1912 3.72
1913 8.65
1914 7.59
1915 .23[1]
1916 8.63
1917 5.66[2]
1918 4.47[3]
1919 5.91[4]
1920 19.81
1921 6.02
[1] Decrease.
[2] Additional revenue on account of increased postage rates incident to
the war not included.
[3] see Footnote 2.
[4] see Footnote 2.
_The Post-office and Good Roads_
The pony express riders, to whom reference has already been made, rode
over trails and cow-paths made by herds of buffaloes, deer, or cattle.
To-day, however, as part of our post-office appropriations, large sums
are included for construction and keeping in repair public roads and
routes used by different branches of our mail service. For the present
year there was appropriated for carrying out the provisions of the
Federal Highway Act the sum of $75,000,000 for what is known as Federal
aid to the States in road construction, and $10,000,000 for forest
roads for 1923. A comprehensive program has been adopted and, in order
that the States may make adequate provisions to meet their share for
the Federal appropriations, they know in advance just what Federal
appropriation they can depend upon.
The total Federal aid funds which have been apportioned to the States
from 1916 to 1921 amount to $339,875,000. On February 1, 1922,
$213,947,790 had been paid on actual construction, leaving a balance for
new construction of $125,927,214. Between February 1 and July 1 of this
year about $40,927,000 more was put into construction.
_Washington Headquarters_
The main Post-office Department Building is located at 11th Street and
Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. What is known as the City
Post-Office Building is at North Capitol Street and Massachusetts Avenue
in that city, and the mail equipment shops are located at 5th and W
Streets, N.E. The total number of employees in the General Department is
2025.
The clerks throughout the department, in character, intelligence, and
dependability, are above the average. Not only must postal clerks be
familiar with the location of several thousand post-offices, but they
must know on what railroad each post-office is located, through what
junction points a letter despatched to that office must pass, and many
other important details. The schedules of railroads affect the method
of despatching mail, and these are constantly changing so that postal
clerks must be up to the minute on all schedules, etc.
_Red Corpuscles for Our Postal Arteries_
A new post-office policy that is well expressed by the words "humanized
service" has been inaugurated. The postal educational exhibits which
have been conducted in many of the larger offices for the purposes of
teaching the public how to mail and how not to mail letters, parcels,
and valuables were but single manifestations of this new spirit. Some
persons may think--and with good reason--that only recently have postal
authorities indicated concern in what the public did; but that the
present interest is genuine is evident to any one. The department is
likewise interested in its workers and makes an effort to understand
them. Says the head of the department in his latest report: "We are
dependent on the nerve and the sense of loyalty of human beings for the
punctual delivery of our mail regardless of the weather and everything
else. To treat a postal employee as a mere commodity in the labor market
is not only wicked from a humanitarian standpoint, but is foolish and
short-sighted even from the standpoint of business. The postal employee
who is regarded as a human being whose welfare is important to his
fellows, high and low, in the national postal organization, is bound to
do his work with a courage, a zest, and a thoroughness which no money
value can ever buy. The security which he feels he passes on to the
men and women he serves. Instead of a distrust of his Government, he
radiates confidence in it. I want to make every man and woman in the
postal service feel that he or she is a partner in this greatest of all
business undertakings, whose individual judgment is valued, and whose
welfare is of the utmost importance to the successful operation of the
whole organization. We want every postal co-worker to feel that he has
more than a job. A letter-carrier does a good deal more than bring a
letter into a home when he calls. He ought to know the interest which
his daily travels bring to the home. We have 326,000 men and women with
the same objective, with the same hopes and aspirations, all working
together for the same purpose, a mutual appreciation one for the other,
serving an appreciative public. If we can improve the spirit and actual
working conditions of these 326,000 men and women who do this job, that
in itself is an accomplishment, and it is just as certain to bring a
consequent improvement in the service as the coming of tomorrow's sun."
_Welfare Work_
Few people know that to-day a welfare department is in operation
throughout the postal system which is directly interested in improving
the working conditions of all the postal workers. The department was
organized in June, 1921, by the appointment of a welfare director.
