The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1891-10-24
RURAL NAIL DELIVERY.
4 MOVEMENT TO SECURE ITS ES
TABLLSHMENT

LETTERS BEING WRITTEN TO CONGRESS-
MEN ON THE SUBJECT AND PETITIONS
IN CIRCULATION FOR sIGNATURE-PosT-
MASTER GENERAL wANAMAKER PUTS
HIMSELF ON RECORD AS IN FAVOR OF
THE SCHEME.
Special to the Savannah News.
NEW York, Oct. 19-An organized eff
fort is under way.among the farmers to Sc
cure from congress free mail delivery in
country towns. The Farmers Alliance, Pa
irons OF Husbandry and other orders are
canvassing the matter. Letters are being
written to congressman in favor of the
project, and petitions to congress for free
delivery are being circulated in many parts
of the country. The farmers assert that
daily mail delivery at their door will add
perceptibly to the money value OF their
farms, and will be worth still more because
il will keep them in touch with the mar
kets and the outside world and divest farm
life of its isolation and mOnOtOny. Farm
ers are writing to the agricultural press
that this convenience would enable them
;;a,:e generally to take daily paper as
we'll IS to subscribe for the local papers
more literally.
FAVORED BY WANAMAKER.
In the American Agriculturist for No
vember, Postmaster General Wanamaker
states definitely for the first time that ex
perimen,s made by the postOfice depart
ment for free delivery in the farming dis
tricts show that the increase of revenue
more than pays all the increased expense.
He believes that universal free delivery
would therefore be self sustaining. Mr..
Wanamakers article also contains this
statement of the case: When a town
grows to 10000 population and puts down
footwalks and puts up the numbers OF
houses, the postofflce department is au-
thorized by an ACT of congress to establish
a carrier service to deliver mail matter al
the doors of houses and offices.
KEEPS PACE WITH THE TOWN.
As the town increases postal stations are
established. Thus the postal service keeps
pace with the growth of the town. While
all this postal work is going on at the
thickly populated points, farmers, quarry
men, blacksmiths, millers and artisans all
paying the regulation rates OF postage, are
left to get their mail as best they can from
the postof1ce in the village or at the rail-
way station. In hamlet of 100 houses
perhaps sixty persons from the village and
vicinity make daily pilgrimage of dis
tance of from one block to two miles from
home to the postoff1ce to find out whether
there is any mail or not and q hundred
more persons within the circle of the office
do not find it convenient to get to the
a. oTt@
ONE DOES THE WORK OF HUNDRED.
One hundred persons or more, each day,
in all weathers, are making trips to the
postoff1ce often at great personal inconven-
ience and discomfort, when single carrier
could, once or twice each day, make the
round of the village and distribute mail,
and save hundred daily, unnecessary
tramp, collecting at the same time from
letter boxes located at street corners, mail
to be forwarded. A newspaper brought
every day to the door of the farmer or
workman who has no one to 60 to the
postoffice for it would find thankful sub
scrioer and light new lamp in the house
hold.
A QUESTION OF FAIR PLAY.
true enough tne VlllaEe or CROSSROADS
inhabitant, or dweller on farm, chooses
his home for his family and might live in q
city where gas and water and the mails
are brought to his door. but when people
everywhere pay the same rate of postage,
why should ono portion of them have mail
facilities denied to the other portionsP Is
it fair to the rural localities to refuse pos
tai service equal to that provided for the
citiesp Is it not reflection on the INTEL
ligence and aspirations of the farmer and
artisan to ignore their need of the conven-
fences of correspondence and Of supplies of
newspapers and magazines Does 1t not
retard the settlement of the country dis.
tricts to neglect to provide In some form
or other means for at least daily inter
course with the rest of the worlde