Morning Oregonian., February 04, 1911, Section Five, Page 5, Image 85

TIIE MOUSING OREGONTtAX, SATTJItDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1911.
SkYhSee,M?S5 UNITED ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION COMPANY
ENGINEERS AND CONTRACTORS
LEWIS BUILDING
PORTLAND, OREGON
. g'V- 1
K '7 M vJ-
vir (v"" --" i-'' 5r"- --4 s;
-t -ViLi-fti-i - S-SI
l -. . ' ; ' . . t
. ,--'T.V. V: ' '--s. '
1 .. 'i.
-e " -a- . a
J?rC- -4 ' V-v-- -r'- r- vr.w. 4-N -iff-?", . f w I Mt - 15 Biff
I
nil
fM :tn Ji rH . u::.
h 2"! I t rr t 1 -1 5 4 ?r ? Id - 51
- - ,i"-5j .-"'nv.-, T 'l-F 5l---l-i
' (vyrr-iE: Vyrjr 5tc
v,, . .v.j-ww .j!vyji5 WnM yywJ.J:iti;J - tMiiiw"---J;-jiiiiiriMMiiiM' V
ERECTION OF $1,000,000 POSTOFFICE
TO BEGIN VERY SOON IN PORTLAND
Immense Increase in Postal Business Makes Better Facilities Imperative City Probably Will Be
come Division Headquarters for Northwest Stamp Sales Nearly $1,000,000.
ItT C. n. Mnrtrk. rmHw far rw1laa4.
NO CHRONICLE of lh growth of
Portland can b cvmplotf without
llcht mention at least of oma
facta conccrntnc th clty'a postal hla
tory. postal receipts are one of the ev
I teaces that pomttlrly determine a
cltjr'a commercial Kreatness. Th rec
ord for 110. of i:S.!4.&:. when con
trasted with the stamp sales for MOO.
IJ1S.7I47. tell the story of the city's
rnwth with startllnet clearness.
The postal history of Portland corers
a apace of bat tl years, nur first Pnt
offue haTlriK been established on No
vember . 1J4. The total receipt of
tamp sales during MSO were but li2.t.
In those days the postofflce was cared
fr by the Postmaster In his own
tore, many of the locations belns;
Ions: Front and Washington streets
In lsTl the PostoffUa was moved to
the old Maaoolo Temple bull'llnc. at
Third and Alder streets. Not until Hi
was the Postofflce business bandied In
Federal building, as It was then
rnorad to the present location at Ktfth
smd Morrison streets.
To Illustrate the tremendous growth
of the Postofflce business since that
bulldlns; was constructed, the annual
receipts for lt'.i of t2.2 1 are con
trasted with the approslmately tl.OOtf.-
receipts of Ul I'urlnic Wccmber.
110. more than four times as much
money was received for stamps In the
Portland Postofflce as ' for the total
i stamp receipts for the whole year of
1I7. Attain, contrast !!. 7S. the
value of money orders Issued In ls7.
with the total for 11. which was over
tl.ili.1X.
The Postofflce as arranged In ltT(
earned to have been capable of hand
line the postal business of Portland
until 101. when the business which the
l.ewls and Clark Kx posit Ion was ex
pected to brinir. va provided for by
ddlttona made to the Federal bulldlns:
which were completed In 10&. This
enlargement of tho Postofflce was
deemed sufficient to care for the postal
business for 14 years or more. It Is
sail In !. Ju-t before the recon
structed bulldlns; was occupied. Jhe to
tal receipts of the office were I1T).
t::.Tw. This, compared with the re
ceipts for ll-. tell plainly of the great
growth of Portland.
The Increase In the number of em-r-toyes
has krpt pe.ee with the Increase
In postal receipts. In r3. during the
I . w 1 s and Clark Fair. 7 c.rhs and
IJ carriers were employed. In 1710. 17S
clerks and II carriers were required
to care for the postal business. In
fact more were required, but notwtth
standlnc this necessity the Postofflce
1 tepartmnt. for some reason, has not
granted requests for extra assistance,
and many portions of the city are with
out proper service. The Indications are
that the srrowth of the postal business
will tn-rrase still more rapidly In 1)11.
Aside from stamp sales there Is
tremendous business done by the money
order and registry departments. The
money order department doe a busi
ness of approximately II. 400. 004 a
month, which Includes the issuing of
domestic and International money or
ders and the payment of same. Port
land residents send out of town ap
proximately 12.000.000 a year, and II.
