Evening star., 1937-06-14

"WhOeVer shall
knowingly and Willfully obstruct or
retard the passage of the mail, or any
carriage, horse, driver, or carrier, or
car, or steamboat, or other convey
Rnce or vessel carrying the same, shall
be fined not more than 500, or i'm
prisoned not more than six months,
pr both"
So while the postal officials may
contend that they did not wish to
deliver mail in areas where there
might be danger and that in doing so
they were acting in accordance with
precedent which allows postal car
fiers a certain discretion, there is no
such flexibility with respect to the
person who sets up the obstacles or
obstructions constituting the dangers
complained of by the Post Office De-
partment.
Some Direct Questions.
Did any strikers in Ohio obStruct
the delivery of the mails? Did any of
the piCkets notify the post Office en-
ployes that if foodstuffS were delivered
through picket lines the trucks or
autos or vehicles carrying the mails
might be held up? If they did, then
the Federal district attorneys have
been remiss in their duty in failing to
cause arrest of the persons who
threatened or actually did obstruct
the delivery of the mails And if the
Federal district attorneys did not ex-
ecute the laws of the United States,
The responsibility rests on the Presi-
dent Of the United States whose OBJ
hgatlon 1t is to see to it that the At
torney General issues the necessary
instructions for prosecution.
Apparently the Ohio poStmasters
themselves would be material wit
nesses before grand juries for what
ever was said to them by strikers or
sheir agents with respect to what mail
would or would not be admitted to the
strike plants becomes important teS-
tin1ony as bearing on whether the laws
Of the United States have been vio-
lated.
Unless the laws applicable to the
delivery Of the mails are enforced, all
sorts of complications may ensue. The
fact that the chairman of the Dem
ocratic National Committee is at the
head Of the Post Office Department
may have encouraged some of the
strikers who are affiliated with or
ganlzations that contribute to cam
paign funds, to believe that they could
tamper with the mails and no prose-
cutlons would follow. But the obliga-
ton for prosecuting violations of law
rests not on the Postmaster General
but on the President of the United
States who acts in such cases through
the Attorney General.
Many instances are being cited and
the newspaper dispatches have been
reporting several of them to the effect
that threats Of danger or violence
were made by strikers in the event
that mail was delivered. High postal
officials have admitted as much in de-
Tending their course when refusing
to deliver mail into what they con-
slider danger zones.
Facts Easy to Get.
The post office is equipped with
inspectors who act as detectives in
tracking down any violations of the
postal laws, and it would not be
difficult task for them to discover lust
who has been threatening to retard
the passage of the mails whether the
mails contain irregular" or normal"
service. Once the names are OBJ
tanned the next step would be to pre-
sent such names to the grand Jury,
which has the duty of considering in
dictments.
There has been considerable SYM
pathy with the feeling of the postal
officials that they ought not to send
mail carriers or truck drivers into
strike zones and risk bloodshed. Ger
talnly not one life should be risked
unnecessarily, and especially if obed-
ience to the laws of the United States
can be obtained without bloodshed.
Several days have passed since the
drst reports came of interference
with the mails, but nothing has been
heard about any prosecutions of the
individuals who sought to retard the
passage of the mails. In one case
striker freely admits that he had an
understanding with the postal off,
clals whereby a certain package was
permitted to go through the picket
lines. This implies that the postal