OCR Text |
Show THE CITIZEN 16 COSTLY BLUNDERS One of the questions which will come before congress this session will be the readjustment of the pay of all employes of the postal service, third and including first, second, fourth-clas- s postmasters, clerks, and employes of the railway mail service. Although those members of congress who are interested in postal legisla-tio- n are largely of the opinion that readjustment must be made, involv-in- g increases which, in the aggregate, would amount to a great figure, they are greatly at variance in their plans for bringing this about without creating a deficit in the operation of the postoffice department. However, it is probable that the initial steps toward securing additional postal revenue to defray the expense of increased salaries will lead the postal committees of congress to a scrutiny of many of tne regulations promulgated by Postmaster General Burleson which, it is claimed, have resulted in great monetary loss to the government. One of these regulations is that which covered books and catalogues into the parcels post classification, which has resulted in stupendous profit to certain large mall order houses and a corresponding loss of revenue to This regulation the government. made it posible for the mail order houses, by sending their catalogues to postal zone centers by freight, and then distributing them by mail, to reduce their postage bill from 8 cents per pound to less than 2 cents per pound. The profit of one concern in this manner amounted to $1,500,000 in one year, which it is claimed, was distributed to stockholders as interest on $20,000,000 worth of new stock created to take care of this additional profit. Chairman Steenerson of the house committee on postoffices and post roads is firm in his contention that the postmaster general did some desperate figuring to bring about an alleged profit of $44,000,000 in the ' operation of the postoffice department. He believes that Mr. Burleson e of made a marked the additional revenue accruing to postage the Avar fund through a thus showing larger general surplus, and it is probable that some very interesting facts will be produced in this connection when the time conies to consider increased pay for the postal employes. under-estimat- nt sons, have never reached those for whom they were intended. Some of the checks are for more than $200, representing accumulated allotments of three or more months. Many people have never acquainted themselves with the vast work that the home service department of the Red Cross is doing for soldiers and their wives, mothers or other relatives.' One Utah home service agent, who has traversed almost the whole state carrying home service tidings to soldiers and their relatives tells of one family that was in dire need of assistance. The family did not know there was such a thing as a soldier's "allotment. And in that family there were two boys who had gone "over there. By chance members of the family heard that the Red Cross would help obtain money that, they had heard, was due them from the government by reason of the presence of the two boys in the army. They found it all right. It was next door to their own home. Perhaps there are soldiers or soldiers relatives In this very community who are in need of the home ser vice of the Red Cross. Perhaps some are entitled to a part of that $18,946 in government checks that the Red Cross is so keen on distributing. Consult the Red Cross. WAR AS AN EDUCATOR. Whatever may have been the evil effects of the war, it cannot be denied that it has been the greatest educative influence of. modern times. People of all countries have become better acquainted with the citizens of others, and have a larger understanding of the national aspirations of neighboring states. In our own country attention has been directed as never before to world problems. By constant reading of the war news the average citizen of the United States is quite familiar with the geography of Europe and Asia, the struggles for independence of their races, and the present economic condition of the states Involved in the war, and is possessed of a general comprehension of foreign questions about which he understood practically nothing five years ago. The same, effect is noticeable with respect to similar matters in our own country. The composition of the at Washington, the government power which federal authority holds over the people,. the relation to each other of the legislative executive and judicial branches, the power of the president under the constitution, the THE SCARLET THREAD "Behold, when we come to the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou hast let us down by. Joshua, li, 18. k- - Red as the lips of Rahab, Harlot of Jericho, Hung the thread from' her casement Ages on ages ago. question of government control of public utilities, methods of raising revenue and appropriating it for the expenses of the government, the conduct of our foreign affairs all these subjects and many others are matters of daily comment in the press and have been so intimately connected with the waging of the war that the reading of war news has carried with it a general study of our government in its varied aspects. Over the fire and slaughter Shone the cords rich flame: Out of her ruined city Rahab, the shielded, came! Swiftly the spinners of evil Gathered the thread and spun; Nightly robed In its color, Daughters of Babylon- - Particularly has this influence of education been felt in the training camps for our soldiers here and abroad. Men have been taken from all levels of society by the draft and blended together on terms of practical equality, in the army. Men of high social standing and education have come to know of the hundreds of thousands of poor people from the sparsely .settled regions of the country where practically all opportunihave been ties for denied. On the other hand boys from those sections have received a liberal education in economics, history, and government that they never would have acquired had it not been for the war. To the men who have been sent self-improveme- g- How its riotous tangles Twisted dancer and priest! Twined the groves of Astarte! Girded the emperors feast! Solomon, from his window Watching Jerusalem, Mused on the subtle woman Flaunting her scarlet hem. Men go marching to battle: nt Suddenly flares from a door Deadlier than their foemen Crimson that Rahab wore- Yea, and the spindles that fashioned Ninevehs red attire Spun for our present cities The halter of desire! overseas the opportunities, of course, have been still greater. "Some will come back, says General Carter, "maimed and sorely wounded, but the greater body of them will come home Improved mentally, morally and physically by their service. Then is the thread so woven Into the web of the race That, age through age, we must bear it Down to the Judgment-place? HER IDEA OF MEN. A little girl wrote When will our spirits . sicken Of weaving the cloth of doom? When will the God within us Shatter its shuttle and loom? Daniel Henderson, in The Forum. the following composition on men: "Men are what women marry. They drink and smoke and swear, but dont go to church. Perhaps if they wore bonnets they would. They are more logical than women, also more zoological. Both men and women sprang from the monkeys, but the women sprang farther than the men. Ladies Home Journal. "You make life a burden to me, said the busy man to the persistent life insurance agent In that case you cant take out this policy any too soon. Louisville Courier-Journa- l. The New PANS Are Coming!' IS THIS YOUR MONEY? There are 341 families and individuals in Utah who are in blissful ignorance that they are entitled to $18,946. The American Red Cross has such a sum at its disposal and, through its home service sections, is endeavoring to locate those for whom the money is intended. The $18,946 in the hands of the Red Cross represents allotments made by soldiers in favor of members of their families, allotments which, because of the removal of the beneficiaries, or for various other rea r ALSO SPECIAL EXHIBIT OF PAN FORGINGS PAN MOTOR COMPANY, 2E..15X . |