00 of this goes to foreign coun
tries. Less than 1 100.000 Is received
from fjrelgn countries.
With a atamp business aggregating
II. 0OO.OOe a jsar'and considering the
fart that the Portland Postofflce Is
the postal headquarters of Oregon, be-
iCALX IX POSTAI. HtXEIPTJ 19
K.10KMOIH.
0 Receipts' from stamp salsa at the
f Portland postofflce have In-
! creased steadily etnee the office
was established In 1850. The an
nual receipts at five-year periods,
4 since that time, are shown In the
t following table:
ik.-.o t ;..
J 1S5 70j.7t
16-itf 3."t.9
IMS 4.12H.S3
l70 14.5.11
i:s 14.:;.. i
lsti) 4l.6t)7l
. 307.11
Hi 14.1.771.14
lS 15S.4S194
1')0 115. 7 47
1"S 471.03 Jt
110 :..l4.(t
cause all postmasters of the state send
their surplus funds to the local office
and all rural carriers In Oregon and
railway mall clerks running out of
Portland are paid at the Portland of
fice, making an annual monthly payroll
of approximately 150.000. and with oth
er business Involving the handling of
I1I.0k0.000 a year, within the neigh
borhood of 30 employes. It can easily
be seen that the Portland Postofflce Is
a business of no mean magnitude. No
business of this slxe which has an av
erage growth of 20 per cent a year can
operate economically or successfully In
quarters arranged for business half the
slxe. The lack of a properly equipped
Postofflce building Is an extravagance
that no sane business organization
would countenance. The Intelligence
that IeOO.000 bad been appropriated for
the purchase of a new Postofflce site
was Indeed welcome news to those who
were familiar with the demands of the
postal business of Portland. It was
naturally expected that In view of the
grave necessity and of the crowded
condition of the present Postofflce. the
matter of constructing this ruuelt
needed building would be hastened. The
amount appropriated Indicated that no
strictly uptown site would be selected.
It also Irdlcated that there was no In
tention to use the present site. The
First Assistant Postmaster-General and
other officials of the Postofflce L-
P09T.IL HKCKIFfe BT MOSTIM
cow pa nun.
F.very month of 110 showed
larger receipts from stamp sales
at the Portland postofflce than
the corresponding month of 1909.
The gain for the year was $14.
210.T9. or 1S.7S per cent. This Is
the more significant In view of
the fact that 1909 witnessed a
14. 54 per cent gain over 1908. and
190S saw a gain of S 23 per cent
over 1907. The stamp sales by
months for 1909 and 110 follow:
Januarv f 57.9II.7
February S5.SS7.41
klarch (.'.oil 4
April 1.:7 97
May SJ.J70 47
Juns.. ...... 4.403.SI
July 4.79SI
August t.l.MSil
September.. 4S.3&4.04
O'tober C4.s70.91
November... 47.171.14
December... Sg.294.74
Total.
1910.
t 71.395.57
.31.20
74.0.13.71
71.:S".7
4.:o.7
73.S79.39
70.f3.SO
74.974.43
7H.79VS4
H3."4rt..s
M. 913 47
105.93 1
.I771.S51.73 1935.144. S3
partmvnt have long urged that postof
flces In large cities be constructed ex
clusively for postofflce purposes, and
that they also be located as near as
possible to the railroad terminal
through which the bulk of the mall Is
handled. Such a este, block ,-a" has been
chosen In Portland, and the Oovern
rnent has begun condemnation proceed
ings to acquire title.
The handling of mails Is something
of a science. The economical handling
Is the result of experience, Just the
same as the economical management of
any business I the result of experience
In that particular line. It Is the Idea
of the Postofflce Department In the In
terest of economy and In the Interest
of the expeditious handling of mall to
have their workshlp. as that really Is
what postofflces are. In large cities lo
cated as closely as possible to the
transportation companies. In Portland
the bulk of mull arriving and departing
Is handled through the Union Depot.
The time it takes to transport this mall
from the transportation companies to
the mall workshop Is the time that Is
lost to the cltlxens of Portland. So It
Is a matter of congratulation that the
new Postofflce will be so near the
depot.
Assuming that the recommendations
of the First Assistant Postmaster-General
In his report of 1910 should be fol
lowed out In Portland. It means that
Portland Is to hsve the only exclusive
postofflce bulMlngs on the Paclflo
Coast and one of the few exclusive
postofflce buildings to date In any
large city In the country. The depart
ment has recently finished one In St.
