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Show $ 'Economical and Customers wonder: reliable delivery' Pony Express faster? I , 2 klTii ? 3 Postal Service record is still lacking By David M. Maxfield Congressional Quarterly WASHINGTON The U.S. Postal Service, now 20 months old, was created by Congress to provide "economical and reliable mail But postal customers are comdelivery. plaining that the Pony Express of the old even walking West, oxcarts could get the mail delivered more promptly. During its first year in business, the Postal Service delivered 82.2 billion pieces of mail It also received several million complaints. Wrote or? customer: "In the N.Y., post office, a letter mailed at 5 p.m. or later doesnt even leave the post office until 5 p.m. the following day 24 hours to rest up for the trip. Postmaster Genera! E. T. Kiassen concedes that "our service performance is still uneven, but he claims "our service over-al- l continues to improve. Others disagree. Democratic Sen. Hubert H. Humphrey of Minnesota, who Feb. 8 urged the Senate to investigate the Postal Service hearings are scheduled to begin March 7 Milton-on-Hudso- offered the following as evidence that the postal agency has not lived up to expectations: In June 1972, the Postal Service moved a s letter more slowly between cities than did the old Post Office Department three years before. first-clas- Members of Congress receive hundreds of thousands of individual complaints each year about the postal service. A nationwide mail survey conducted iasi year by the Associated Press revealed that air mail postage does not necessarily guarans tee quicker delivery than stamps, and letters without zip codes generally reach or faster than their destinations as fast as mail. first-clas- The postal problem, according to some observers. can be traced to the agency's to run the nations attempts to trim costs mail delivery system as a business. That is leaving the public with inadequate service, they say. In one economy move, the Postal Service has cut mail pick-up- s in residential areas and reduced some downtown deliveries. This Democrat Gale W. McGee of Wyoming, chairman of the Senate Post Office and Civil Service Committee, to remark: Schedules have been so severely reduced that in some cases letters mailed by the public early Saturday afternoon will not be picked up by a letter carrier for 48 hours. McGee also observed that "weekend work in post offices is being substantially reduced. prompted In fiscal 1972, the Postal Service recaptured 84.4 percent of its costs. No other agency of the government comes anywhere near this record, said James H. Rademacher, National Assopresident of the ciation of Letter Carriers. Rademacher proposed that Congress grant an outngnt suosidy for what he calls communications. "If Congress can spend every thing from airlines to farmers, it can spend for communications, he said. 230,000-memb- Rep. El wood HUUs, an Indiana Republican who is a member of the House Post Office and Civil Service Committee, suggests that Congress set uo certain delivery standards for the Postal Service, then subsidize postal oper Dial ations until the agency meets, standards on a break even basis. The agency would be required to deliver the mail on a next-da- y basis within a city or town and within three days across the nation, ami to Opel ate postal window service six days a week. The Postal Service should be doing this now; wed mandate that they do it, an aide to Hillis told Congressional Quarterly. Other members of Congress would take a more drastic step. At least eight repres entatives have introduced bills to repeal the Postal Reorganisation Act of 190. They feel the old Post Office Department, despite its shui loomings, offered beitei seivioe ihan the new agency. Rp. Ken Hechler, a West Virginia Demo crat whose office has been deluged with complaints about the system, finds the service less responsive to complaints than the old department did. "They have a stable of public relations types who come over and hold your hand for a while and say they'll investigate," said Hechler. "This is like a "fox investigating a breach in a chicken coop. JIt Anderson Time to point finger at big tax avoider WASHINGTON America's giant corporations with their batteries of tax attorneys and accountants routinely avoid paying their just share of federal income taxes. Instead, the ordinary citizen and the small businessman wind up picking up the bill. Last year, for instance, the top 109 corporations paid a federal income tax rate of 26.9 percent while the small firms had to fork over 44 percent. Now former Sen. Fred Harris Populist Institute is taking up the fight for the little taxpayer. The