill at this
time
The laborer is worthy of his
hire" says tn" Bible.
The trouble is that il is difficult
to say what the hire ought to be.
School teachers were not so much
wrought up about their salaries un-
til during the war they learned that
brick layers were making a lot more
money than they were.
Advanced employers have recoS-
niZed that to pay decent wages, so
that a man may have some of the
and better work. and also satisfies
that craving of the human heart to
do something outside the mere rou-
tine of earning a living"
IT is hard for some folks to recos-
nize and still harder to admit 1t, that
like themselves. Really, there are
employers who like to do decent
things and get real thrill and feel
ing of citation. out of doing them.
* \ = =
Now the postal clerks boss" is
Uncle Sam, mythical yet very real
sort of personality. an old party pic
tured with white whiskers. and "a
most benign countenance. judging
from the cartoons. anyway.
Uncle Sam wants to do the right
thing but he has TO do il through
his agents. His biggest agent. Presi-
dent Coolidge. says Uncle Sam has
told him that government eNtrava-
genCe must stop" and that was the
ma in reason why he vetoed that bill.
Does any one represent Uncle Sa m
more than the President?
| do not think so. Nor do the loyal
postal employees, who have suffered
their disappointment in silence. with
out even a thought of strike, such
as Canadian postal workers en-
ployed to get increased salaries.
The men in the ranks feel that
Postma ster General New was misled,
in his opposition to the bill. by some
of his lieutenants. They mention
they believe MIR. New is now in doubt
about the whole matter.
Certainly no man in public employ
gives more constant service than the
mail clerk. the letter carrier and the
countless others who daily handle
the messengers of love" throughout
the nation.
The carrier comes into daily con-
tact with all Of US. Maybe we see
the President once year, if we live
in Washington, or once in lifetime
if we live in the states.
Cabinet members, to most of US. are
ct V
see of the N or have anything to do
with them.
our house two or three times day.
know his.
On the "workroom floor of count
less post offices thousands of other
men work as faithfully and steadily,
sorting and handling letters and par
cells.
On great trains roaring nightly
across the country stand thousands
more. the railway mail clerks, work
ing away that we may not have to
wait minute longer than necessary
to get our mail. Now they are roar
ing through the air in the night on
the same service.
These are all the servants of every
man.
No postal employe can ever say. as
did Grotius on his death bed
Il have spent my life laboriously
doing nothing"
The postal employe spends his life
laboriously. it is true. but he spends
It doing something big in big way.
His compensation should be in keep