Chapter 69. Making appropriations for the service of the Post Office Department for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1920, and for other purposes
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CHAP. 69.— An Act Making appropriations for the service of the Post Office Department for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1920, and for other purposes. February 28, 1919.[[H. R. 13308](/us/bill/65/hr/13308).][[Public, No. 299](/us/pl/65/299).] *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled*, That the following sums be,Postal Service appropriations. and they are hereby, appropriated for the service of the Post Office Department, in conformity with the Act of July 2, 1836, as follows:
Vol. 5, p. 80. office of the postmaster general.Postmaster General. For gas, electric power and light, and the repair of machinery,Equipment shops building.Maintenance. United States Post Office Department equipment shops building, $4500. For salaries of post-office inspectors: For salaries of fifteenPost office inspectors. inspectors in charge of divisions, at $3,000 each; thirty inspectors, at $2,400 each; twenty inspectors, at $2,250 each; thirty-two inspectors, at $2,100 each; twenty inspectors, at $2,000 each; thirty inspectors, at $1,900 each; ninety inspectors, at $1,800 each; sixty inspectors, at $1,700 each; sixty inspectors, at $1,600 each; and sixty-five inspectors, at $1,500 each; in all, including increases hereinafter provided, $878,000.
For per diem allowance of inspectors in the field while actuallyPer diem. traveling on official business away from their homes, their official domiciles, and their headquarters, at a rate to be fixed by the Postmaster General, not to exceed $4 per day: *Provided*, That the*Provisos*.Temporary allowances. Postmaster General may, in his discretion, allow inspectors per diem while temporarily located at any place on business away from their homes or their designated domiciles for a period not exceeding twenty consecutive days at any one place, and make rules and regulations governing the foregoing provisions relating to per diem: *And provided further*,Limit.
That no per diem shall be paid to inspectors receiving annual salaries of $2,000 or more, except the thirty-two inspectors receiving $2,100 each, $350,000. For compensation to clerks at division headquarters, fifteen, atClerks at division headquarters. $1,800 each; fifteen, at $1,600 each; twenty, at $1,409 each; thirty, at $1,200 each; ten, at $1,000 each; and ten, at $900 each; in all, including increases hereinafter provided, $151,500. For traveling expenses of inspectors without per diem allowance,Traveling, etc., expenses. inspectors in charge, and the chief post-office inspector, and expenses incurred by inspectors not covered by per diem allowance, unusual and extraordinary expenses necessarily incurred for maintenance by inspectors over and above per diem allowance while traveling on1190 official business in connection with the postal service of Alaska, and for the traveling expenses of four clerks performing stenographic and clerical assistance to post-office inspectors in the investigation of important fraud cases, $43,850.
Livery hire.For livery hire incurred by inspectors not covered by their per diem allowance, including livery hire in connection with the installation and inspection of rural routes, $45,000. Miscellaneous expenses.For necessary miscellaneous expenses at division headquarters, $7,500. Rewards, etc.*Provisos*.Death of offender.For payment of rewards for the detection, arrest, and conviction of post-office burglars, robbers, and highway mail robbers: *Provided*, That rewards may be paid, in the discretion of the Postmaster General, when an offender of the class mentioned was killed in theSecuring information. act of committing the crime or in resisting lawful arrest: *And provided further*, That of the amount herein appropriated not to exceed $5,000 may be expended, in the discretion of the Postmaster General, for the purpose of securing information concerning violations of the postal laws and for services and information looking toward the apprehension of criminals, $25,000.
Special assistant to Attorney General in postal cases.For compensation of a special assistant to the Attorney General to assist in the defense of cases against the United States arising out of the transportation of the mails, and in other cases and matters affecting the postal revenues, $6,000. Travel, etc.For travel and miscellaneous expenses in the Postal Service, office of the Postmaster General, $1,000. First Assistant Postmaster General.office of the first assistant postmaster general.
Postmasters.*Provisos*.Readjustment of salaries.For compensation to postmasters, $36,500,000: *Provided*, That the Postmaster General is hereby authorized to readjust the salaries of Postmasters at offices of the first, second, and third class, effective*Ante*, p. 328. July 1, 1919, in accordance with the law in effect prior to the war:No allowance for increased first class mail rates. *And provided further*, That in making such adjustment no allowance shall be made for the revenue derived from increased rates on first class mail.
Assistant postmasters, first and second class offices.For compensation to assistant postmasters at first and second class offices, five, at not exceeding $4,000 each; sixty, at not exceeding $3,000 each; ten, at not exceeding $2,500 each; ten, at not exceeding $2,000 each; fifteen, at not exceeding $1,900 each; fifty, at not exceeding $1,800 each; one hundred, at not exceeding $1,700 each; two hundred, at not exceeding $1,600 each; two hundred and fifteen, at not exceeding $1,500 each; one hundred and seventy-five, at not exceeding $1,400 each; three hundred and sixty, at not exceeding $1,300 each; six hundred, at not exceeding $1,200 each; five hundred and fifty, at not exceeding $1,100 each; three hundred and fifty, at not exceeding $1,000 each; one hundred, at not exceeding $900 each; seventy, at not exceeding $800 each; in all, including increases hereinafter provided, $4,281,500.
