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The Commoner
'AUUUST, 1913
fcr"r"'r f i-.
States, except Alaska, Canal Zone, Guam,
Hawaii, Philippines, Porto Rico and Samoa.
These orders extended to all the incumbent post
masters the full protection of the civil service
laws, without requiring them to demonstrate
in any way their fitness for such protection.
The order of May 7, 1913, requires that before
a postmaster at a fourth-class postoince can
be covered by the civil service laws in case
his compensation is. $180 or more, he must sub
mit to a competitive examination, whilo if the
compensation is less than $180 the fitness of
tho postmaster, as well as other candidates for
tho position, will bo determined by an investi
gation to bo conducted by a postofilco inspector.
It is believed that under this order the depart
ment will have a wider field and better qualified
candidates from which to make selection.
Postmasters have also been instructed that
they must exercise great care in the handling
of daily papers and important second class mat
ter and see that the same is distributed promptly
upon arrival at their ofiices. Prior to. tho issu
ance of these instructions there was much com
plaint pn the part of the public against the
delay in the receipt of their daily papers, some
of which contained the market quotations and
were ot great importance to the addressees.
A large number of additional clerks and car
riers has been authorized at first and second
class oilices in order that mail might be handled
promptly, and reports received at the depart
ment of tho improvements in the service in ihls
respect have been very gratifying.
All matters pertaining to the fiscal operations
of the postal service have been assembled under
the bureau of the third assistant postmaster
genoral, as it is believed to bo advantageous
to have all financial pperations of the depart
ment under one bureau
The postal savings facilities have been ex
tended to new offices and tho public permitted
to do its banking by mail.
The number of pending petitions- for the es
tablishment of rural servico was reduced from
890, which had accumulated during a period
of seven years, to . thirty-six on August 1, and
T.'JO petitions' received for new service since
March 17,ha'd been 'acted' upon, and there re
mained 'in"lh'e 'hands of the inspectors only 318
petitions" on 'August -"1 More 'than 216 new'
rural routes have been established at an annual
expenditure of $201,510, which provide inail
facilities for nearly half a million patrons who
have not had such service heretofore. Of the
1,852 petitions for alterations and extensions
of existing routes pending when Mr. Burleson
took charge, only fifty-six remain for final dis
position at this time.
Oxf and after August 15 undelivered third and
fourth class matter, which includes parcels
shipped by parcel . post and which has hereto
fore .been forwarded to the division of dead
letters for treatment, will be forwarded to the
postmasters at the various division headquar
ters of the railway mail service. This will
greatly facilitate the handling of. such mail.
Many improvements have been made in the
parcel post from time to time, some of the
more important being the issuance of an order,
effective July 1, whereby the use of distinctive
stamps was no longer mandatory on parcel
post matter This order has been much appre
ciated by the public as ordinary stamps are now
valid for postage on parcel post matter and
parcel post stamps for postage on ordinary mail.
Experience demonstrated that the insurance
fee, which was fixed, at ten cents in the begin
glng, was too high and that this feature of the
service was used very little by the public The
postmaster general therefore reduced the in
surance fee on July 1 to five cents, when the
indemnity did not exceed $25, and to. ten. cents
when it exceeded $25 but not $50.
The collect on delivery feature of the parcel
post service was placed in operation on July
1, and was an innovation therelnv -Parcels may
now, be sent and the sender have tho value
of the article and the C. O. D. charges collected
from the addressed at the time of delivery.
One of tho greatest improvements, however,
in the parcel post service was the increasing
of the weight limit in "first and second zones
from eleven to twenty pounds, and the fixing
of the rates of postage on parcels in excess of
four ounces at five cents for the first pound
and one cent for each additional two pounds
or fraction thereof when intended for local
delivery, and five cents for the first pound and
one cent for each additional pound or fraction
thereof when intended for' delivery at other
offices within the first and- second stones. This
gives the public a choaper meaus of transporta
tion than any other carriors.
Every effort is being made to increase tho
efficiency of tho sorvlce, and many other Im
provements are now under consideration which,
when placed into offect, will still further im
prove tho service.
THE NAVY DEPARTMENT
Secretary of the Navy Josophus Daniels has
consistently declined to maka any statemont for
publication in regard to the policy he intends
to pursue in his administration of the navy de
partment until after ho prepares his annual
report for the next regular session of cong'ress.
Meantime, he has been exerting every energy
i equip himsolf with a thorough knowledge of
conditions. With this end in view ho has mado
a thorough and painstaking personal investi
gation of all tho navy yards and naval stations
along tho Atlantic, Gulf and PaciPc coasts, so
curing a great deal of valuablo first-hand in
formation. It is possible, however, to review in some de
tail the record of tho secretary in the few
months in which he has administered the" offlro.
The first important order was one in which
he insisted on adequate sea service on the part
of every naval officer as a sine quo non for pro
motion. This order read as follows:
"The secretary wishes to inform tho members
of. the examining board tthat he, requires that
officers coming up for promotion shall have had
sufficient sea service in the. gradeB from which
thpy are to be promoted to Insui i boyond doubt
that thoy are fully qualified and experienced at
sea to perform the sea dut'es of the next higher
graC 'f
By this order, Commander Philip Andrews,
head of the bureau of navigation, and Captain
TompHn M. Potts, aide for personnel, were
ordered to sea, the former to command the
Montana, and the latter the Louisiana.
One of the outstanding characteristics of the
secretary's administration thus iuv has , been
his effort to bring about a better understanding
betwepn the officers and the enlisted men. There
has been, indeed, a decided trend towards dem
ocratizing the navy, and it seems very evident
that this policy Will ' result in a fine unity of
purpose between all arms of the' navy depart
ment. The spirit of democracy, however, Is
very difficult to carry out in any military ser
vice, the tendency being to put military disci
pline on a basis that does not bring the officers
and men into that close comradeship which
should exist.
