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truth: I
about $47,000,000, was paid over to
tlic railroads of the country for trans
it?, '. portatiou and the rent of special pos
' ," tl L-ars. Il is believed that the first
Kreat cut could be made here. In-
deed, it has been definitely charged
. before the present commission in-
, vestigating the jiostal revenues for
Congress, that the private express
companies arc getting practically
I the same service from the railroads
at a third of the cost. That is, .-;qual
I , " accomodations would cost them over
$30,000,000 a year less, a sum rcprc-
, ,, senting more than one-sixth of the
jfa' total expenditure of the Post-Office
I ri Department.
We pay our postmasters $23,000,
000. The private corporation would
cut down this total by millions and
,&', secure much more efficient local
1 ' managers. The rural free delivery is
calculated to be operated at a loss of
$.o,ooo,ooo; the private corporation
would plan to make this self-supporting
by uniting with the routes a par
cels express not parcels post, to
which the country merchants object,
but a lo,cal express service, carrying
goods only along the routes on which
I ' they are received. The $25,ooo,ooo's
worth of mail, now carried free every
year under government frank, would
he paid for, under private managc
I ment, by the Government, the cor-
! poration in the meanwhile paying
4" . rent for its use of government build-
it 4 .
' - HIES.
-1 $& .
'a', It is scarcely news that the Post-
.' "f , Office Department is an extravagant
; .' ' ' and wasteful institution. The man
"V agemcut is p'oliticnl from the top
down; a system whose whole ten
f . , dency is to make two office-holders
, grow where one was before. Its
working force has the negative virt
,'f ues of the civil service. Its whole
j management is bound by the still un-
1 adaptability of official methods. That
j " the Government pays high for every
f :,l , dealing with a private individual or
5 V-'i' corporation is commonplace know-
t f '" ledge; but is the proportion of inef
, ficicncy so great? Do we pay twice
. ' as much as we should for our post
age? Plans for the private opcra
, tiou of our national post-office are
scarcely likely to be carried into
practice certainly not in the near
future; but the charges against our'
present system which arc involved
in this episode arc too serious to be
( k ' overlooked. We must know wheth-
er they are true, not merely because
of the great financial loss involved,
but because every check or hindrance
to our postal service means a great
and certain loss to our civilization.
This is, of course, the thing ot
present practical consequence, but
1 beyond that is the light thrown upon
.' the general theory of the re-forma
tion of society of which we are all
thinking so much nowadays. The
post-office is the greatest and most
-, familiar example of public ownership.
51 Is it true that governmental manage
ment of business is in its essence so
ineffectual and unadaptable and futile?
If so, or if this is nearly so bad as it
is painted, is it to be believed that
Z. C. M. 1, CLEAN-UP SALE
OUR ANNUAL MAY SALE HAS LEFT US WITH A NUMBER OF II,
BROKEN LINES; WE ARE DETERMINED, HOWEVER, TO RID '!
OUR STOCKS OF ALL ODD LOTS AND ACCUMULATIONS BY
ACTUALLY CUTTING PRICES TO EXCEPTIONALLY LOW FIG- ,
URES COMMENCING MONDAY MORNING. TO MAKE THE ,
SALE ADDITIONALLY ATTRACTIVE OUR ENTIRE LINE OF ' f
LADIES' AND MISSES' CLOTH SUITS WILL BE SOLD DURING
THE WEEK AT HALF PRICE, AND FOR MONDAY ONLY ALL J
DARK COLORED MILLINERY WILL BE SOLD AT HALF PRICE. .1
WATCH FOR ITEMIZED ANNOUNCEMENTS.
Z. C. M. I. I WHERE YOU CET THE BEST ' . Q f. I.
OUR DRUG STORE IS AT 112-114 MAIN STREET
society is tending to such a form?
or is it rather to move toward some
other plan of organization some
compromise which will combine the
level justice of state control and the
elasticity and aggressive self-interest
of private enterprise?
It should be said that Mr. Cortel
you could in all likelihood, with pro
per cooperation o'f the other depart
ments of the Government, put the.
post-office on a very sound basis.
He has laid the foundations for great
improvement in the public service,
lie has greatly reduced the so-called
deficit and the pcrccnttagc of in
crease of expenditure. lie has been
alive to the necessity of making the
postal service a business institution.