Appointments restricted.And the appointment and assignment of assistant postmasters hereunder shall be so made during the fiscal year as not to involve a greater aggregate expenditure than this sum. Employees, first and second class offices.For compensation to clerks and employees at first and second class post offices: At $3,200.Superintendents of delivery, superintendents of mails, superintendents of money order, and superintendents of registry, ten, at not exceeding $3,200 each;
At $3,000.Auditors and superintendents of mails, fifteen, at not exceeding $3,000 each; At $2,700.Assistant superintendents of mails, superintendents of delivery, and superintendents of mails, twenty-five, at not exceeding $2,700 each; 1191 Assistant superintendents of mails, cashiers, superintendents ofAt $2,600. delivery, and superintendents of mails, thirty-five, at not exceeding $2,600 each; Assistant superintendents of mails, cashiers, superintendents ofAt $2,500. delivery, superintendents of mails, and superintendents of stations, forty, at not exceeding $2,500 each;
Assistant superintendents of delivery, assistant superintendents ofAt $2,400. mails, assistant superintendents of money order, assistant superintendents of registry, bookkeepers, cashiers, finance clerks, stenographers, superintendents of delivery, superintendents of mails, superintendents of money order, and superintendents of registry, sixty-five, at not exceeding $2,400 each; Assistant superintendents of mails, bookkeepers, cashiers, chiefAt $2,200. mailing clerks, chief stamp clerks, finance clerks, superintendents of delivery, superintendents of mails, superintendents of money order, superintendents of registry, and superintendents of stations, seventy-five, at not exceeding $2,200 each;
Assistant cashiers, assistant superintendents of delivery, assistantAt $2,000. superintendents of mails, assistant superintendents of money order, assistant superintendents of registry, bookkeepers, cashiers, examiners of stations, finance clerks, superintendents of carriers, superintendents of delivery, superintendents of mails, superintendents of money order, superintendents of registry, superintendents of second class matter, superintendents of inquiry, and superintendents of stations, one hundred and ninety-five, at not exceeding $2,000 each;
Assistant cashiers, assistant superintendents of delivery, assistantAt $1,800. superintendents of mails, assistant superintendents of money order, assistant superintendent of registry, assistant superintendents of stations, bookkeepers, cashiers, chief mailing clerks, chief stamp clerks, examiners of stations, finance clerks, stenographers, superintendents of carriers, superintendents of delivery, superintendents of mails, superintendents of money order, superintendents of registry, superintendents of second-class matter and superintendents of stations, two hundred, at not exceeding $1,800 each;
Assistant cashiers, assistant superintendents of delivery, assistantAt $1,700. superintendents of mails, assistant superintendents of money order, assistant superintendents of registry, assistant superintendents of stations, bookkeepers, cashiers, chief mailing clerks, chief stamp clerks, examiners of stations, finance clerks, stenographers, superintendents of carriers, superintendents of delivery, superintendents of mails, superintendents of money order, superintendents of registry, superintendents of second-class matter, and superintendents of stations, two hundred, at not exceeding $1,700 each;
Assistant cashiers, assistant superintendents of delivery, assistantAt $1,600. superintendents of mails, assistant superintendents of money order, assistant superintendents of registry, assistant superintendents of stations, bookkeepers, cashiers, chief mailing clerks, chief stamp clerks, examiners of stations, finance clerks, foremen of crews, stenographers, superintendents of carriers, superintendents of delivery, superintendents of mails, superintendents of money order, superintendents of registry, superintendents of second-class matter, and superintendents of stations, five hundred and twenty-five, at not exceeding $1,600 each;
Assistant cashiers, assistant superintendents of delivery, assistantAt $1,500. superintendents of mails, assistant superintendents of money order, assistant superintendents of registry, assistant superintendents of stations, bookkeepers, cashiers, chief mailing clerks, chief stamp clerks, examiners of stations, finance clerks, foremen of crews, stenographers, superintendents of carriers, superintendents of delivery, superintendents of mails, superintendents of money order, superintendents of registry, superintendents of second-class matter, and super1192 intendents of stations, one thousand one hundred and forty, at not exceeding $1,500 each;
At $1,400.Assistant cashiers, assistant superintendents of delivery, assistant superintendents of mails, assistant superintendents of money order, assistant superintendents of registry, assistant superintendents of stations, bookkeepers, cashiers, chief mailing clerks, chief stamp clerks, special clerks, examiners of stations, finance clerks, foremen of crews, stenographers, superintendents of carriers, superintendents of delivery, superintendents of mails, superintendents of money order, superintendents of registry, superintendents of second-class matter, and superintendents of stations, three thousand, at not exceeding $1,400 each;
At $l,300.Assistant cashiers, assistant superintendents of delivery, assistant superintendents of money order, assistant superintendents of mails, assistant superintendents of registry, assistant superintendents of stations, bookkeepers, cashiers, chief mailing clerks, chief stamp clerks, examiners of stations, finance clerks, foremen of crews, special clerks, stenographers, superintendents of carriers, superintendents of delivery, superintendents of mails, superintendents of money order, superintendents of registry, superintendents of second-class matter, and superintendents of stations, eight thousand, at not exceeding $1,300 each;
At $1,200.Assistant cashiers, assistant superintendents of delivery, assistant superintendents of mails, assistant superintendents of money order, assistant superintendents of registry, assistant superintendents of stations, bookkeepers, chief stamp clerks, clerks, finance clerks, foremen of crews, stenographers, superintendents of camera, superintendents of second-class matter, and superintendents of stations, eighteen thousand, at not exceeding $1,200 each; At $1,100.Assistant superintendents of stations, clerks, stenographers, superintendents of carriers, superintendents of second-class matter, and superintendents of stations, five thousand two hundred, at not exceeding $1,100 each;
At $1,000.Assistant superintendents of stations, clerks, clerks in charge of stations, stenographers, superintendents of carriers, and superintendents of second-class matter, three thousand one hundred, at not exceeding $1,000 each; At $900.Clerks, clerks in charge of stations, and stenographers, three thousand four hundred, at not exceeding $900 each; At $800.Clerks and clerks in charge of stations, three thousand four hundred and eighty-two, at not exceeding $800 each; Substitutes.*Provisos*.Foremen and stenographers.Substitutes for clerks and employees absent without pay: *Provided*, That there may also be employed at first-class post offices foremen and stenographers at a salary of $1,300 or more per annum; in all, including increases hereinafter provided, $67,200,000.
