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Show PRESSDFJT FOOLING 0M1EQ LABOR Way He Treats Postal Service Employees Differs Vastly From New Policy Adopted. While President Wilson is trying to fool labor into the belief that he is a sincere advocate of the 8-hour 8-hour day, his own cabinet is violating violat-ing an S-hour day law. If an 8-hour day has "the sanction of society," as Mr. Wilson declared regarding the railway controversy, why is it not enforced en-forced in the postal service? Is the question which Thomas F. Flaherty, president of the National Federation of Postofflce Clerk, has put to various officials and finally to the president. After expending every effort ef-fort to relievo the abuse of postal clerks, which he describes as worse under the Wilson administration than ever before, President Flaherty finally final-ly wrote President Wilson describing the outrageous treatment of the postal clerks and asserting that Postmaster General Burleson and other responsible responsi-ble officials "are seemingly indifferent to the plight of the clerks." By his failure to answer Mr. Flaherty's letter let-ter President Wilson indicates that he is equally indifferent to the welfare wel-fare of the postal clerks. "The postal department officials havo placed you in the utcnable position of advocating a principle in private employment the eight-hour day which Is not in effect in government employment, solely because of a desire for a greater great-er postal surplus," wrote Mr. Flaherty Flaher-ty to President Wilson. Mr. Flaherty declares that, "In Its treatmont of the aged service workers the present administration ad-ministration has been brutal" and says that, "In an effort to belittle the worth of the mail collectors," Assistant Assist-ant Postmaster General Roper toTd the House Postoffico Committee that their- work could bo performed by "a blind man or a boy." The Postal Clerks' organization is affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, but that has not prevented numerous and flagrant violations of the law designed to protect them, by the Wilson administration. ad-ministration. Mr. Flaherty also points out that Postmaster General Burleson Burle-son actually asked Congress to alter the eight-hour law to authorlzo the spreading of the day's work over twelve instead of ten hours, as the law now provides, ' |
