U.S. MAIL

Much of his ground has been cut from under the 54th Postmaster General's account of the U. S. Post Office by NALC's long time president William C. Doherty's Mailman U.S.A. (McKay, P. 585, to be published August 19) in the history of this department. But where Doherty is prolix, Summerfield is succinct, where Doherty is impassioned about the wrongs suffered by his union, Summerfield is businesslike a- about the improvements and reforms made during his seven year tenure. His is a cost sheet of cash transactions and staggering statistics, a report on the modernizing of many operations, a talley of the varieties of service (postal money orders, postal savings, which has outlived its day, inspection which guards against the ""filth racket"", frauds and swindles, etc.), a survey of the development of the post card and the big business in ""new merchandise"" -- stamps and philately, a chart of transport from horse and rider to railroad, air and, coming up, microwave transmittal. A bright eyed view of accomplishment, this has less of the human element than Doherty's book but it packages its information about postal operation more compactly and if it ignores Doherty's fighting front it tells much that the public wants to know about its daily mail.