Appointments restricted.*Provided*, That hereafter the appointment and assignment of clerks hereunder shall be so made during each fiscal year as not to involve a greater aggregate expenditure than the sum appropriated; and toClerical increase. enable the Postmaster General to carry out the provisions of this Act he may hereafter exceed the number of clerks appropriatedAnnual leave computed. for for particular grades: *Provided further*, That hereafter the fifteen days’ annual vacation allowed by law to clerks and other employees in first and second class offices shall be credited at the rate of one andOvertime work restricted. one-quarter days for each month of actual service: *Provided further*, That hereafter whenever practicable in case of emergency or otherwise a substitute is available the postmaster is prohibited from employingAggregate limited. a regular clerk over time: *Provided*, That the number of clerks in the aggregate as herein authorized be not exceeded.
Printers, mechanics, etc.For compensation to printers, mechanics, and skilled laborers, twenty-two, at $1,200 each; four at $1,100 each; and thirty-one at $1,000 each; in all, including increases hereinafter provided, $71,100. 1193 For compensation to watchmen, messengers, and laborers, twoWatchmen, messengers, etc. thousand one hundred and twenty-five, at $900 each; in all, including increases hereinafter provided, $2,200,000. For compensation to clerks in charge of contract stations,Contract station clerks. $1,200,000.
For temporary and auxiliary clerk hire and for substitute clerk hireTemporary, auxiliary, and substitute clerks. for clerks and employees absent with pay at first and second class post offices and temporary and auxiliary clerk hire at summer and winter resort post offices, $6,000,000. For separating mails at third and fourth class post offices, $750,000. Separating mails. For unusual conditions at post offices, $200,000. Unusual conditions. For allowances to third-class post offices to cover the cost of clericalThird-class offices.*Provisos*.Allowance for clerks. services, $3,300,000: *Provided*, That hereafter no allowance in excess of $450 shall be made where the salary of the postmaster is $1,000, $1,100, or $1,200; nor in excess of $600 where the salary of the postmaster is $1,300, $1,400, or $1,500; and that no allowance in excess of $750 shall be made where the salary of the postmaster is $1,600 or $1,700; nor in excess of $1,200 where the salary of the postmaster is $1,800 or $1,900: *Provided further*, That the PostmasterAssistant postmasters.
General may, in the disbursement of this appropriation, expend not exceeding $600,000 for the employment, at a maximum salary of $900 per annum, of assistant postmasters at post offices of the third class where the salary of the postmaster is $1,800 or $1,900 per annum. For rent, light, and fuel for first, second, and third class postRent, light, and fuel. offices, $7,300,000. For miscellaneous items necessary and incidental to post offices ofMiscellaneous items. the first and second classes, $700,000.
For pay of letter earners at offices already established, includingCity delivery.Carriers. substitutes for letter carriers absent without pay, City Delivery Service, including increases hereinafter provided, $50,500,000: *Provided*,*Proviso*.Holiday observance.Vol. 39, p. 416. That hereafter all days, other than the holidays enumerated in the act of July 28, 1916, making appropriations for the Postal Service for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1917, set aside by the President of the United States as holidays to be observed by the other departments of the Government throughout the United States shall be construed as applicable to the Postal Service in the same manner and to the same extent as the executive departments.
Substitute carriers. For pay of substitutes for letter carriers absent with pay, and of auxiliary and temporary letter carriers at offices where city delivery is already established, $4,685,715. For pay of letter carriers, substitute and auxiliary letter carriersCarriers at new offices. at offices where City Delivery Service is established during the year, including increases hereinafter provided, $94,000. For vehicle allowance, the hiring of drivers, the rental of vehicles,Vehicle allowance. and the purchase and exchange and maintenance, including stable and garage facilities, of wagons or automobiles for and the operation of screen-wagon and city delivery and collection services, $9,750,000: *Provided*, That the Postmaster General may, in his disbursement of*Provisos*.Garage leases. this appropriation, apply a part thereof to the leasing of quarters for the housing of Government-owned automobiles at a reasonable annual rental for a term not exceeding ten years: *Provided further*,Garage in District of Columbia.
That not to exceed $60,000 of the amount herein appropriated shall be immediately available for the erection and equipment of a garage on the site owned by the Government in the rear of the main post office building in the District of Columbia. Messenger service. For mail-messenger service, $3,500,000. For car fare and bicycle allowance, $700,000. Carfare, etc. For street car collection service, $9,000. Street car collection. For Detroit River postal service, $7,250. Detroit River.
For car fare for special-delivery messengers in emergency cases,Special delivery.Car fare. $14.000. 1194 Fees.For fees to special-delivery messengers, $4,200,000. Travel, etc.For travel and miscellaneous expenses in the Postal Service, office of the First Assistant Postmaster General, $1,000. Second Assistant Postmaster General.office of the second assistant postmaster general. Star routes, Alaska.*Proviso*.Emergency service.For inland transportation by star routes in Alaska, $255,000: *Provided*, That out of this appropriation the Postmaster General is authorized to provide difficult or emergency mail service in Alaska, including the establishment and equipment of relay stations, in such manner as he may think advisable, without advertising therefor.
Steamboats, etc.For inland transportation by steamboat or other power-boat*Proviso*.Lake Winnepesaukee, N. H. routes, $1,185,000: *Provided*, That hereafter the compensation for the carrier of mail on Lake Winnepesaukee from the post office at Laconia, New Hampshire, who furnishes his own equipment, shall be $1,800 per annum. Railroad routes and aeroplanes.*Provisos*.Freight train conveyance.For inland transportation by railroad routes and aeroplanes, $59,625,000: *Provided*, That not to exceed $1,000,000 may be expended for payment of freight and incidental charges for the transportation of mails conveyed under special arrangement in freightAmount tor aeroplanes and operating service. trains or otherwise: *Provided further*, That out of this appropriation the Postmaster General is authorized to expend not exceeding $850,500 for the purchase of aeroplanes and the operation and maintenance of aeroplane mail service between such points, including service to and Between points in Alaska, as ho may determine.Purchases from Army and Navy of equipment no longer required for war service.
