Special Message to the Congress Transmitting Reorganization Plan 2 of 1952.

To the Congress of the United States:

I transmit herewith Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1952, prepared in accordance with the Reorganization Act of 1949 and providing for reorganizations in the Post Office Department. My reasons for transmitting this plan are stated in another message transmitted to the Congress today.

This reorganization plan provides for the gradual elimination of Presidential appointment and Senate confirmation of postmasters at post offices of the first-, second-, and third-class and the institution of appointment by the Postmaster General under the classified civil service. This is accomplished by abolishing each present office of postmaster at post offices of the first-, second-, and thirdclass at such time as it next becomes vacant, except that each such office vacant on the date determined under the provisions of section 6(a) of the Reorganization Act of 1949 is abolished on that date, and by establishing a new office entitled "Postmaster" to be filled by the Postmaster General. The complete transition to the new method of. appointment is expected to require a period of several years.

At the end of the last fiscal year there were 2,732 post offices of the first class, 5,905 of the second class, and 12,801 of the third class--a total of 21,438 such post offices.

Many persons and groups have on several occasions in the past advocated the reforms contained in Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1952. In 1937 the President's Committee on Administrative Management proposed the transfer to the Postmaster General of the function of appointing all postmasters. In 1949 the Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government specifically recommended this reform. In a message to the Congress on June 24, 1949, I proposed legislation to accomplish this purpose, and in this year's Budget Message I renewed this recommendation.

The abolition of offices by Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1952 will not abolish any rights, privileges, powers, duties, immunities, liabilities, obligations, or other attributes of those offices except as they relate to matters of appointment and tenure inconsistent with that reorganization plan. Under the Reorganization Act of 1949, all of these attributes of office will attach to the new offices of Postmaster, either automatically or upon the occurrence of an appropriate delegation of functions to such new offices by the Postmaster General.

After investigation, I have found and hereby declare that each reorganization included in Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1952 is necessary to accomplish one or more of the purposes set forth in section 2(a) of the Reorganization Act of 1949.

I have found and hereby declare that it is necessary to include in the accompanying Reorganization Plan No. 2, by reason of reorganizations made thereby, provisions for the appointment and compensation of ricers specified therein. The rates of compensation for these officers are not in excess of those which I have found to prevail in respect to comparable officers in the executive branch.

The taking effect of the reorganizations included in this plan may not in itself result in substantial immediate savings. However, many benefits in improved operations will be made possible by the plan and should result in a reduction of expenditures as compared with those that would be otherwise necessary. An itemization of these reductions in advance of actual experience under this plan is not practicable.

I urge the Congress to permit Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1952 to become effective.

HARRY S. TRUMAN