Councils of employees meet regularly to consider matters affecting
their welfare and to discuss plans for improving the postal service.
The National Welfare Council has been formed of the following postal
employee organizations:
National Federation of Post-office Clerks
The Railway Mail Association
United National Association of Post-office Clerks
National Rural Letter-Carriers Association
National Association of Letter-Carriers
National Federation of Rural Carriers
National Association of Supervisory Employees
National Federation of Federal Employees
National Association of Post-office Laborers
Mutual aid and benefit societies with insurance features are conducted,
athletics are encouraged, sick benefits are provided, retirement
pensions are in effect, and postal employees to-day can well believe
that somebody cares about their comfort and welfare. Incidentally,
savings aggregating many thousands of dollars annually have been
effected through the suggestions and inventions of employees in the
service.
One of the important divisions in the postal service is that which
pertains to the inspection work, much of which does not attract outside
attention and only comes to public notice when some one has gotten into
trouble with the postal authorities. In a large measure, inspection
work pertains to the apprehension of criminals and the investigation
of depredations, but that is only a comparatively small part of the
division's activities.
Post-office inspectors investigate and report upon matters affecting
every branch of the postal service; they are traveling auditors and
check up accounts and collect shortages; they decide where an office
should be located, how it should be fitted up, and how many clerks or
carriers may be needed.
The rural carriers, for instance, must be familiar with the regulations
that cover the delivery of mail, registration of letters, taking
applications for money-orders, sale of stamps, supplies, etc., but the
inspector must also know all of these and also be able to determine
when the establishment of a route is warranted, to lay out and fix the
schedules and prepare a map and description of the route, also measure
the routes if the length is in dispute, inspect the service, ascertain
whether it is properly performed, and give necessary instructions to the
carriers and postmasters.
Carriers must know their districts, understand regulations covering
the delivery of mail, handling of registry, insurance and collection
on delivery matter, collection of mail and handling of change of
address and forwarding orders. The inspector, however, determines
when conditions are such at an office that city delivery service may
be installed, the number of carriers necessary, and the number of
deliveries to be made. He lays out the routes, locates the collection
boxes, and fixes the schedules. He is also called on to investigate
the service when extensions are desired or when carriers are deemed
necessary, and is concerned with clerks, supervisory officers,
postmasters, new post-offices, railway mail service, contracts for
transportation of mail and furnishing of supplies, as well as the
enforcement of criminal statutes covering train robberies, post-office
burglaries, money-order forgeries, lottery men, the transmission of
obscene literature, mail-bag thieves, embezzlers, etc.
[Illustration]
The following regular employees were in the Post-office Department and
Postal Service on July 1, 1922:
Post-office Department proper 1,917
Post-office inspectors 485
Clerks at headquarters, post-office inspectors 115
Employees at United States Envelope Agency 10
First Assistant Postmasters:
First class 834
Second class 2,808
Third class 10,407
Fourth class 37,899
------
51,948
Assistant postmasters 2,730
Clerks, first and second class offices 56,003
City letter carriers 39,480
Village carriers 1,111
Watchmen, messengers, laborers, printers, etc., in
post offices 3,063
Substitute clerks, first and second class offices 11,283
Substitute letter carriers 10,765
Special delivery messengers (estimated) 3,500
Second Assistant:
Officers in Railway Mail Service 149
Railway postal clerks 19,659
Substitute railway postal clerks 2,419
Air mail employees 345
Fourth Assistant:
Rural carriers 44,086
Motor-vehicle employees 3,177
Substitute motor-vehicle employees 447
Government-operated star-route employees 64
--------
Total 252,756
The following classes or groups are indirectly connected with the Postal
Service in most instances through contractual relationship, and take the
oath of office, but are not employees of the Post-office Department or
the Postal Service:
Clerks at third-class offices (estimated) 13,000
Clerks at fourth-class offices (estimated) 37,899
Mail messengers 13,128
Screen-wagon contractors 201
Carriers for offices having special supply 349
Clerks in charge of contract stations 4,869
Star-route contractors 10,766
Steamboat contractors 273
------
Total 80,485