The Postmaster General in expending this appropriation shall purchase, as far as practicable, such available and suitable equipment and supplies for the aeroplane mail service as may be owned by or under construction for the War Department or the Navy Department when no longer required because of the cessation of war activities,Preference. and it shall be his duty to first ascertain if such articles of the character described may be secured from the War Department or the Navy Department before purchasing such equipment or supplies elsewhere.Report on purchases elsewhere.
If such equipment or supplies, other than emergency supplies, are purchased elsewhere than from the War Department or the Navy Department, the Postmaster General shall report such actionDetermination of price, etc. to Congress, together with the reasons for such purchases. All articles purchased from either of said departments shall be paid for at a reasonable price considering wear and tear and general condition. Said departments are authorized to sell such equipment and supplies to the Post Office Department under the conditions specified, and the proceeds of such sales shall be covered into the Treasury asImmediate delivery directed from stock on hand or being built. miscellaneous receipts: *Provided further*, That the Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy are hereby authorized and directed to deliver immediately to the Postmaster General, as he may request, and as hereinbefore provided, such aeroplane machines, supplies, equipment, and parts as may be serviceable and available for the aeroplane mail service, the same to be out of any equipment that the War Department or the Navy Department has on hand or under construction,Credit to respective appropriations. the War Department and the Navy Department appropriations to be credited with the equipment turned over to the PostAccounting.
Office Department: *And provided further*, That separate accounts be kept of the amount expended for aeroplane mail service. Freight on postal cards, etc.For pay of freight or expressage on postal cards, stamped envelopes, newspaper wrappers, and empty mail bags, $120,000. Railway Mail Service.Division superintendents, clerks, etc.Railway Mail Service: For fifteen division superintendents, at $3,250 each; two assistant superintendents, at $2,350 each; fifteen assistant division superintendents, at $2,250 each; one hundred and fifteen chief clerks, at not exceeding $2,100 each; four hundred and thirty-two clerks, grade ten, at not exceeding $1,800 each; one thousand nine hundred and twenty-two clerks, grade nine, at not1195 exceeding $1,700 each; three hundred and seventy-five clerks, grade eight, at not exceeding $1,600 each; seven thousand seven hundred and three clerks, grade seven, at not exceeding $1,500 each; nine hundred and fifty-two clerks, grade six, at not exceeding $1,400 each; one thousand seven hundred and thirty-seven clerks, grade five, at not exceeding $1,300 each; two thousand seven hundred and twenty-one clerks, grade four, at not exceeding $1,200 each; sixty clerks, grade three, at not exceeding $1,100 each; four thousand six hundred and sixty-six clerks, grade two, at not exceeding $1,000 each; one thousand one hundred and sixty-four clerks, grade one, at not exceeding $900 each; in all, including increases hereinafter provided, $33,904,000: *Provided*, That railway and substitute railway*Provisos*.Full time credited for deadheading.Appointments, etc., restricted. postal clerks shall be credited with full time when deadheading under orders of the department, and the appointment and assignment of clerks hereunder shall be so made during the fiscal year as not to involve a greater aggregate expenditure than this sum; and, to enable the Postmaster General to reclassify the salaries of railway postal clerks and make necessary appointments and promotions, he may exceed the number of clerks in such of the grades as may be necessary: *Provided*, That the number of regular clerks in the aggregateAggregate limited. as herein authorized be not exceeded.
For travel allowances to railway postal clerks and substituteTravel allowances. railway postal clerks, $2,689,931: *Provided*, That the Act of August*Proviso*.Working time. 24, 1912 (Thirty-seventh Statutes, page 548), amended by the Act approved March 3, 1917, be further amended to read as follows: " “That hereafter, in addition to the salaries provided by law, theAllowances for duty over ten hours, increased.Vol. 37, p. 548.Vol. 39, p. 1065, amended. Postmaster General is hereby authorized to make travel allowances in lieu of actual expenses, at fixed rates per annum, not exceeding in the aggregate the sum annually appropriated, to railway postal clerks, acting railway postal clerks, and substitute railway postal clerks, including substitute railway postal clerks for railway postal clerks granted leave with pay on account of sickness, assigned to duty in railway post office cars, while on duty, after ten hours from the time of beginning their initial run, under such regulations as he may prescribe, and in no case shall such an allowance exceed $2 per day” " For actual and necessary expenses, general superintendent andTraveling expenses. assistant general superintendent, division superintendents, assistant division superintendents, and chief clerks, Railway Mail Service, and railway postal clerks, while actually traveling on business of the Post Office Department and away from their several designated headquarters $55,297.
For rent, light, heat, fuel, telegraph, miscellaneous and officeMiscellaneous. expenses, schedules of mail trains, telephone service, and badges for railway postal clerks, including rental of offices for division headquarters, and chief clerk, Railway Mail Service, in Washington, District of Columbia, and rental of space for terminal railway postRent of terminal offices. offices for the distribution of mails when the furnishing of space for such distribution can not under the Postal Laws and Regulations properly be required of railroad companies without additional compensation, and for equipment and miscellaneous items necessary and incidental to terminal railway post offices, $832,156.
For per diem allowance of two assistant superintendents whilePer diem assistant superintendents. actually traveling on official business away from their home, their official domicile, and their headquarters, at a rate to be fixed by the Postmaster General, not to exceed $4 per day, and for their necessary official expenses not covered by their per diem allowance not exceeding $700, in all, $3,100. For inland transportation of mail by electric and cable cars,Electric and cable cars.*Provisos*.Rates of pay. $545,000: *Provided*, That the rate of compensation to be paid per mile shall not exceed the rate now paid to companies performing1196 such service, except that the Postmaster General, in cases where the quantity of mail is large and the number of exchange points numerous, may, in his discretion, authorize payment for closed-pouch service at a rate per mile not to exceed one-third above the rate per mile now paid for closed-pouch service; and for mail cars and apartments carrying the mails, not to exceed the rate of 1 cent per linear footOutside of cities. per car-mile of travel: *Provided further*, That the rates for electric car service on routes over twenty miles in length outside of cities shall not exceed the rates paid for service on steam railroads: *Provided, however*,Unusual conditions.
