Manawatu Daily Times WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 1923, THE POST OFFICE.

Manawatu Times, Volume XLVII, Issue 2775, 17 October 1923, Page 4

Manawatu Daily Times WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 1923, THE POST OFFICE.

,Quite naturally the PostmasterGeneral showed a little elation over the announcement that the Post and

Telegraph Department will show a profit of a quarter of a million for the present financial year, notwithstanding the return to penny postage, During his tour of Taranaki last week the Hon. J.- G. Coates discussed' the healthy position into which the Department had been brought by the energy and business ability of the Departmental heads, and paid a welldeserved tribute to the secretary, Mi A. T. Markman, to whose ability the people owed a debt of gratitude for the success achieved. If all State Departments were run with the same efficiency and enterprise as the Post Office, the advocates of public owner ship of public utilities would have an easy case to argue. New Zealanders have every cause to be proud of their Post Office. In many departments of this service we lead the world. The return to* penny postage is a case in point. Another is the system of rural deliveries, by which settlers in the most 'remote parts of New Zealand are kept in daily touch with the outside world. During his visit to Halcombe last week, Mr Markman pointed out. to the settlers he was addressing that in no other country in the world were the rural communities so well catered for. A persual of the mail contracts let by the Government in this connection shows that close on 30,000 miles a day are Covered by country mail carriers—truly a remarkable service in a coun-

try so sparsely populated. In his speech at Patea, Mr Coates also defended the new. telephone charges He said there had been some complaint about the revised telephone charges, but there were many who did not understand the position. The business people were asked to pay more for their telephones, especially in the larger cities, and the revision should have the support of all fairminded people. Previously business firms had telephones for about £9 a year, while private people had, to pay about £B. The Department adopted the principle that the user should pay. If the charges fell too heavily upon the small business people there was no reason why they should not go in for party Mnes. The revision would mean a great relief to those living at a distance from the exchange, the previous charges being obviously unfair, as they had the effect of making the people concentrate in the thickly populated areas. As far as the country people were concerned, the object was to give them the telephone service at a reasonable rate. He personally believed that telephone connection should even come before roads. It was a wonderful comfort, especially to the women, and gave a sense of security. It was the Government's policy to give assistance to those people who were "game" enough to go "out back." Added to this general all-round efficiency, there Is a carefully preserved tradition of courtesy among all the officials of the Post Office, which gives a fine finish to a great service.