PUBLICATION,
NOT KNOW
GRIMSBY'S POSTAL REQUIRMENTS
THE NEED OF A CENTRAL OFFICE.
To everyone who has taken note of the postal requirements of Grimsby it must be patent that the town is far behind the times so far as accommodation is concerned.No one recognises this so, clearly as the postmaster, Mr. A. S. Robert.
It will surprise many of our readers to learnthat Grimsby stands the fourth town in importance in the North Midland District, only Nottingham, Derby, and Leicester being able to claim precedence. With the exception of those three towns Grimsby stands first in the district both as regards the size of staff and the amount of work to be coped with.
Yet what do we find-a small chief office in West St Mays Gate , which, at intervals has to be enlarged by patchwork additions here and there, the telegraph office situated over a mile away, and the staff cut on into divisions and spread about the town. Nottingham has just received a palatial building, in which to transact her business. No doubt she needed it, but many towns in the country not more than half the size and importance of Grimsby, have larger, more adequate and more convenient offices.
Mr. Roberthas an idea of how this might be rectified. A building somewhere near the Town Hall is needed, a large and commodious building that would be sufficiently adequate to allow of the chief office being all under one roof. He suggests this position because it is about the centre of the town, and yet would be conveniently near the town station, a very necessary condition. The town has grown and developed to a remarkable degree, and he agrees that the importance of the borough demands postal buildings that should be an ornament to, and worthy of the town. Unfortunately the Treasury holds the purse, and although a Chancellor of the Exchequer may see the need of a new central office, he remembers his budget, and the fact that he may be out of office in a few years.
“You see" said Mr. Roberts "the formation of the town is awkward for us. At the present we have all our telegraph, work at the other end of the town, and the construction a new central office would mean a great deal of expense. We've also two engines down there, and the pneumatic tubes running, from the .Victoria street branch office to the Fish, Dock branch office. Those tubes run under the streets, and they are very expensive things to fit up.If we have a new office we should have to extend those tubes into the town."
Mr. Roberts went on to state that his established staff numbered 166, and the total employed here reached nearly 180. Our reporter suggested that it, was impossible to have complete supervision over such a staff if only half of the number was at the chief office.
“Oh, I have complete supervision," he replied. Yes, but not direct supervision."
Well I have to telegraph. I can correspond with them, you know, in ten minutes time. It is nothing like so convenient as it would be if we had the staff in one building.”
Then questions were put regarding present accommodation.The present building was built 25 years ago on the ground once occupied by St, Mary's Church and burial ground. The two streets, West St. Mary’s gate and East St Mary's gate as the Postmaster pointed out take their names from the old Catholic Church. There was at first only one story, but in 1892 a second was added.The town, however, has grown by leaps, and bounds and the postal work has naturally increased with it. In addition to the ordinary postal work of the town, the mails are received here that pass between England and Germany, Sweden,and sometimes Austria.All these latter packages have to be opened, and they entail a great deal of labour. Since the extension at the chief office in 1892, wings have been thrown out on each side, giving a greater area to the sorting room, and now the premises adjoining have been added, as we have already announced, whilst it has also been found necessary to take in the two adjoining shops at the Victoria branch office. Previous , to the latest addition at the head office a coachbuilder’s premises in Maude Sthad to he used for parcel work. All these additions however, are nothing hut patchwork after all, and with premises enlarged in this way' double the work for which the premises were built has to he transacted.Mr. Roberts mentioned another important matter. He said:
“At present it is scattered work. No doubt the work could be done at less cost to the department if it was all under one roof, and it would be better in many ways. At the present we have to find supervising officers for the different offices at a higher scale of pay.Our additions, too, have all been costing us money, and whenever we want to extend there is a lot of bother.The Surveyor from the Board of Works has to come down here, and that department is of the most dilatory in the civil service. There is another thing, too, we have to remember.The present premises are our own, and they are freehold proerty.”
Mr. Roberts spoke of several other matters. One point should be mentioned. A portion of the staff perform part of their duties at one office, and part at another. This must naturally mean loss of time, when the distance from one office to the other is considered, and it can in no way tend to the orderly routine or the work.
In conclusion it must be admitted that up to the present postmaster and his staff have coped successfully with the work even at the greatest pressure, and at the same time any change of premises would be a great expense.On the other hand it must be pointed out that the work might be done with far more convenience in larger and more suitable premises, the current expenditure would not be so great, and the present premises are altogether unworthy of the town. More important still there is every prospect of trade increasing, and the town with it, at a greater rate than in the past, so that in the near future it is very probable new premises will be absolutely necessary, and spending money on patch-work additions is short sighted policy on the part of the Treasury. As Mr. Roberts remarked we are sadly behind a large number of towns even smaller then Grimsby, and -with increasing trade and an increasingpopulation there is justice in the plea foran improvement in our accommodation.
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