That not to exceed $25,000 of the sum hereby appropriated may be expended, in the discretion of the Postmaster General, where unusual conditions exist or where such service will be more expeditious and efficient and at no greater cost than otherwise. Foreign mails.For transportation of foreign mails, $4,700,000. Balances to foreign Countries.Travel, etc.For balances due foreign countries, $681,700. For travel and miscellaneous expenses in the Postal Service, office of the Second Assistant Postmaster General, $1,000.
Third Assistant Postmaster General.office of the third assistant postmaster general. Stamps.For manufacture of adhesive postage stamps, special-delivery stamps, books of stamps, and for coiling of stamps, $1,380,000. Stamped envelopes and wrappers.For manufacture of stamped envelopes and newspaper wrappers, $3,000,000. Distribution.For pay of agent and assistants to examine and distribute stamped envelopes and newspaper wrappers, and expenses of agency, $18,400. Postal cards.For manufacture of postal cards, $500,000.
Ship, etc., letters.For ship, steamboat, and way letters, $150. Indemnity for lost registered, etc., mail.For payment of limited indemnity for the injury or loss of pieces of domestic registered matter, insured, and collect-on-delivery mail, $1,600,000. For payment of limited indemnity for the loss of registered articles in the international mails, in accordance with convention stipulations, $10,000. Travel, etc.For travel and miscellaneous expenses in the Postal Service, office of the Third Assistant Postmaster General, $1,000.
Travel, etc., Postal Savings System.For travel and miscellaneous expenses in the service of the Postal Savings System, office of the director, $500. Fourth Assistant Postmaster General.office of the fourth assistant postmaster general. Stationery, etc.For stationery for the Postal Service, including blanks, books, printed and engraved matter, binding and carbon paper, and other miscellaneous items for the money-order and registry systems; the preparation, publication, and free distribution by postmasters to the public of pamphlets containing general postal information; the payPostal Savings System supplies. of one assistant envelope inspector at $900 per annum; and also for the purchase of supplies for the Postal Savings System, including blank books, forms, pamphlets, rubber stamps, canceling devices, certificates, and cards and stamps for use in evidencing deposits, andBond expenses.Vol. 38, p. 817. free penalty envelopes; and for the reimbursement of the Secretary of the Treasury for expenses incident to the preparation, issue, and registration of the bonds authorized by the act of June 25, 1910, $886,000.
Postmarking, etc., stamps.For postmarking, rating, money-order stamps, and electrotype plates, and repairs to same, metal, rubber, and combination type, dates and figures, type holders, ink and pads for canceling and stampingMiscellaneous articles, letter scales, etc. purposes; and for the purchase, exchange, and repair of typewriting machines, envelope-opening machines, and computing machines, copying presses, numbering machines, time recorders, letter balances, scales, test weights, and miscellaneous articles purchased and furnished directly to the Postal Service, $375,000. 1197 For wrapping twine and tying devices, $560,000.
Twine, etc. For miscellaneous equipment and supplies, including the purchaseMiscellaneous equipment and supplies.Carrier service. and repair of furniture, letter boxes, package boxes, posts, trucks, baskets, satchels, straps, letter-box paint, baling machines, perforating machines, duplicating machines, printing presses, directories, cleaning supplies, and the manufacture, repair and exchange of equipment, the erection, manufacture, repair, and painting of letter-box equipment, and for the purchase and repair of presses and dies for use in the manufacture of letter boxes; for miscellaneous expenses in the preparation and publication of post-route maps and rural-delivery mapsPost route, etc., maps.Sales, etc. or blue prints, including tracing for photolithographic reproduction, and the Postmaster General may authorize the sale to the public of post-route maps and rural-delivery maps or blue prints at the cost of printing and 10 per cent thereof added, the proceeds of such sale to be used as a further appropriation for the preparation and publication of post-route maps and rural-delivery maps or blue prints; of this amount $1,500 may be expended in the purchase of atlases and geographical and technical works, and for other expenditures necessary and incidental to post offices of the first, second, and third classes, including offices of the fourth class having or to have rural-delivery service, $480,000.
For defraying expenses incident to the shipment of supplies,Shipping supplies. including hardware, boxing, packing, cartage, freight, and the pay of one foreman, at $1,400 per annum, nine requisition fillers, at $1,000 each per annum, and seven packers, at $1,000 each per annum, for assignment in connection therewith, $194,000. For rental, purchase, exchange, and repair of canceling machinesCanceling machines, labor saving devices, etc. and motors, mechanical, mail-handling apparatus, and other labor-saving devices, including cost of power in rented buildings, and miscellaneous expenses of installation and operation of same, includingTraveling mechanicians. salaries of five traveling mechanicians and for per diem allowance of traveling mechanicians while actually traveling on official business away from their homes and their official domiciles at a rate to be fixed by the Postmaster General, not to exceed $4 per day, $337,000.
For the purchase, manufacture, and repair of mail bags and otherMail bags, locks, etc. mail containers and attachments, mail locks, keys, chains, tools, machinery, and material necessary for same, and for incidental expenses pertaining thereto; also material, machinery, and tools necessary for the manufacture and repair in the equipment shops at Washington, District of Columbia, of such other equipment for the Postal Service as may be deemed expedient; for compensation to labor employed in the equipment shops at Washington, District ofLabor.
Columbia, $2,000,000: *Provided*, That out of this appropriation the*Proviso*.Distinctive equipment for departments, Alaska, and. insular possessions. Postmaster General is authorized to use as much of the sum, not exceeding $5,000, as may be deemed necessary for the purchase of material and the manufacture in the equipment shops of such small quantities of distinctive equipments as may be required by other executive departments; and for service in Alaska, Porto Rico, Philippine Islands, Hawaii, or other island possessions.
