The weekly Arizona miner., 1873-01-04
OUR MOST PRESSING WANT.


 The most pressing want of the people of Northern Arizona is that of proper mail iscil- i,cs. Time and again have they asked for this boon, by petition to Congress and the Postmastcr.G General, md time and again have they been put off with fair promises or na- ked refu,als. Now, when it is known that fully two-,hirds of the white people of this Territory reside in that portion thereof known us Northern Arizona, and that they regularly receive and send off great quanii. ties of mail matter, by the inadequate postal facilities so grudgingly afforded them. while their more fortunate southern fellow -citize ns, who are blessed with tri.weekly mail service from both the Pacific and Atlantic States and Territories, and with weekly and semi weekly mails to all important points in the southern section of the Territory. do not receive and send oif over one-half the mail matter that IS sent and received by the people of the north, the injustice of not aifording them more and better facilities for the purpose of business, private correspondence, etc, k quite plain to be seen.
 Yet, we do not draw this comparison with
 
 now enjoyed by our Southern fellow citizens taken from them, as they need all they have ant more too. Our only desire is to attract the attention of Congress and the Post master General to our lack of postal facili- ties, and to remind the Postmaster General that he has not fulfilled his promise made long since--to give the people of Yavapai and Mohaye counties, mail facilities that would enable them to transact business with the people East of the Rocky Mountains, rl, New Mexico; or, with one another. ria the old mail route from Prescott to Hardyyillc glance at the map will show how im- portant it Is for all people north of the Gila river to have Inail service placed upon the foregoing routes, as upon them are many i'm portant villages, farming and mining settle ments, military posts and Indian Reserva- ,ions. Then ;ho placing of mail service up. on them would open up the new and rich places m the country through which they pass, and be the means of bringing people to settle along them, who would build home. and otherwise create and accumulate taxable property.
 Our best, most important reasons for ask ing service upon these routes are
 Firsi,-The ,oD or 200 white citizens, and the 500 or eco soldiers living on and ad- jacent to the route from Prescott to Hardy vile have now no mail connection with other sections and peoples save that from Arizona City, vid the Colorado river, an extremely zig- zag, slow and uncertain mode of eomnu. nicatng with other people.
 Then the citizens and military of Prescott, the Rio Verde and many other points on and near the route from Prescott to Albuquerque, New Mexico, are compelled to send and re- eeive mail matter by the ontrageously round about route, which starting frum Prescott, winds around Arizona and New Mexico, making circuit ot about 900 miles before reaching santa fe, place that by the 35th parallel route i. not to exceed i50 miles from Prescott
 Again, Tucson-the Capital of the Terri tory-hs, by the present route, nearly 3eO miles from Prescott, yet, owing to inadequate mail facilities it takes ,wo weeks or over for our people to send letter ihnrs aai receive l s5 answer to it. Now, this is discoursging in the extreme, and, without doubt, great drag and draw 1 back on this Territory aud i;= people. 1t is | almost unbearable. and VIC again call upon | Congress and the Postmaster General Co re- I lieye us of some of these dead weights, which | cripple our energies and dctraet from the claims of the Territory for labor and capital. | Now, while our Territory Is young. while | Its people are weak from their protractcd | struggle with barbarons foe, and while the | Republic Is rich in wealth and material re- sources, is the proper time to aid the pioneers 1f this Territory, who are and have been struggling with all their might 10 develop its rieh, varled and extensive resources, and bring it up to the American standard of pros perity and civilization. Every dollar now 'pent by Government, in the way of opening nail routes, carrying mails, etc, will be re- turned, with interest, and we only echo the Ioice of all Arizonans in asking Government or those things of which we stand most in seed.