Evening star., 1924-06-07

AS a result OF theSe rcaQJuStmeuIS
the average salaries for 1928 are:
Post Office clerks, $1,751, increase OF
1919 since 1909, or 10 per cent; post
ONCE carriers, $1.752.s3, increase OF
$3.50 since 1907, or So per cent; rail.
ss4s since 1907. or 81 per cent; rail-
way postal clerks, including. travel
allowance, $2,292, Increase Of $1,131
since 1907, or 81 per cent: rural car
riers, = 1.s4s52. increase of $1,14o
since 1907, or 160 per cent
Says Average $1,5SA
clerks now receiving from $1,140 to
~, ,o40 per annum in the clerical, ad-
ministrative and fiscal services in all
the departments in Washington will
be approximately 1854 on July l.,
eader ass aes q 1ss It is thus ns
seen that the lowest average OF the
salaries of the postal employees in
the field service is nearly $500 more
than the average for employees in the
ington.
At the request of the committee
which considered this legislation the
Post Office Department made 4 spe-
cial investigation of the range Of
salaries paid to persons employed in
business institutions throughout the
country and reported the results.
These investigations covered repre-
sentative cities ranging in popula-
tion from 1000 to over 100000 1t
was found that in all cases of en-
ployes of similar character the
average salaries paid were much
| lower than those paid in the postal
service
Higher Scale justified.
Ihe conditions under which en-
| ployment is undertaken in the postal
service and those under which it is
undertaken in business are not al
together alike. The scale of salaries
| IN the postal service should be suffi-
| GENTLY high to attract those who will
/ make it p life work This cannot be
nlsh enough to enable the emplove
to take upon himself the obligations
OF citizenship and his place i'll society
and render satisfactory service to the
pay to postal employees a scale of
| wages that is somewhat higher than
the scale paid to employees in the
| business world
Il am Informed there is generally
no diHculty in maintaining lists Of
ellg1bles to fill vacancies. There are
certain localities where difficulty ex-
lists; these localities being almost
Titnout exception large cities and in
! dustrial communities affected, in the
one case. by high costs of living due
TO metropolitan conditions. and in
| the other case, by the higher wage
scare and living costs. But there are
approximately 5000 eligibles on the
to fill vacancies in the railway mail
| service and there were 25, 0C0 appii-
cants for the examination hn1,,
snroiughout the country by the civil
| service commission on Nav 3
| This bill increases the salaries Of
all postmasters excepting those at
ofhces of the first-class 1t increases
the salaries of supervisory officers in
post ofhces, post office inspectors and
officers of the railway mail service
SSOo each. and in some instances more
1t increases the salaries of clerks and
carriers $500 each and of rural car
riers on the average $293 for each
carrier on standard route. These
increases apply alike to all classes of
| post offices. They ignore the fact
that there is a wide difference in the
cost of living in the larger cities and
lnQustrlal centerS as compared with
the smaller cities and towns. If there
is real need for revision of salaries
in the postal service it is to provide
wage differential for those en-
ployes serving in post Offices located
IN the larger cities and industrial
centers. There is no justification for
increasing salaries to apply to all
offices when the need for such in
creases does not apply to a large
number of the offices. Aside from
this, no provision is made in this bill
for raising the money which would
be required to meet the additional
expenditures which it proposes Tn
der its provisions we would be re-
quired to take an additional amount
of approximately s6S, 900. 900 per year
from the moneys paid by the tax
payers, and pass it on to the employees
of the postal service Certainly the
interests of the people demand that
any legislation increasing the cost
of the postal service should give con-
sideration to the raising of the moneys
necessary to defray the additional
cost.
Says Revenues Drop.
For the fiscal year 1929 the postal
revenues were S32,000.000 less than
the costs of the service for that year.
This deficit had to be met from the
moneys paid by the taxpayers. We
should not add to the amount OF the
postal deficit as is proposed by this
bill, but should attempt as a sound
business principle to have the users
of the mails approximately pay the
cost of the service. The law gives
the Postmaster General the power,
with the approval of the Interstate
Commerce Commission. to increase
parcel post rates. Even if the pro-
posed increase of S6S,000,000 contem-
plated by this bill was justified, it
would not only be unfair to the users
Of the parcel post to recoup the whole
amount in that manner, but 1t would
be wholly impracticable to secure 1t
from the parcel post business with
out destroying that service. The
farmers, who are the largest users OF
parcel post, are not in position to
contribute a large sum to the postal
"The Post Office Department is
now engaged, by direction of Con-
eress, in a cost ascertainment, for
which half a million dollars was ap-
propriated. This inquiry has been
prosecuted with diligence and Is near
ing completion. When the results or
this inquiry are available they Will
form the basis for an inteuigent con,
sideration by the Postmaster General
and by Congress of all questions re-
lating to the adequacy or inadequacy
of postage rates. They will afford
proper basis for consideration of the
relation of the cost of the postal
service and the revenues derived
therefrom. The time has arrived to
consider putting the postal service On
a sound business basis so far as ex-
penditures and revenues are con-
cerned. It is apparent that the matter
employees should be considered in con-
nection with the ways and means
whereby the postal revenues may be
correspondingly increased, not apart
therefrom. This report will be avail
able when the Congress convenes in
Dec cember, and this matter can then
be considered.
"If that provision stood alone, I
should approve that part of the bill
relating to campaign funds.
CALVIN COOLIDGE
From Yesterdays $40 Edition of The STIR