The Postal System
of The United States
and
The New York
General Post Office

Prepared and Issued by
Manufacturers Trust Company
New York     Brooklyn     Queens

THE POSTAL SYSTEM
OF THE UNITED STATES
and
THE NEW YORK
GENERAL POST OFFICE

BY

THOMAS C. JEFFRIES

ASSISTANT SECRETARY
MANUFACTURERS TRUST COMPANY

Copyright, 1922, by
MANUFACTURERS TRUST COMPANY

Honorable Hubert Work, Postmaster General.

Honorable Hubert Work, Postmaster-General, was a practising physician for many years in Colorado prior to entering government service, and was also President of the American Medical Association. He served as first assistant postmaster-general under Postmaster-General Will H. Hays, his predecessor, who, upon assuming management of the Post-office Department, practically dedicated it as an institution for service and not for politics or profit. Since that time all possible efforts have been made to humanize it.

The administration of Mr. Hays was ably assisted by Mr. Work who had direct supervision of the 52,000 post-offices and more than two-thirds of all postal workers. By persistent efforts to build up the spirit of the great army of postal workers and bring the public and the post-office into closer contact and more intimate relationship, the postal system has been placed at last on a footing of service to the public.

Mr. Work is an exponent of a business administration of the postal service, and representatives of the larger business organizations and Chambers of Commerce, from time to time, are called into conference, in order that the benefit of their suggestions and their experience may be obtained and their fullest co-operation enlisted in the campaign for postal improvement.

Statement Prepared for the
Manufacturers Trust Company

By Honorable Hubert Work, postmaster-general

The need for a more general understanding of the purpose of the postal establishment, its internal workings and the problems of operation, is paramount if it is to afford the ultimate service which it is prepared to render.

The business man, whose success is definitely connected with its smooth operation, especially should be concerned with the directions for its use. The post-office functions automatically, so far as he is concerned, after he drops the letter into the slot; but before this stage is reached, a certain amount of preparation is necessary. He could scarcely expect to operate an intricate piece of machinery without first learning the various controls, and no more is it to be expected that he can secure the utmost benefit from such a diversified utility as the postal service without knowing how to use the parts at his disposal.

Accordingly our efforts have been directed to the circulation of essential postal information, and with the aid of the public press and the coöperation of persons and organizations using the service, the people throughout the country are now better informed on postal affairs than at any time in its history.

The recognition of the human element is a recent forward step in postal administration. Although the post-office has probably been the most powerful aid to the development of a social consciousness, the management until recently seems to have overlooked the relative value of the individual in the postal organism.

The individual postal worker is now considered to be the unit, and the effort to maintain the service at a high standard of efficiency is based upon the betterment of his physical environment and the encouragement of the spirit of partnership by enlisting his intelligent interest in the problems of management and recognizing his real value to the postal organization. Suggestions for improvement are invited and considered from those within the service as well as those without, and it is believed that a full measure of usefulness will not be attained until the American public, which in this sense includes the postal workers themselves, are convinced that the service belongs to them.

GENERAL OFFICERS OF THE
POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT

The postmaster-general is assisted in the administration of the Post-office Department by four assistant postmasters-general. The first assistant postmaster-general has supervision over the postmasters, post-office clerks, and city letter carriers at all post-offices, as well as the general management of the postal business of those offices, the collection, delivery, and preparation of mail for despatch. The second assistant postmaster-general is concerned entirely with the transportation of mail by rail (both steam and electric), by air, and by water. He supervises the railway mail, air mail, foreign mail services, and adjusts the pay for carrying the mail. The third assistant postmaster-general is the financial official of the department and has charge of the money-order and registry service, the distribution of postage-stamps, and the classification of mail matter. The fourth assistant postmaster-general directs the operation of the rural delivery service, the distribution of supplies, and the furnishing of equipment for the post-offices and railway mail service.

In addition to the four assistants there is a solicitor, or legal officer; a chief post-office inspector, who has jurisdiction over the traveling inspectors engaged in inspecting, tracing lost mail, and investigating mail depredations, or other misuse of the mail; a purchasing agent; a chief clerk, who supervises the clerical force at headquarters in Washington; and a controller, who audits the accounts of the 52,000 postmasters.

The Postmaster General and General Administration Assistants.

   1—Hon. Hubert Work, Postmaster General.
   2—Hon. John H. Bartlett,