For inland transportation by star routes (excepting service inStar-route transportation. Alaska), including temporary service to newly established offices, $9,500,000. For pay of rural carriers, substitutes for rural carriers on annualRural delivery.Carriers.*Post*, p. 1199.*Provisos*.Horse drawn routes.Pay tor increased length.Vol. 39, p. 423, amended. leave, clerks in charge of rural stations, and tolls and ferriage, Rural Delivery Service, and for the incidental expenses thereof, $68,800,000: *Provided*, That hereafter rural carriers assigned to horse-drawn vehicle routes on which daily service is performed shall receive $24 per mile per annum for each mile said routes are in excess of twenty-four miles or major fraction thereof, based on actual mileage, and rural, carriers assigned to horse-drawn vehicle routes on which triweekly service is performed shall receive $12 per mile per annum for each1198 mile said routes are in excess of twenty-four miles or major fractionMotor vehicle carriers for 1920. thereof, based on actual mileage: *Provided further*, That during the fiscal year nineteen hundred and twenty the pay of carriers who furnish and maintain their own motor vehicles and who serve routes not less than fifty miles in length may be fixed at not exceeding $2,250 per annum.
Village delivery.For village delivery service in towns and villages having post offices of the second or third class, and in communities adjacent to cities having city delivery, $1,250,000. Motor vehicle truck routes.Experiments in collection and delivery of food products, etc., by.That to promote the conservation of food products and to facilitate the collection and delivery thereof from producer to consumer and the delivery to producers of articles necessary in the production of such food products, the Postmaster General is hereby authorized to conduct experiments in the operation of motor vehicle truckCountry motor express routes.Experiments in expediting parcel post matter by. routes, to be selected by him.
The Postmaster General is further authorized to conduct experiments in the operation of country motor express routes, which shall be primarily operated as a means of expediting the transportation of fourth-class mail between producing and consuming localities and shall not displace or supplantRegulations as to rates, packing, etc., to be made. any existing methods of mail transportation or delivery. These two classes of experiments shall be conducted under such rules and regulations, including modifications in rates of postage and in packing and wrapping requirements, as the Postmaster General mayAppropriation. prescribe, and to defray the cost thereof the sum of $300,000 is hereby appropriated: *Provisos*.Restriction as to other than fourth-class mail.*Provided*, That mail other than that of the fourth class shall not be dispatched on experimental motor Vehicle truck routes or on experimental country motor express routes unless the same can be expedited thereby in delivery at destination:
Separate accounting, etc.*Provided further*, That separate accounts shall be kept of the amount of all the mail of all classes carried on such routes. The Postmaster General shall report to Congress the result of such experiments at the beginning of the next regular session. Travel, etc.For travel and miscellaneous expenses in the Postal Service, office of the Fourth Assistant Postmaster General, $1 000. Sec. 2. Pay, fiscal year 1920.Clerks and carriers first and second class offices.Grades and salaries.
That during the fiscal year ending June thirty, nineteen hundred and twenty, clerks in first and second class post offices and letter carriers in the City Delivery Service shall be divided into six grades as follows: First grade, salary $1,000; second grade, salary $1,100; third grade, salary $1,200; fourth grade, salary $1,300;*Provisos*.Yearly promotions. fifth grade, salary $1,400; sixth grade, salary $1,500: *Provided*, That clerks in first and second class post offices and letter carriers in the City Delivery Service shall be promoted successively after one year’s satisfactory service in each grade to the next higher grade until they reach the sixth grade.
All promotions shall be made at the beginning of the quarter following one year’s satisfactory servicePromotions for past Satisfactory service.*Ante*, p. 751. in the grade:Railway postal clerks.Grades and salaries. *Provided further*, That clerks in first and second class post offices and letter carriers in the City Delivery Service who have served satisfactorily for one year in grades one, two, three, four, and five, respectively, under the Act approved July two, nineteen hundred and eighteen, shall be promoted to the next higher grade: *Provided further*, That the salaries of railway postal clerks shall be graded as follows:
Grade one, at $1,100; grade two, at $1,200; grade three, at $1,300; grade four, at $1,400; grade five, at $1,500; grade six, at $1,600; grade seven, at $1,700; grade eight, at $1,800; grade nine, at $1,900; grade ten, at $2,000. Classification of salaries and railway post offices.The Postmaster General shall classify and fix the salaries of railway postal clerks, under such regulations as he may prescribe, in the grades provided by law; and for the purpose of organization and establishing maximum grades to which promotions may be made successively, as hereinafter provided, he shall classify railway post1199 offices, terminal railway post offices, and transfer offices with reference to their character and importance in three classes, with salary grades as follows:
Class A, $1,100, to $1,500; class B, $1,100, to $1,600; class C, $1,100 to $1,800. He may assign to the offices ofAssignment of clerks and salaries. division superintendents and chief clerks such railway postal clerks as may be necessary and fix their salaries within the grades provided by law without regard to the classification of railway post offices. Clerks in class A shall be promoted successively to grade three,Yearly grade promotions. clerks in class B shall be promoted successively to grade four, and clerks in class C shall be promoted successively to grade five, at the beginning of the quarter following the expiration of a year’s satisfactory service in the next lower grade.