institutes Tax Action Campaign will picket tax avoiders and issue pamphlets Mayor Evers points out antigun laws slow crime Editor's Note: U.S. Sen. John C. Sten-niwas the most recent prominent American to be a cheap handgun. In the senators home state, Mayor Charles Evers of Fayette has been trying to proe that tough new laws can s, reduce the number of stlch crimes j r j- By John Dillin - d - - "Do you think FAYETTE, MISS. Everss antigun laws are Mayor a young white woman was working? asked here the other day. "Do you think fewer people carry guns? was her quick reply, and to No, her prove point she unsnapped her purse .32 and whipped out a chrome-plated- , caliber revolver that she says she carries with her everywhere. Despite such skepticism and defiance, however, Mayor Charles Evers insists is that Fayette population, 2,000 enjoying a far ower crime rate as a result of antigun ordinances he pushed Ihrough the city council here after becoming mayor in 1969. The laws, which have resulted in surprise raids an nightclubs and restaurants and which allow anyone to be searched, have been condemned in Mississippi as a violation of individual rights. The mayor, whose younger brother Medgar Evers was gunned down in 1963 in Jackson, Miss., disagrees and cites Fayettes - record: , , ; Before 1969, Fayette crime every week to 10 days. Shootings in night spots were especially frequent. In con trast, according to Fayette police, there were only five crimes in Fayette in 1972. d No one was killed by a g say. The total crime rate is down approximately 75 percent from 1968 to 1972, according to police. Over 75 guns, including 45 handguns, have been confiscated. There has not been a holdup in the city limits involving a gun since Mayor Evers took office. The laws, though, have caused howls. They forbid anyone to drive around Fayette with hunting rifles. They allow seizure of any weapon being illegally carried. Two weeks rgo, police pulled their most recent surprise raids, searching everyone in the citys restaurants and night spots. They bagged two pistols and three anyone $200 or more and 30 days in jail. said People howl, but who cares, Mayor Evers in an interview at a motel he owns here. "If a person doesnt have a gun, what does he care about somebody being searched. No one wants to be sitting in a place eating when some nut jumps up shooting and kills bim or. injures him for life because hes gotten too much liquor in him. Our job is to protect, oome say harassment. But its not. Youre not thorized to carry a gun in this town. its, auPe- riod. (C) 1973, ChOstian Science Puklishms Society A Skylab doc in - We'll have to be pretty sick coming down, Conrad told a new, briefing Wednesday. Conrad, the third American to land on the moon as commander of Apollo 12 m November, 1969, is the commander of the first Skylab flight crew. 5 to consider , - GovernTRAVELS BLATCIIFORDS ment auditors have reported, following an m- of Acvestigation ' Director JoBiatchfords seph travels during a tion period, d Washington whirl - FAITHFUL SECRETARY President Nixons new defense secretary, Elliot Richardson, has issued a directive to his staff explaining precisely how he wants correspondence prepared for his signature. Mindful that the President appreciates loyalty above all other Use the qualities, Richardson instructed: complimentary close Sincerely on all letlirs except on those addressed to the President. In the latter case, use Faithfully yours. We reported on JanuTEL AVIV PLOT 12 Black that terrorists were September ary that he made ment f The Skylab wi'l carry about science exper-iemtdesigned to test such possibilities as maxing a perfect weld in weightless 60 sophisticated Man, P.O. Box 1257, Salt LateOty, Utah Customer, cleaner compromise on half I am a music teacher. A carpet cleaner was to come and clean my carpet on a certain morning. 1 had cancelled all appointments for the work. He didn't show until just an hour before my afternoon students were to arrive. 1 called them and said that since they were supposed to come and had promised to come in the a.m. they had cost me $23.60 in student fees. I think they should now. at least, clean my R.P., Bountiful. earpet free. . . A case of misunderstanding. They say never make definite appointments. All your order sani was "A M." They give no promises because they know their workmen some- times run into delays on any job Kut. they do sympathize and when we suggested a compromise, such as you paying half of what the original cost was to be, they said "Okay. We called you and you said the same Okay." . Submit a claim While driving in Fish Lake National Forest in October, a forest service truck went out of control and hit my