Evening star., 1924-06-29
BY WILL p. KENNEDY,

the service on self supporting basis
Will receive prompt consideration as
soon as Congress gets back from it's
campaign and election recess Be-
hind that lies a thrilling history of
pioneering, of upbuilding service and
devotion to duty.
On the day that Congress adjourned
President Coolidge vetoed the COM
promise bill providing a new schedule
OF salaries for postal employees This
was the only one of the three i'm
portant measures vetoed by President
Coolidge during the first session on
which the veto was not overridden.
No action was taken in Congress on
the veto message.
In the closing hours of the last
session it was announced that in the
December session a bill would be
reported covering a revision of the
postal rates as a result of a COM
prehensive survey being made by the
Post ONCE Department. 1t was then
stated that while the government is
not a success as a business organi-
cation, the Post Office Department is
an exception to the general rule and
that it has been the policy of the
government for long time to operate
this department in a way that will
be self-supporting.
Severe Merit Tests Planned.
Five days after Congress went into
recess mail bandits forced their way
with lethal gas into railway mail cars
near Rondout. ILL.,, and made off with
nearly 100000 in money and secur-
tiles While it was directly stated
by the acting head of the Post ONCE
Department that men in the postal
service were working in collusion
with men outside of the service en-
gagged in robbery, this crime empha-
sized anew the strenuous and DAN
gerous work of many employees OF the
Post ONCE Department.
The mail service of the country Is,
and always has been, considered
scored trust which the government
cannot guard too scrupulously. 1t mas
been so maintained by the government
and by the conscientious services Of
the workers, exposed to many
principally night work, and as a rule
underpaid. AS a result of the neces-
sity of purging the service from those
employees denounced by General
Bartlett, acting Postmaster General.
as traitors" more severe merit tests
for those entering the service are to
be enforced. Throughout the entire
service the morale is to be tuned up
to the highest standard.
At the same time the government
is preparing to protect its employees
in every way possible, and equipment
of railway mail clerks with gas masks
is the answer to this particular mode
of attack. Acting Postmaster General
John II. Bartlett is arranging with
Secretary Of War Weeks for a trans
fer to the Post ONCE Department of
a sufiicient number of gas masks to
equip all of the 5,os6 railway postal
cars
Hold-UPs Decrease.
Postal clerks in direct charge of the
mail trains are armed and have to
shoot to kill" in case circumstances
the administration Of will H. Hays
as Postmaster General he arranged to
have U. S. Marines placed aboard mail
trains to discourage a growing prac-
tice of holding them up.
The Post ONCE Department just has
issued an official statement showing
that the mail bandit has scant chance
of getting away with his loot. There
were sixteen big hold-ups in 1921,
eighteen in 1922 and six in 1923, and
the record proves that the bandit has
only about 10 per cent chance of
escape.
1t is only few years ago since
a President of the United States de-
feated a great railroad strike with
the declaration that ''the mails must
move"-and this typifies how the gov
ernment has considered one of its
greatest duties to the American
people to be keeping the mails mov-
ing and inviolate.
The postal service always has been
considered a partnership of the en-
ployes with Uncle Sam-and there
are $4,000 such partners. Besides
the $1,000 letter carriers there are
$4,000 clerks. $4,000 rural carriers.
$4,000 postmasters and $4,000 railway
postal clerks
The postal service has with true :
American spirit pioneered through
three centuries, and is still pioneer
ing today. 1t serves directly, as no
other agency of the government,
every one of the 100000 citizens
On the frieze decorating the Wash
ington City post Office the creed of
the postal service, as worded by DR..
Charles w. Elliot, president emeritus
of Harvard College, is heralded:
Messenger of sympathy and love:
Servant of parted friends;
Consoler of the lonely;
Bond of the scattered family.
Enlarger of the common life:
Carrier of news and knowledge:
instrument of trade and industry;
Promoter of mutual acquaintance,
Of peace and of good will.
Among men and nations.
franklin Advanced Service.
From the earliest Gays clVlllzatlon
has meant communication. Roman
messengers speeding to the ends of
the empire changed tired horses for
fresh at relay stations of the roads
to Gaul, Britain, Germania and Spain.
These stations were called posts"
and from this significant term mark
ing the relay we get today the
nucleus of our conception Of world
wide postal service, the post office,
and every ones friend. the postman
1t was mail courier who blazed
tho 6rSf trail hofuoan Nour Veil. a-a