The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1892-07-01
MAIL DELIVERY TO FARMERS.
1T Is SURE TO BE REALIZED IN
THE NO DISTANT FUTURE.

People In the Country Pay the Same
Rate of Postage as City People and
Have 10 go 10 the once for their
Mail While IL IL Delivered to the
Latter.
The idea of free delivery of mail mat
ter in rural communities originated with
the present administration. 1t has the
approval of the Republican party and 1T
will be realized in practice whenever thar
party returns to the full control of the
Government. The demand for the free
delivery of the mails in rural communities
comes from very large number of people
who are now being denied the facilities
which they believe the post office depart
ment should give them.
There are 4,750,000 farms in this
country, said Representative O'Donnell
in the House recently, and the owners
and tenants appeal to Congress for what
they feel is their due-that they shall be
placed on the same footing as the people
of the cities and towns, that the postal
department shall extend to them the
same privileges that are accorded to the
urban residents of the Nation. They hold
that if the Government delivers the
letters and mails to the denizens of cities
the same treatment should be extended
to the farming community. Thousands
have petitioned for this action on the
part of Congress. The National Grange,
the Patrons of Husbandry, every State
Grange, the National Farmers Congress
and the National and State Farmers
alliances have united in asking the
National Legislature to extend free
delivery facilities to the rural communi-
ties. The demand of these representa-
tive organizations of agricultural pro-
ducers has been supplemented by
petitions from thousands of farmers,
not members of organizations, and the
common feeling among them is that
justice requires that they be given the
facilities they ask.
1t is fact that, while one-third of the
population is engaged in farming pur-
suits, and the farmers pay the same rate
of postage as others, rural communities
have about the same facilities, compare
lively, as they did in early days. 1t is
stated that, for less expenditures, the
people of other countries have postal
service for the farmers infinitely superior
to ours. It is argued, and the position
is certainly plausible, that as the people
of the whole country sustain the post
office department there is no reason why
all should not be served alike, without
regard to locality or conditions. The
farmer, knowing that he contributes to
the sustaining of the postal service,
naturally holds that the facilities of that
branch of the peoples Government
should be as good in the rural districts
as in the large towns. He has made
demand for his rights in this direction,
and undoubtedly he will continue to urge
it until something is done. 1t is doubt
less true that free delivery in rural COM
munities would cost something for a
time in excess of the postal revenue from
such communities, but the Postmaster
General and others who have Investigated
the matter believe that in the end the
plan would be self-sustaining. But it
has never been the policy to. make the
question of needed postal improvements
dependent upon the chances of revenue,
and there is no reason why such a policy
should be adopted in the matter of rural
free delivery. The prime thing to be
attained is to give better mail service TO
large class of the people than they now
have; and which they reasonably believe
they are entitled to; the question of
revenue can be discussed afterwards or
may be left to take care of itself The
history of the postoffice department is
that the extensions and improvements
have at first resulted in loss to evenJuate
in large gain, and it is by no means i'm
probable that such would be the out
come of free mail delivery among the
farmers.
The monetary, return, at any rate, is
not the only compensation to be con-
sidered. 1t has been we'll said in relation
to this plan of rural free delivery that
simply from the standpoint of popular
education the experiment would pay
more than all it could possibly cost. 1t
is necessary to take broad and generous
view of this question, keeping in mind
that the mail service belongs to the
people and was established for their con-
venience and advantage.