Mr. Daniels has developed no plan as yet
in which he is more intonsely interested than
that which would insura better educational u
cilities for the enlisted men of the navy. He
holds that the promises made to tho young men
of tho country when they enlist that they will
be given every opportunity to learn some trade
aboard ship, should be faithfully carried out.
To this end he advocates a more complete sys
tem of instruction on tho ships in which the
young officers of the navy chall take a prominent
part. In developing this Idea, in a recent ad
dress before the naval war college at Newport,
Mr. Daniels said: "Befoie the establishment
of the naval academy, Maury wrote: 'I wquld
set apart one of the idle ships of the. navy for
a school ship,' and he outlined a course of study
on such ship. Though Maury's purpose of a
'school ship' was abandoned when the naval
academy was established, I venture to make the
suggestion that the day is near when every
naval ship, .from the smallest to the largest,
will be a school ship. We have here at tho
-war college a well organized university fcr the
study of warfare on the seas. We have, at
Annapolis a magnificent school for the training
of officers of the navy. We have other educa
tional institutions of various kinds for the In
struction of officers and enlisted men, but the
chief lack today in the America- navy is a
systematic and proper instruction f t1" young
men who will respond to -ur calls to enlist jn
the service and who man our. ships As a mat
ter of fact, however, we have too often neglected
training them and. outside of the practical
duties on board ship they do not obtain the
drilling and education which should bo given
them in order to keep the promise made as well
aa for tho benefit of the navy. My ambition is
to make the navy a great univers y v ith col
lego extension, high school extensi'- nd pri
mary extension, all on ship board."
In order to enable the enlisted men to take
advantage of every possiblo opportunity for
promotion, Mr. Daniels has. issued an order con
fining tho examinations to fill tho existing va
cancies In tho pay corps to tho enlisted men of
tho navy. This ordor has causod a good deal
of disappointment on tho part of a numb or of
vory worthy young men from civil lifo who had
oxpectod to bo designated to tako tho examina
tion and tho secretary rogrottod vory much that
thoy must bo disappointed. NovortheloHa ho
folt that It was no more than Just that men
who had alroady sorvod tho navy faithfully
and men or ability and training too should
bo given this consideration and consequently ho
has steadfastly rofusod to rescind tho order
Tho secretary Htlll further manifested his In
terest In the welfare of tho enlisted men by
ordering that the ontiro Atlantic fleet, lnntoud
of tho usual maneuvers at Qunntnuaino, Cuba,
make a cruiso to tho Mediterranean. The ships
are to visit tho groat Mediterranean ports and
the men are to bo allowed liberal shore leave
during tho cruise. It is easy to soe of what
great interest such a cruise will be to tho mon
of tho navy In giving them an opportunity to
see the manners and customs of foreign coun
tries and both tho enlisted personnel, as welt
as the line and staff officers, have been looking
forward to this cruise in the oarly fall with
ploasant anticipation.
The primal duty of the medical department
of the navy is military in that it alms to save
to good health various units of personnel, just
as the bureau of ordnano would save to effi
ciency its guns, in other words It employs pre
ventive medicine This savos to tha fleet many
men who would bo sent to naval hospitals for
treatment. To meet the other typo of duty
which belongs to the medical department, tho
humanitarian, tho navy Is oquippod with eigh
teen navy hospitals, widely distributed, twenty
eight dispensaries, one hospital s' ip with the
fleet, three medical supply depots and in addi
tion each ship has Its diminutive hospital or
sick bay. These various hospital units are
thoroughly equipped to meet tho needs of tho
service and are cared for, as tho care may bo,
by medical officers, members of the hospital
corps and nurse corps.
Secretary Daniels has shown a keen interest
in the medical department by inspecting the
naval hospitals and establishments at' the va
rious naval stations he has visited.
Ho has also shown groat Intorest In the re
cently authorized dental corps of the navy. This
hind of Interest on tho part of tho secretary
of tho navy will lead, not only to greater 'ofll--ciency
'n the fleet, but better care of the affiled
ed in naval hospitals.
I NTERf OR DEPAKTM ENT
Things accomplished by the interior depart
ment sinco March 4, 1913:
The bureau of mines has stopped the waste
of natural gas in Oklahoma at a saving of
$10,000,000 per annum, which will ultimately
reach $23,000,000 per annum. It has started
the production of radium in this country. It
has secured a co-operative agreement with tho
millers of tho United States to Investigate the
phenomena of dust explosion and to formulate
rules and regulations for the mills in the future,
and it has very greatly reduced death rates in
coal mines over corresponding periods In former
years. .
The reclamation service has advanced rapidly
along the lines of construction of reservoirs and
distributing systems, to bring water to arid
lands in the various western states.
The geological survey has made topographic
examinations of nearly 3,000 square miles a
month in connection with the topographic map
of the United States. It has examined geologi
cally and classified approximate 1,000,000
acres of the public domain a month since March
4, 1913.
The pension office has allowed 120,951 claims
and has disbursed $75,79511 1.88, rnJ t'o work
of the bureau has been made practically current.
The bureau of education hs established a
division of kindergarten education and a divi
sion of home education, the purpose being to
make a survey ot kindergarten education In tho
United States and to foster co-operation between
tho, home and tho school.
Tho Indian office has secured approval of reg
ulations covering individual Indian moneys
which will bo especially beneficial to Indians
who are living on their allotments and farm
ing or making other efforts at self-support. It
has provided for increase to teachers in tho
Indian field service. Provision has been mado
for a -commission to appraise the -surface of the
segregated coal and asphalt lands of the Choc-
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