Louis at a cost of more than tl. 000.000,
which was constructed near the termi
nal center. The postofflce of this class
will consist of an Immense workroom
without a post to Interfere with the
shifting of mall sacks or mall cases,
being a great room that lends Itself
peculiarly to the business of handling
mall. On three sides of this room Is
usually the corridor by which the pub
lic Is given quick access to all depart
ments. Plenty of light Is given to the
workmen through a glass dome. All
the business Is handled on one floor.
The executive offices are usually lo
cated at the ends. Everything Is ar
ranged so that mall can be handled
with the least possible friction and
with the least possible waste of time.
The construction of such a building
In Portland will give us the most mod
ern postofflce building west of the
Itockles, constructed after the plans
deemed best by postal experts. The
fact that an exclusive postofflce will
be constructed near the terminal cen
ter does not mean that the public will
be forced to surrender convenience by
reason of Its location, as there Is not
the slightest doubt but that the pres
ent building will always contain a pos
tal sub-station which will provide for
the necessities of the downtown public.
The erection of tills building, which
really Is assured In spite of the ap
parent delay within the next three
years, means that perhaps Portland
niay become more of a center for pos
tal officials than It has been In the
past because of lark of room to ac
commodate them with offices. Every
other large city In the Northwest has
recently secured a new postofflce
building. Seattle has recently moved
Into a new postofflce and Federal
building combined, aa have Tacoma and
Spokane. There Is now pending In
Congress a postal reorganization bill
which Is very likely to pass within the
next few months. This bill provides
for the establishment of districts or
sones in the United States, in charge
of division superintendents who shall
have headquarters within their own
districts. The plan Is destined to save
needless delay and expense In the mat
ter of sending everything to Washing
ton for action.
It Is presumed that suitable offices
will be required for headquarters of
this nature, and being an office that
Is about to be created, there manifest
ly has been no provision for housing
such officials In the public buildings
heretofore erected. While the writer
has nothing to base hts opinion on be
yond the fitness of the thing. It seems
to him only natural that the first large
postofflce building to be constructed
after the passage of this reorganiza
tion act would be planned with the
Idea of caring for the headquarters of
such a district superintendent. Surely
the Northwest will be made one dis
trict, and ns all the other large cities
In the Northwest have recently been
provided with new postofflce buildings
that made no provision for such of
fices, it would appear that Portland
should be selected as the headquarters
for the Northwest. If not for this rea
son, then on account of its availability
and Its transportation facilities with
reference to the territory involved.
Portland's new postofflce should not
cost less than $1,000,000. If it is to be
constructed with any Idea of caring
for the future, as the great growth of
Western cities, which make new pub
lic "buildings positively too small soon
after they are occupied, has no doubt
Impressed the supervising architect
with the necessity of providing for
great growth of business when plan
ning buildings for Coast cltins. The
building to be erected In this city
should be able to take care of the pos
tal business that will come with 1,000.
000 Inhabitants, as. Judging by the past
ratio of growth, Portland will be a
1.000.000 city In two derades.
STONE AND WEBSTER '
ENGINEERING CORPORATION
CONSTRUCTING ENGINEERS
- - -i-
hit:
7 -.:"
i S I) v
' 1 LP '
-'- s -
if f
"-;
"II II UK
.ii;?MJ II If
? ev
. . v. ' S. 3
- 'rv"-i .
MAEGLY.TICHNER BUILDING NOVEMBER 10. 1910
SPEED AND ECONOMY IN CON
STRUCTION MEAN QUICK RE
TURNS ON THE INVESTMENT.
WE PLACED FIVE STORIES ON
THE MAEGLY-TICHNER BUILD
ING IN 24 WORKING DAYS.
147 MILK STREET, BOSTON
OFFICE BUILDINGS
WAREHOUSES
INDUSTRIAL PLANTS
i .. ih
jy up.. rim- ... . .... .3.. .j
,i Hws.- f1fl -4 E rl A-' vxs-
" ! " ii - " t Vs S
L .2,. -o...ZSt.s?!- I rr,W Taiti, v..,..,sw J
MAEGLY-TICHNER BUILDING DECEMBER 8, 1910 EMIL SCHACT
& SON, ARCHITECTS -STONE & WEBSTER ENGINEERING
CORPORATION, CONSTRUCTING ENGINEERS
724 ELECTRIC BUILDING, PORTLAND