jeep. Accident reports were filled out stating the accident was the Forest Service's fault. I was told nut to worry about it; theyd take eare of it. I wrote them in December. No , Well take credit We have policies with Kentucky Central Life Insurance Co., Lexington, Ky. In September we asked if cue of them wouldnt soon be paid up. We got no answer so I wrote again. Then we found out ourselves the policy was paid up in July so asked them again about the money. They re- - U plied In October and said I was right; apologized for the oversight and said wed have the eheck for $568.00 in 16, days plus overpayment of premiums. Still no check despite more letters. Can you help? Mrs. B.O., Cast!? Dale. We thought we could and tried. No answer to our letBut you have now written and said you had received a check from them. We il take tiie credit. ter either. Action Reaction , Many thanks. You accomplished in a few days what ! , had tried to (without success) for over a year. You are that once I mentioned appreciated. I want to also add by telephone that I intended to contact you (re: another matter) the very mention of your name brought instant success plus, a very gracious apology? R.II.B., West paid Editor's Note: We re sorry the volume of colts and mail make It mv possible to answer every question Please, no medico! or legal Questions Answers can only be given in this column Give your name, address and telephone number (not for publication) to help Do-- I Man help you. , QURMAN By Harry Jones Deseret News staff writer d (j new 'analy1 By Don Kendall AP Farm Writer War II rerun: plant a garden i can recall pictures of a World War II victory garden in back of the While House, on rooftops m the cities. All to augment the food supply Are victory gardens here again? Old-time- - e WASHINGTON (AP) The sharpest increase on reccrd is stirring pressure for President Nixon to slap controls on daily bread, bacon and beefsteak. food-pric- Nostalgia, the province of old folks and trivia buffs, is being tweaked by the Nixon administration in the battle against high food pnees But the administration says the solution to the crunch that saw a jump in supermarket prices in January is for farmers to raise bigger crops for fattening more cattle, hogs and chickens. Federal Reserve Board Chairman Arthur Burns started the consumer-guidanc- e program by a suggestion that smacks of the meatless Tuesdays of World War II. On a purely voluntary basis, I think we would be just as well off if we had one meatless day a week. e President Nixon took up the chant while in Florida, suggesting more fish on the dinner plate. in 1973. Then Wednesday came the latest round. At a news conference m ork. Secretary of Labor Peter J. Brennan suggested victory gardens would help drive down high food prices. According tc the plan, that will mean more wheat and bread. A larger corn crop will produce more hogs. Plentiful soybeans will rntdii more poultry and dairy products . Chaiies Conrad . . . Skylab commander lt Some day in March, Im going to walk 20 mites. Its for a good cause, and Ill tell you about it later, and at the same time, dur, you for a dime or two. Its still for a good cause. Im practising for the big Anyway, march. I went 20 feet yesterday, and this morning I managed 23 feet before getting winded. So it's improving each day. ever walked that far before was durwars. Its so long ago, I forget which one, I do remember that my feet were the only feet in the entire Infantry that had blisters on their blisters. The only time-- I ing one of the planted n 364 8626 or write to Do-- Jordan. govern- his wifes travel costs on eight trips. The unpublished report, dated January 12, has been delivered to a Senate subcommittee headed Op at least by Sen. Alan Cranston, two occasions. Blatchford stuck the govern- ment for an extra $700 for chartered plants just to save himself a few hours. But the auditors found the use of chartered planes in seven other instances was justified. They also reported that Mrs. Blatchford had partici-oatein Actions recruiting and publicity programs on her eight trips. controls have been eased so that 40 million acres farmers idled last year in return for government subsidies can be five-roo- the Sharp food price increase builds pressure for curbs Crop-acreag- Skylab is an orbiting science laboratory the size of a house encased in the shell of a third stage Saturn IV-rocket and a three-macommand module similar to the Apollo spacecraft. The unmanned lab is to be launched Mav 14 The hi i,op orbiting lab will cany enough msdieal equipment to outfit a small emergency ward and the crews are a lot better fained in first aid than the average policeman or fireman, Conrad said. "Theyve