Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-03-27
The Political Mill
Post Office Needs Rute
Raise to Get Out Of Red
But Mail Will Go Through
Despite Roin, SIeet, Deficits
By Gould Lincoln

By Gould Lincoln
The man or woman who drops a
letter in Uncle Sans mailbox is Just
about as sure it will be safely delivered
as he or she is sure the sun will rise
the next day. There could be no greater
tribute to the postal service. Few
persons, however, stop to consider the
cost of the service they get or how
it is paid. When former President
Truman sent his budget for the fiscal
year 1854. ending next June. to Con-
gress over year ago. he estimated
that the deficit for the Post Office
Department would be $746 million. He
overestimated postal receipts by 500
million. So. If the Truman budget had
been in effect, the total deficit would
have been $846 million on June 80.
The Eisenhower administration and
Postmaster General Arthur E. Summer
field stepped in to change the picture
materially. So materially that the
present estimated deficit is only about
$415 million. and Mr. Summerfield
hopes this will be still further cut
How has this 0-million-plus cut
in the expected deficit been made?
Partly through pruning and cutting
expenses, partly through greater eff
cheney. including important changes in
administration; partly through some
increases in postal rates, and partly
through charging other Government
agencies for postal services.
Breakdown Given/
Here's the breakdown: Pruning Of
expenses and greater efficiency. $201
million: shift of air-mail subsidies to
the Civil AeronauticS Administration,
$50 million: increase in foreign mail
rates and charges for lock boxes, $40
million: shift of charges for handling
mail from the Post Office Department
to Congress and other Government
agencies, which in the past have
"franked'' all their mail, $40 million.
and increase in parcel post rates, $50
million-a total of $431 million. OF
course, all these changes do not mean
savings. They do mean, however. that
the Post Office Department and the
postal service are being run IN a more
businesslike manner, with greater
service to the public and many real
economies.
A major question is, do Americans
prefer to pay for mail services directly,
or to pay through the income tax
route? Another question is, do Ameri-
cans wish to pay for their mail service
Or to pass that payment on to their de-
scendants? Since the close of World
War II less than nine years ago. postal
deficits have reached staggering total
/. of more than 81 billion. That's part Of
the national debt, on which the people,
through taxation, pay more than 500
million dollars year. 1t is something
to think about-when the administra-
tons postal rate increase bill comes be-
fore Congress for action. That meas
ure has been reported favorably to the
House by the House Committee on Post
Office and Civil Service. 1t is awaiting
a special rule from the House Rules
Committee for consideration on the
floor of the House The Senate Com
mittee is soon to start hearings on the
measure. The bill calls for a Accent
stamp instead of Scent stamp on let
tiers sent out of town. In-town mail
will still pay 3 cents. 1t also provides
fer increased rates on second and third
class notwithstanding magazines and
newspapers. Many strong protests have
been, and will be, made against these
latter increases. If the bill becomes
law, it is estimated the annual deficit
will be cut to about $50 million.
Regions to Be Set Up.
Postmaster General Summerf1eld, in
his program for greater efficiency and
more and better service for less money,
has included decentralization of admin
istration. In the past some Al 900 post
masters, located all over the country,
have had to report directly to Wash
ington and to obtain authority to get
any new material-a typewriter, for ex-
ample. This situation was called to
the attention of the President and
Congress in 1949 by the Hoover Com
mission on Government Reorganization.
Nothing was done about it, however.
until Mr.. Summarized took over. Now
the proposal is to have the country di-
vided into Is regions, with regional
managers. Each region will be di-
vlded into districts, presumably or
to a region pilot" region. consist
ing of Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky.
with headquarters in Cincinnati, was
set up last November. 1t has worked
We'll. AIlOtIlCI ICSlO1l, Va
nois, Michigan and Wisconsin. will be
set up with headquarters in Chicago, in
April, and six other regions are to start
operating during the rest of the year.
The postal service has more than $780,
900 officials and employees. 1t handles
a tremendous volume of business. The
mail load is increasing between
and per cent every year. Obviously,
decentralization is of vital Importance.
Personnel Bureau.
Another move by the Postmaster
General was to set up Bureau OF Per-
sonnet. This new bureau has charge OF
recruiting new personnel, training, de-
velopment of supervisory personnel,
safety and health of employees, sugges-
lions and awards, and salary and wage
administration. Its head, Assistant
Postmaster General Eugene j. Lyons.
was drafted for the job from his posi-
ton as vice president of one OF the big
chemical and drug manufacturing COM
panies of the country, Merck q CO.,
Inc.
The postal rate increase bill must
take its chances in Congress in year
with the congressional elections Just
around the corner. The danger lies III
the potential unwillingneSS OF Senators
and Representatives to vote increases IN
mail rates which must be paid by the
voters. The administration, however, Is