Recorded in Favor of Increase in

Pay for Postal Employees

The printed report of the hearings before the special committee of the House Post Office Committee on the question of increasing the salaries of employees in the postal service contains a volume of testimony. One hundred and forty Members of Congress addressed the committee or requested that they be recorded in favor of the Madden Bill (H. R. 1654) and increases in salaries for postal employees. A number of Representatives who favor the legislation called at the committee room, but could not wait to give their testimony, as they had other Congressional duties to attend to. Those recorded in the hearings are:

Fraternal Philosophy at Work

It may be considered by most of the readers of the POSTAL RECORD as a loss of time and effort to write an article impressing upon the members of the N. A. L. C. the necessity for life insurance. There are but few who do not fully realize that insurance against loss of wages, through accident, sickness or old age, and also insurance for the protection of loved ones when death calls us, is one of the necessities of our modern complex social system and should be classed in importance with the club, the lodge and the church.

The great increase in the membership of fraternal insurance associations during the past thirty or forty years is due in a large measure to the displacement of the sordid, selfish cult of individualism by the nobler, more Christlike idealism as represented by collectivism. In former years, before the time of fraternal insurance, when a man died leaving little or no estate it was considered a matter of course that the wife and dependent children would suffer great hardships for years, and would most likely become objects of public or private charity. But when the spirit of fraternalism and brotherly love (the practical kind) began to exert its influence in the minds and hearts of the people, it was preached that no man bad fulfilled the solenin obligations placed upon him until he had made provision for the care of his loved ones when he should no longer be with them. So the idea of the fraternalist was, and is, to distribute the cost of curing for dependents among a large number of persons rather than have the burden borne entirely by those least able to bear it.

In many respects the old line and the fraternal insurance companies fulfill the same purpose and the former has some good features not found in the latter. But It should be remembered that the policy holder in the old line pays, for the legion of officers and agents, many of them drawing down high salaries. A comparison of of the cost of management twenty-five leading old line companies and twenty-five fraternal orders shows that in 1914 the former had insurance in force to the amount of $11,987,546,543, at a cost of $46.307,854 for management. The latter carried $6,544,058,302, at a cost of $5,022,912 for management Now, brothers, no one will quarrel with you for carrying insurance in the old line companies or in the many first-class fraternal associations unless you have failed to give thoughtful consideration to the claims of our own Mutual Benefit Association, and for it I wish to make a plea.

It is an organization of letter carriersyour organization--and as letter carriers you should give it your earnest and undivided support. Remember, you have a twofold reason for insuring in the M. B. A. You not only provide for the loved ones left behind when the time comes for your passing, but you give strength and power to the N. A. L. C., an organization which secures many benefits for you while you are still living. It certainly would appear to be your duty to give your own insurance order first consideration if you are contemplating taking out new insur

ance.

With a reserve fund of nearly one-half million dollars there should be no question as to its safety. It is true that a former trustee succeeded in looting the reserve fund of about $37,000, but the Dallas Convention placed such safeguards around the investment of the fund that it will be next to impossible for anyone to commit a like offense in the future. There has been such a shaking-up among those responsible for the funds during the past six or eight years that it is not at all likely that the present or future trustees will stand for any looseness in business methods or allow overconfidence in one man to run away with their sense of duty to the widows and orphans of our deceased brothers, whose future happiness and protection they have in their keeping.

If you are not a member of the M. B. A. I would urge you to get in touch with the local collector, or if you have no organization in your Branch I am sure Chief Collector Swartz will be only too glad to assist you to form an M. B. A. in connection with the local Branch if you will write him. To those who are already members, I would ask you to use your best efforts in securing new members, so that you may have the satisfaction of having done a good turn for a brother carrier and at the same time will have strengthened the N. A. L. C.

Important Department Order

Postmasters Directed to Strictly Observe Eight-hour-inten Law, Compensatory Time Law and Other Laws

Office of the First Asst. P. M. General,
Washington, January 30, 1918.