been pulling teech in medical training at military bases. ex- tensive use of chartered aircraft and that OUR READERS' ACTION LINE answer. I called them and they said there was so much' red tape to go through I might not Fork. You forgot one thing. Submit a claim. And thats what it takes. Its unfortunate that you got the impression that you could automatically get your jeep repaired. They even sent us a copy of their letter to you telling yoy what to do, but no reply. Could it be because of some error in address? They are now writing to you, too. If you follow them instructions you should get paid off, unless their legal council advises against it. plotting to hijack an airliner and crash it into downtown Tel Aviv. Our story was based on information that intelligence agencies had picked up on the secret radio bands used by the Arab terrorists. Representative John Murwrote to President Nixon about phy, the plot and his office alerted the Israeli Embassy. This may explain why Israel was so sensitive over the appearance of an airliner over Israeli territory and why Israeli pilots shot the airliner down when it refused to heed orders to land. Agriculture Secretary Earl L. Butz, an opponent of freezing food prices, wants idled land put back to work and farmers to rely more on cash prices and less on grvernment subsidies. the house? In WASHINGTON (UPI) hopes of setting space endurance records, America's Sky-la- b astronauts are "being trained to puli teeth and stitch wounds to avoid the possibility of having their Flights cut short by health problems, according to veteran astronaut Charles Pete" Conrad. naming the biggest corporate tax dodgers. As our contribution, we will identify a Tax with our first award Avoider of the Week, corgoing to Shell Oil. the giant Holland-baseporation. In 1971, with profits of $292,175,000, Shell paid an effective tax rate of only 14.9 percent. The Internal Revenue Service would like to charge such corporations 48 percent on their income. w Bigger crops aiso are needed to help satisfy a growing export demand that is expected to siphon off a record $11.1 billion worth of U.S. farm products this fiscal year Some in ihe administration, apparently as perplexed as housewives, have suggested eating more cheese and less meat, going meatless one day a week and planting vegetable gardens as in World War II. indicated Fanners have tentatively they will grow more crops this year. Cattlemen are expanding breeding herds, but it stiil is at least 30 month? from a tw inkle in a bulls eve 1 It was like walking on a water bed those last few miles. My old Army boots would come in handy, but my mother had them bronzed. It would be nice if I could give up puffing those cigarettes that Sen. Ted Moss is always talking about, but 1 gave them up years ago. So I gave up a lot of other things too that could be construed as a bit silly. So why do I get up in the mornings, especially on Mondays, feeling so rotten? Ive had a lot of offers for help on the march. Howard Pearson refused to march with me even a mile or two. I offered to push him in a wheelchair. He did say he would dig up $10 if I marched the entire distance. Gene Stewart, the new mortician and manager of Lindquists Bountiful Mortuary, has offered one of the company hearses if things go too badly. The Bloodmobile is going to be available every mile or so for withdrawals should it be needed. My doctor looked me over the other afternoon. He laughed. I don't exactly know know how to say this, but you walking 20 miles is like entering an Edsel m the Indy 500. Its for the March of Dimes, and there is a need for sponsurs and marchers. Therell be a lot older men than I and a lot bigger men too. So it will be fun. Howard Pearson just added smarter men too. Howard Pearson has been around longer than most of hasn't learned that an empty barrel makes the most noise! us, and he to a rump roast on the table. Hog producers are planning more baby if corn and soybean pigs this year and will fatten them prices are not too high inco more pork chops and bacon by fall. Severe weather hampered last falls harvest, and transportation bottlenecks brought about partly by huge export commitments, including massive grain exports to the Soviet Union, have helped cause shortages in the food pipeline. t " . My column is a bit shorter here on this high rent district page, but I guess it is just as well. The Gettysburg address was 266 words. The 23rd Psalm is 118 words and the Lords Prayer just 56 words. A recent government report on cabbage prices is 26,911 words long! If Utah citizens don't end up with an MITS END auto insurance plan favoring lawyers and insurance men, it will be "no fault of the legislature! |