Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1892-06-24
rroo nel,verv IN Small Towns.

With the end of this month tA free
delivery experimCn Mt which will thei have
been in operation in our town lfteen
months, will stop. We have noticedfrom
our exchanges that the Postma ter Cen
eral has received letters from all pats OF
the country, where the experiment bas
been made, indorsing the system andrea
ommending its continuance. We, too
feel like indorsing 1t heartily, and ar bon-
fdant we voice the sentiments of nibty
nine hundredths of the people OF the ewn
when we pronounce it move in the light
direction, a convenience that has onV to
be enjoyed to be appreciated. The svi-
dent indifference with which many ofour
people at first greeted the Announcement
that the experiment was to be tried I'm
our town, shows how difficult 1t is to d.
troduce anything new among us. AT fist
many of our most enterpris:ng citizsis
regarded the innovation of doubtful e
pedience some expressing themselves a
opposed to the experiment on the ground
of its being unnecessary, and of doubtful
utility, and others on the score of econo-
nv. Even those who were inclined to-
look upon it favOrably failed to appre.
ciate it fully at first. A few refused for a
time TO profit by its provisions, and pre-
ferred to call at the office for their mail as
usual. carrying out the old maxim, 49,
"Be not the first by whom the new is tried,
Nor yet the last to lay the old aside )"
but when the hot weather came on amalr,
and the rain and SHOWS descended, they
hal all their doubts and fears removed,
and when they saw that tbrou h heat or
cold, mud or dust, rain or snow the mail
still went round promptly, regularly, and
without a moments delay, while they
were left to their uninterrupted employ
ment, they began to realize the advant-
ages of the system, and the letter carrier
became their most welcome visitor. Now,
seeing the inconvenience, loss of time, ex-
penditure of strength, and exposure to
the weather that they got rid of in the
last fifteen months, they are very 10th to
give up free delivery, Two deliveries and
two collections were made daily with the
regularity of clock work, one each before
noon and one each after noon. In the OPP
Grafton of the system none have been de-
layed in the receipt OF their mail, while to
nearly all the time of delivery has been
greatly accelerated. Many patrons OF the
office who called for their mail only once,
twice or three times per week under the
old system, and thus often permitted their
mail to remain uncalled for two or three
days and sometimes longer, under the new
order of things had their mail delivered
to them Immediately upon its arrival.
While the system has not paid for its
operation here by the increased receipts of
postage, yet it has saved to the people
more than twenty times its cost, and, we
think, has proven to be more desirable
of more substantial benefit, and more GER
tainly a matter of economy than one-cent
postage could be. As far as We are all
to learn the experiment has proven sue
cess everywhere that it has been tried
and has : sulted in the recommendation
of its permanent adoption by all who
have had ecasiOn to see its workings
Through 4 hese experiments the adoptioG
-
OF frse~eerveTy IN the rural districts
thI6S ghout the entire country has come
to be seriously discussed, and will prooa'
bly, be demanded by the people in the near
future. This extension of the system OF
free delivery, which is not only possible
but very probable, will, we believe, be
followed by the postal telegraph at nc
very distant day. The postal system
benefits the whole people at great deal
less cost to the taxpayer than does any
other business facility provided for by
our 90, eminent, general or local. and VIZ
would like to see it extended until the nj
timathule of excellence be reached.