The attention of the Department has been directed to statements which have been made to the effect that some postmasters are not strictly observing the eight-in-ten-hour law; that, in some instances, the eight hours of duty extend over a period of more than ten consecutive hours; that employees are required to perform service of which no record is made; that employees are not paid for overtime; that they are not granted compensatory time for services performed on Sundays and holidays; and, that in some instances, services performed on Sundays and holidays are paid for as overtime or treated as auxiliary service and paid for at the rate of 35 cents an hour.

The attention of postmasters is directed to Section 311, paragraphs 2, 6 and 7, and Section 700, paragraph 1, of the Postal Laws and Regulations, which read as follows:

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Sec. 311-Par. 2. "In cases of emergency, or if the needs of the service require, . clerks in first and second class postoffices can be required to work in excess of eight hours a day, and for such additional services they shall be paid extra in proportion to their salaries as fixed by law."

Par. 6. "Hereafter when the needs of the service require the employment on holidays of 'special clerks' in first and second class postoffices, they shall be allowed compensatory time on one of the thirty days next following the holiday on which they perform such service. (Act of March 3, 1917.)"

Par. 7. "Hereafter when the needs of the postal service require the employ- ment on Sundays or holidays of foremen, watchmen, messengers, and laborers, they shall be granted compensatory time in the same manner as provided by law for clerks and carriers in first and second class postoffices. (Act of March 3, 1917.)" Sec. 700-Par. 1. " Letter carriers in the city delivery service shall be required to work not more than eight hours a day: Provided, That the eight hours of service shall not extend over a longer period than ten consecutive hours, and the schedules of duty of the employees shall be regulated accordingly. "In cases of emergency, or if the needs of the service require, letter carriers in the city delivery service can be required to work in excess of eight hours

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a day, and for such additional services they shall be paid extra in proportion to their salaries as fixed by law.

employment on holidays of

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"Should the needs of the service require the employment on Sunday of letter carriers in the city delivery service the employees who are required and ordered to perform Sunday work shall be allowed compensatory time on one of the six days following the Sunday on which they perform such service. "Provided, That * when the needs of the postal service require the * and letter carriers in the city delivery service, the employees who are required and ordered to perform holiday work shall be allowed compensatory time on one of the thirty days following the holiday on which they perform such service: Provided, That for the purpose of this act holidays shall be New Year's Day (January first); Washington's Birthday (February twenty-second); Memorial Day (May thirtieth); Independence Day (July fourth); the first Monday in September, known as Labor Day; Christmas (December twenty-fifth); and such other days as the President of the United States may set apart as fast or thanksgiving days. (Act of July 28, 1916.)"

The provisions of the law as set forth in the above-numbered sections must be complied with strictly by all postmasters of the first and second class.

J. C. KOONS,

First Assistant Postmaster General.

(The above instructions to Postmasters were printed in the Daily Bulletin of Orders affecting the postal service, issued by the Post Office Department on January 31, 1918.)

Let Majority Rule

From the time of Adam, as the world daily grew older, the world daily grew progressive, and as the world progressed wonders came to light and innocent ideas became large movements, until today even our beloved nation, the guiding star of democracy, is employing methods that a few weeks ago would have been considered most too radical to be employed in amassing this nation in a wonderful harmonious machine to solidify itself to defend its democracy and the rights of its citizens on land and sea. Who, a year ago, would have thought of Government control of all our railroads, and yet, who is there today can say that this radical move is not a progressive move? And yet there are many other presumably radical actions being taken that are not in reality radical, but progressive propaganda, and so we must give all subjects, both those that affect us directly and indirectly, a wide scope of thought, with the one sole purpose, and that is to manage our interests in the most democratic way obtainable. We, as an organization, banded together to promote the interests of the Letter Carri

ers, and simultaneously for the best interests of the Government, are no doubt proud of the National Association of Letter Carriers and its achievements in the past, but we are by no means a perfect organization, for we too can initiate new reforms that will have a tendency to bring the control of the Association directly to the membership at home and allow the majority to rule.

