| OCR Text |
Show TIME FOR IMPROVEMENT Establishment of a federally owned Postal Corporation Corpor-ation should benefit the public through the use of management man-agement techniques and modern facilities that have been so successful in business. Because the corporation would be self-supporting, the federal budget would not be forced to absorb postal deficits year after year. Also it would permit the postal employee to work to his full potential without losing any of the benefits and tenure that he has accrued in the current postal system, while providing a greatly improved mail service. In March, 1968, former Postmaster General Lawrence Law-rence F. O'Brien testified before Congress that "time is running out on the U. S. postal service. The Post Office Department is in a race with catastrophe." The current Postmaster General, Winton M. Blount, recently stated, "Unless we change the way the Post Office is managed and the way the mail is handled, we are going to be in for real trouble. . . . There has been little attention to new techniques and new was to approach problems." President Nixon's current request for a series of postal rate increases, following close on the heels of those enacted just 18 months ago, indicates that Post Office problems are not solved by increasing postage fees. There is evidence, too, that postal service can be operated oper-ated at a profit at lower fees. For example, the Independent Inde-pendent Postay System of America, a private Oklahoma company handling third class "junk" mail, has proved that such delivery can be conducted at a profit. With rates a penny a piece below government rates, the company com-pany showed a substantial profit after its first year. Representative Dulski (D., N.Y.) Chairman of the House Post Office and Civil Service Committee, in commentary com-mentary on the proposed rate incrass, said: "It seems to me that the Post Office Department needs to get its priorities straigh. Postal reform should come first-and first-and then we can deal with rates, if necessary." |