The various divisions in the Depart
ment have been overhauled; attempts
have been made to secure a body of
accurate statistics which would be of
great value, and it is probable' that
if the Department could secure wlia
the Pos.tmastcr-Gcncral recommend
ed in his last report, millions of dol
lars could be saved, and a greattly
increased service rendered to the peo
ple. Mr. Coltelyou has come very near
being thc'ideal postmaster. It is like
ly that with a completely free hand
he could have brought about still
greater improvements. But there is
apparently no assurance that men of
his caliber will of'cn be found in his
position. The operation of the post
office ought certainly to secure the
services of men who would, at least,
be able to operate a great railroad
system, and it is to be hoped that
the people will demand permanent
and efficient offic'als in charge of
this great business. McCIurc's.
MAUD ADAMS TELLS HOW SHE
SAVED AN ENTHUSIASTIC
YOUNGSTER.
There is never a matinee perform
ance of "Peter Pan" without its side
show. These latter occur among the
audiences. They arc either delight
fully humorous as when some little
shaver of six or eight years carried
away with enthusiasm at the exploits
of the pirates, leaves his scat and
rushes down the theatre aisle and to
wards the stage, or perhaps they are
touchingly pathetic, as when a little
girl of golden locks worked into a
fever heat of excitement lest Peter
Pan may not rescue the Lost Boys
from the pirate ship, cries out, as
did one recently, " Hurry up, Peter
Paul"
But Miss Adams herself tells the
most interesting anecdote of the per
fect self loss in the illusion which a
blackhaircd little chap experienced at
a recent matinee performance of
"Peter Pan."
"lie sat beside his mother in a
stage box," she says, leaning very far
forward over the edge of the box and
eagerly drinking in every incident of
the play. His eyes bulged with
amazement at everything that went
on before him. He did not move,
save for an occasional further nudg
ing forward on the edge of his chair,
lie did not applaud. It was too real
for him. He simply stared at the
sight of a stage vision which was
doubtless, giving palpable form to
the substance of many of his boyish
drcapis. Everyone of us upon the
stage could not but feel his presence.
The indefinite something which pas
ses between the actor and the auditor
and conveys more surely than the
clapping of hands, the sympathy be
tween player and playgoer, was so
direct as between us and the little
blackhaired chap in the box, that we
all felt that we were playing oui
best exclusively for delight, but it
was a bit tantalizing that he said j
never a word or made no movement.
Usually children continuously ana '
very audibly pester their parents with ,
questions at a " Peter Pan " perform
ancc, but this little fellow stared on
in complete amazement, but at last j
the silence was broken in a very dc- f '
cided and unexpected manner. :
"It is at the moment when Tinker S
Bell having drunk the poison left by 1
the pirate Hook, is thought to be dy-
iilg. Nothing can save the perishing
fairy but for the audience to show by
some sign their belief in fairies. This
day, as at times during all our per
formances, I felt the audience, as the
saying is, overwhelmingly 'with me."
Hence, sure of saving Tinker Bell's
life, I rushed to the footlights ex
claiming, 'do you believe? Oh, say
quick that you believe ' But I got 1
no farther. The little chap in the j
audience interrupted me by crying
out 'Ilil I do!' And the audience
burst into a thunder of applause. But
that was not all, nor is it to the point
of the incident. The little fellow's !
mother evidently, cmbarrascd by at- I
trading so much attention, gently
chided him for his spectacular out-
burst, and at her words his little face
puckered up into something which ,
very seriously threatened to end in
tears, but he did not cry, I saved
him, as he had saved Tinker Bell " I
Wc received the usual curtain call; j
as I stepped out front I stood be- 1
fore the box in which my little ad
mirer sat and deliberately tossed a
kiss right into his lap. Then a won
derful thing occurred. The down
cast mouth, the damp eyes, and the
guilty look all vanished as if by magic
:.nd my little friend broke out into I
hearty laughter. j
Miss Adams' local engagement in
"Peter Pan" at the Salt Lake theatre 5
is limited to five nights and a Wed- '
nesday matinee, beginning Monday, j
June 3rd.