Forgetting your favorites in the national official family, and forgetting the many favors this or that national officer has bestowed upon you as an individual, or anything else that might have a tendency to bind your undivided support for any man for a berth in the official family, and even, if you will, admit that our present national officers are the best that can be obtained to fill their positions, let us give the subject of the direct election of national officers a true, earnest and unbiased study, Then, of you consider some of the testimony you read herewith, and with noticeable happenings at conventions that we shall say might have come to your attention, I believe you too will say if it does no good, surely it can do no harm.

It might interest the members of the National Association of Letter Carriers who have never attended a national convention to note how we really elect our national officers, and it will no doubt be interesting to the past representatives from small burgs to recall these facts, and those facts in a few plain words are these. Out of a membership of about 35,000 members we send about 600 to a convention, who represent approximately 2,000 votes on election of officers and roll call votes, etc. Out of these 600 delegates we have two or more rings, whose first thought and last thought at a conventions is politics. Two, three or four delegations from large cities get together, form a ring, generally called the administration, and name the ticket that goes through like greased lightning, and a few smaller cities form with a few one-man delegations and form a ring to fight the Big Slate, and in the meantime the balance of the delegates are hanging around with their mouths open, awaiting to see if the Standpatters are going down to defeat or if the Insurgents are going to get a wallop on the puss that will send them to sleep for two more years. This generally lasts three or four days, and then they all get together and push through the business of the convention with a whirlwind sweep to get home on their scheduled time or to continue on a tour of that particular section of the country.

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This whirlwind business transacting is not the proper method of doing business, nor can the proper consideration be given the important issues that arise. The result is that after the convention is over the sentiment of the membership has not been expressed and there is much danger of delegates voting at the will of the successful candidates, so that in the future they will have a chance of special attention from these successful candidates. Then again; remember the membership of the N. A. L. C. is indeed too large to crowd into a hotel room about midnight, with scouts on duty to frame the ticket and elect them by passing a slice of pork here and there. The writer knows whereof he speaks, for he too has been in on these midnight caucus parties and has used the vote of the man back home to frame a slate. This condition, however, was forced one, in which it became necessary to fight fire with fire. The man who is fortunate enough to control the voting power is not to be blamed, but to be admired, for he is a politician and the power that he has is placed in his hands by you, and he will contine to use this power until you, the individual member, take it from him. He cannot be expected to ask for reform, for reform will clean him of this opportunity. Therefore, brothers, give this your most careful consideration and voice your sentiment. It may seem radical, but I contend that the membership at large has judgment enough to select the national officials by a direct vote. This will elininate politics from the convention and an official will be judged by his actions at the convention and the worthy deeds he bas performed in the past for the interests of all concerned. This will leave 24 hours out of each 24 hours of the convention to be used for the benefit of the whole Association and will urge national officers and also subordinates to give the best that is in them, so that efficiency will select them and not a hatful of proxies. It will also give a carrier in a small country town as much responsibility and power as a man in New York, Pittsburgh or Chicago. Then, and not until then, can the views and wishes of the majority be expressed. Let majority rule with its wand of power and with as much power as it has at its disposal.

Pittsburgh, Pa.

Notice

BEN F. METZ.

Washington, Jan. 16, 1918. Complaints continue to reach the Department from subscribers to the Official Bulletin that it fails to reach them with regularity. This publication is published by the Committee on Public Information, Washington, D. C., and is mailed daily by the Public Printer. It should be handled with the same care and expedition as are accorded daily newspapers, and all postal employees are directed to see that there is no delay in its dispatch and transmission. OTTO PRAEGER,

Second Ass't P. M. Gen.

How many families have you known who were kept together after the death of the bread-winner by reason of his thoughtfulness in providing life insurance?