Recently Postmaster General Arthur E. Summerfield, who left a highly successful business career in Michigan to join President Eisenhower's Cabinet, was discussing the size of the United States Post Office Department. With a rueful smile he recalled his reaction to the Department's sprawling dimensions on the day he assumed the job of No. 1 postman.
"I walked into my office alone," he told me, "and received my first surprise. That office was overwhelming—almost as big as a basketball court! After a hike around the room I sat at my desk and picked up an organizational chart.
"The chart gave me another surprise, for not until then did I realize the full magnitude of the Post Office. I thought, 'Five hundred thousand employees! Why, this organization must be as large as General Motors!'"
