“The man has spent the best years
of his life working up to a position
which enables him to begin to clothe
and feed his family, and cannot af
ford to begin life anew. He becomes
desperate. He says to himself, ‘I
will make the time or die trying.’
He tries —and his last run, the fire
man’s last run, the postal clerk’s last
run, the messenger’s last run, and,
incidentally, the last ride of a few pas
sengers ends in Diamond Lake.’’
For thus speaking their minds the
two postal employes were promptly
fined S3O apiece, and each was sus
pended from his run for ten days by
the great government of the United
States, and that no other postal em
ploye should ever fall into their dis
graceful error, W. S. Shallenberger,
second assistant postmaster general,
issued the following muzzling order:
“It is deemed essential to the proper
administration of public business that
officers and employes of this office
shall maintain respectful official rela
tions with railroad companies and oth
er carrying companies, as well as with
their superior officers. Railway postal
clerks must not engage in controver
sies with or criticism of railroad offi
cials involving the administration of
the postal service by furnishing infor
mation to the newspapers or public
ly discussing or denouncing the acts or
omissions of such officials as affecting
the postal service. Clerks violating
this instruction will be subject to dis
cipline and possible removal from the
service.
