Evening star., 1937-06-27

Over in neighboring Youngstown,
Ohio. the mail carriers were having
similar troubles. D. w. Jordan, an
other witness. told the committee he
saw a picket stop mailman carrying
two special delivery packages. The
picket opened the packages and found
one contained clothing. 1t was sent
back to the post of1lce and the
wrapper, bearing the mailman's nota-
ton, &C. I. o. would not permit de-
livery" has been turned over to the
Senate Committee as evidence.
The two cases cited are not iso-
lated instances, but are typical Of
what is happening to the mails in
areas where John L. Lewis striking
steel workers are trying to force nom
strikers out OF the mills.
The attitude Of the Post Once De-
partment In this menacing situation
is somewhat ambiguous. but never
theless it merits careful considera-
ton.
Regular" Mail Goes Through.
In the first place. it should be made
clear that what officials of the de-
partment call regular" mail is being
delivered with only incidental inter-
ference. The strikers have no objec-
ton to letters and postcards going
into the plants, and mail of this type
has been and is being delivered. This
is the basis Of the departments de-
nial that mail service has broken
down.
However. non-striking workers
couldn't eat letters and couldn't wear
postcards. They needed food and
clothing. Omcials OF the companies,
trying to keep their mills operating,
couldn't deliver these necessities
through the picket lines with their
own facilities, so they tried to send
them through the mails. That's where
the trouble began.
The first move by the postal off,
cials was to rule that food and cloth
ing, presented for delivery into struck
| plants, was irregular" mail, which
would not be delivered. The reasons
for CHASING such mail as irregular
WClS AAOO oU1UCAS OuU ClIS
ruling was based on the fact the steel
executives had not sought to mail
food and clothing into their plants
before the strike started. In the past
however. the mails have always been
open to non-perishable food and cloth.
ing, and such parcels have been de-
livered without question under nor
NAL conditions. Although no postal
ofhcial has said 50, it would seen,
that 1t was the strike and the picket
lines, not the inherent character o1
the packages Of food, that made such
mail irregular"
There is some doubt Is to whether
this classification was made volun.
tarily by Washington postal authori'
ties, or whether it was done aftel
strike leaders in Ohio had called or
postal officials there and reached ar
agreement with them that food ane
clothing would not be sent into thu
plants through the mails.
Acting Postmaster General w. w
Hoves, testifying before the Senate
Committee, Indignantly denied there
had been any such agreement AND
said no postal onicial had discussed
the question with union leaders.
In refutation of this statement
Senator Bridges. Republican, Of New
Hampshire introduced a telegram HI
said he had received from two G. I
o. labor leaders-C. B. Galloway ane
Walter j. Payne. The telegram, datee
ut Niles, on June 8, read:
Relative to the postal question q
Niles, Ohio, Mr.. Galloway and Mr.
Walter ]. Payne did not handle O
inspect any packages at the Niles pos
ONCE. We simply had an understand
ing With the postmaster, aasistan
postmaster and the postal inspecto