Promotions above these grades within the maximum grades of the classification may be made in the discretion of the Postmaster General for meritorious service. No promotion shall be made except upon evidence satisfactoryEfficiency requirements. to the Post Office Department of the efficiency and faithfulness of the employee during the preceding year: *Provided further*,*Provisos*.Clerks in charge of crews. That clerks assigned as clerks in charge of crews consisting of more than one clerk shall be clerks of grades six to ten, inclusive, and may be promoted one grade only after three years’ satisfactory and faithful service in such capacity: *Provided further*, That during the fiscalRural carriers.Rates for week days’ service. year ending June 30, 1920, the compensation of each rural letter carrier for serving a rural route of twenty-four miles, six days in the week, shall be $1,500; on routes twenty-two miles and less than twenty-four miles, $1,440; on routes twenty miles and less than twenty-two miles, $1,350; on routes eighteen miles and less than twenty miles, $1,200; on routes sixteen miles and less than eighteen miles, $1,050; on routes fourteen miles and less than sixteen miles, $900; on routes twelve miles and less than fourteen miles, $840; on routes ten miles and less than twelve miles, $780; on routes eight miles and less than ten miles, $720; on routes six miles and less than eight miles, $660; on routes four miles and less than six miles, $600.
A rural letter carrier serving one triweekly route shall be paid on theTriweekly, etc., service. basis for a route one-half the length of the route served by him, and a carrier serving two triweekly routes shall be paid on the basis for a route one-half of the combined length of the two routes: *Provided further*,Fourth-class postmasters.Cancellations allowance. That during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1920, postmasters of the fourth class shall receive the same compensation as now provided by law, except that they shall receive 100 per centum of the cancellations of the first $100 or less per quarter: *Provided further*, That if the compensation does not exceed $75 for any one quarter,Increases allowed. fourth-class postmasters shall be allowed an increase of 20 per centum of the compensation allowed under existing law: *Provided further*,No office advanced.
That no office shall be advanced to third class by reason of the temporary increases herein provided: *Provided further*, That during the former Act continued.*Ante*, p. 752. seal year ending June 30, 1920, the increased compensation provided in section 2 of the Act approved July 2, 1918, making appropriations for the service of the Post Office Department for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1919, and for other purposes, shall remain the same for employees other than those mentioned herein: *Provided further*, That no assistant postmaster or supervisory official at offices of theAssistant postmasters, etc., at first and second class offices. first class shall receive a less salary than $100 per annum in excess of the sixth-grade salary provided for clerks and carriers in the City Delivery Service, nor shall an assistant postmaster at any office of the second class be paid a less salary than that paid the highest-salaried clerk or letter carrier employed in such office: *Provided further*, That the provisions of this section shall not apply to employeesEmployees excluded from increase. who receive a part of their pay from any outside sources under cooperative arrangement with the Post Office Department, or to employees who serve voluntarily or receive only a nominal compensation: *And provided further*,Additional pay, 1918, 1919, not computed as salary.
That the increased compensation at the rate of 101200 per centum, and 15 per centum for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1918, and the increased compensation for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1919, shall not be computed as salary in construing this section.Appropriation for increases. So much as may be necessary for the increases provided for in this act is hereby appropriated. Sec. 3. Reclassification of salaries, etc.Congressional Commission created to investigate, etc., for.Composition.
That a commission consisting of five members of the Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads of the United States Senate, to be appointed by the President of the Senate, and five members of the Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads of the House of Representatives, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House, is hereby authorized to investigate the salaries of postmasters and employees of the postal service with a view to the reclassification and readjustment of such salaries on an equitable basis.
Vacancies occurring in the membership of the commission shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments. Authority conferred.The commission is authorized to sit during the sessions or recess of Congress, to send for persons and papers, to administer oaths, to summon and compel the attendance of witnesses, and to employ such clerical and expert services and incur such expenses as may be necessary to carry out the purpose of this investigation. Assistance of postal officials.The heads of the Post Office Department, postmasters, supervisory officials, and employees of the Postal Service shall furnish data and information, and make investigations upon request of the commission.
Report of results.It shall be the duty of the commission to report by bill or otherwise, as soon as practicable, the results of its investigation and what reclassificationExpenses payable from postal balances. and readjustment of compensation should be made. The expense of such investigation shall be paid from the unexpended balance of any appropriation for the Postal Service for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1919, or for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1920, and disbursed upon vouchers approved by the commission; which approval shall be conclusive upon the accounting officers of the TreasuryImmediately available.
Department. Funds necessary for the expenses of the commission shall become available upon the approval of this Act. Sec. 4. Materials, supplies, etc.Purchases from available stock of other Government services no longer required by them. That the Postmaster General and other responsible officials, in expending appropriations contained in this Act, so far as possible shall purchase material, supplies, and equipment, when needed and funds are available, from the various services of the Government of the United States possessing material, supplies, and equipmentDuty before purchasing elsewhere. no longer required because of the cessation of war activities.
It shall be the duty of the Postmaster General and other officials, before purchasing any of the articles described herein, to ascertain from the other services of the Government whether they have articles of thePrice stipulation. character described that are serviceable. And articles purchased from other services of the Government, if the same have not been used, shall be paid for at a reasonable price not to exceed actual cost, and if the same have been used, at a reasonable price based uponSales authorized, etc. length of usage.
The various services of the Government are authorized to sell such articles to the Postal Service under the conditions specified and the proceeds of such sales shall be covered into the Treasury as a miscellaneous receipt. Sec. 5. Rural post roads.Meaning of term extended to any suitable road.Vol. 39, p. 356, amended. That the Act entitled “An Act to provide that the United States shall aid the States in the construction of rural post roads, and for other purposes,” approved July 11, 1916, is hereby amended to provide that the term “rural post roads,” as used in section 2 of said Act, shall be construed to mean any public road a major portion of which is now used, or can be used, or forms a connecting link not to exceed ten miles in length of any road or roads now or hereafter used for the transportation of the United States mails, excluding every street and road in a place having a population, as shown by the latest available Federal census, of two thousand five hundred or more,1201 except that portion of any such street or road along which the houses average more than two hundred feet apart: *Provided*, That section 6*Proviso*.Payments allowed to States increased.Vol. 39, p. 356, amended. of said Act be further amended so that the limitation of payments not to exceed $10,000 per mile, exclusive of the cost of bridges of more than twenty feet clear span, which the Secretary of Agriculture may make, be, and the same is, increased to $20,000 per mile.
Sec. 6. That for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of saidAppropriations for, increased.Vol. 39, p. 358, amended. Act, as herein amended, there is hereby appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the following additional sums: The sum of $50,000,000 for the fiscal year endingAdditional amounts annually. June 30, 1919, and available immediately; the sum of $75,000,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1920; and the sum of $75,000,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1921: said additional sums to be expended in accordance with the provisions of said Act: *Provided*,*Provisos*.Allotments to States having constitutional prohibition against internal improvements, etc.
That where the constitution of any State prohibits the same from engaging upon internal improvements, or from contracting public debts for extraordinary purposes in an amount sufficient to meet the monetary requirements of the Act of July 11, 1916, or any Act amendatory thereof, or restricts annual tax levies for the purpose of constructing and improving roads and bridges, and where a constitutional alteration or amendment to overcome either or all of such prohibitions must be submitted to a referendum at a general election, the sum to which such State is entitled under the method of apportionmentRetention of, as separate fund for future uses. provided in the Act of July 11, 1916, or any Act amendatory thereof, shall be withdrawn by the Secretary of the Treasury from the principal fund appropriated by the Act of July 11, 1916, or any Act amendatory thereof, upon receipt of the certification of the governor of such State to the existence of either or all of said prohibitions, and such sum shall be carried by the Secretary of the Treasury as a separate fund for future disbursement as hereinafter provided: *Provided further*, That when, by referendum, the constitutional alterationsAvailable when changes in constitution are made. or amendments necessary to the enjoyment of the sum so withdrawn have been approved and ratified by any State, the Secretary of the Treasury, upon receipt of certification from the governor of such State to such effect, shall immediately make available to such State, for the purposes set forth in the Act of July 11, 1916, or any Act amendatory thereof, the sum withdrawn as hereinbefore provided: *Provided further*, That nothing herein shall be deemed to prevent anyUse of portion permitted.
State from receiving such portion of said principal sum as is available under its existing constitution and laws: *Provided further*, That inLabor preference to honorably discharged soldiers, etc. the expenditure of this fluid for labor preference shall be given, other conditions being equal, to honorably discharged soldiers, sailors, and marines, but any other preference or discrimination among citizens of the United States in connection with the expenditure of this appropriation is hereby declared to be unlawful.
Sec. 7. That the Secretary of War be, and he is hereby, authorizedRoad material not needed for Army purposes to be transferred, etc. in his discretion to transfer to the Secretary of Agriculture all available war material, equipment, and supplies not needed for the purposes of the War Department, but suitable for use in the improvement of highways, and that the same be distributed among the highwayUse on State highways, etc. departments of the several States to be used on roads constructed in whole or in part by Federal aid, such distribution to be made upon a value basis of distribution the same as provided by the Federal aid road Act, approved July 11, 1916: *Provided*, That the Secretary of*Proviso*.Reservation for national forest roads, etc.
Agriculture, at his discretion, may reserve from such distribution not to exceed 10 per centum of such material, equipment, and supplies for use in the construction of national forest roads or other roads constructed under his direct supervision. Sec. 8. That there is hereby appropriated, out of any money inNational forests.Appropriation for roads and trails in, for use, etc., of adjacent communities. the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1919, the sum of $3,000,000, for the fiscal year ending June1202 30, 1920, the sum of $3,000,000, and for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1921, the sum of $3,000,000, available until expended by theWith local cooperation.
Secretary of Agriculture in cooperation with the proper officials of the State, Territory, insular possession, or county, in the survey, construction, and maintenance of roads and trails within or partly within the national forests, when necessary for the use and development of resources of the same or desirable for the proper administration, protection, and improvement of any such forest. Out ofWithout cooperation. the sums so appropriated the Secretary of Agriculture may, without the cooperation of such officials, survey, construct, and maintain any road or trail within a national forest which he finds necessary for the proper administration, protection, and improvement of such forest, or which in his opinion is of national importance.
In theLabor preference to ex-soldiers, etc. expenditure of this fund for labor preference shall be given, other conditions being equal, to honorably discharged soldiers, sailors, and marines. Report to Congress.The Secretary of Agriculture shall make annual report to Congress of the amounts expended hereunder. Sec. 9. No details from Army, etc., for road work except by consent.*Provisos*.Ascertainment of work on State roads by men in service during the war. That no officer or enlisted man of the Army, Navy, or Marine Corps shall be detailed for work on the roads which come within the provisions of this Act except by his own consent: *And provided further*, That the Secretary of Agriculture through the War Department shall ascertain the number of days any such soldiers, sailors, and marines have worked on the public roads in the several States (other than roads within the limits of cantonments or military reservations in the several States) during the existing war and also the location where they worked and their names and rank, and reportEqualisation of pay with civilians for work done. to Congress at the beginning of its next regular session: *Provided further*, That when any officer or enlisted man in the Army, the Navy, or the Marine Corps shall have been or may be in the future detailed for labor in the building of roads or other highway construction or repair work (other than roads within the limits of cantonments or military reservations in the several States), during the existing war, the pay of such officer or enlisted man shall be equalized to conform to the compensation paid to civilian employees m the same or likePayment of amount found due. employment and the amount found to be due such officer’s, soldiers, sailors, and marines, less the amount of his pay as such officer, soldier, sailor, or marine, shall be paid to him from the 1920 appropriation herein allotted to the States wherein such highway construction or repair work was or will be performed.
Sec. 10. Appropriation from the Treasury to meet postal deficiencies. That if the revenues of the Post Office Department shall be insufficient to meet the appropriations made by this Act, a sum equal to such deficiency of the revenue of said department is hereby appropriated, to be paid out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to supply said deficiencies in the revenues for the Post Office Department for the year ending June 30, 1920, and the sum needed may be advanced to the Post Office Department upon requisition of the Postmaster General.
Approved, February 28, 1919.