Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1892-02-18
rHE srAn.Rourr sERVIoE.
rrlvatlons Undergone by the Mounted NAL
Carriers Of the Rural south.


rrivations Undergone by the Mounted Mall
Carriers of tho Rural south.
The ntar-route mail service Of this
country has made many men rich and
koot many men poor The mall carrier
who logs along the muddy country
roads in this state generally has not an
extra coat 10 his back and a few extra
dollars in his pocket The big con-
tractor, on tho other hand-the man
who buys up many routes from the gov
crnment-frequentl has more money
than he knows what to do with. At
least lther persons, especially the hum
bic mail carrier, sometimes thinks so.
However, the profit in this business Is
not what II once was by a great deal,
for competition, that leveler OF incomes,
IL now close.
On February . the contracts for star
routes will be let for Kentucky, North
Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi, Ala
bama, Florida, Georgia and South Car
olna The proposals are now all In.
The contract lasts from July I, 1899, to
June 30, 1885, Every route must be bid
for separately and separate bond given
for each. The government Is very par
ticular In this respect The bids are
made according 10 the weight OF the
mail TO be carried, the distance OF the
route and the number of times per week
Il has TO be carried. In few II any cases
does the man who makes the successful
bid carry the mail himself, for general
lyone man or one firm gets several hun
dred of the contracts The contractor
then sublets the routes TO men who
agree 70 carry IL for so much per year
There Is generally vast difference be-
tween his idea OF what II costs to carry
the mail and the governments IL is
said that some carriers who have to
work every day do not make fifty cents
per diem Besides. they have TO furnish
their own conveniences II Is generally
carried on horseback, though buggy,
a bus or a stage may be used. This, in
fact, is the distinctive characteristic OF
a star route as different from other
forms Of mail service. The government
does not specify how II shall be carried.
The hardships of the street car driver
are nothing compared with the suffer
ing that some of the mail carriers in
this state have 10 undergo. In rain,
snow, sleet or hail they have TO take
their long daily rides The thermoine-
ter may get so low that cattle freeze in
the field, but the mail carrier is sup
posed to be invulnerable for the pay Of
fifty cents day. He has to catch trains,
on pain Of losing his contract and there
by forfeiting his bond. when the roads are
little less than beds OF quicksand. He
has to feed his horse. feed himself and
family, not 10 mention clothing and the
expense Of keeping his vehicle in order II
he uses one, for fifty cents a day. They
must be wonders Of economy, these
mail carriers In some portions of the
state, especially in the southeastern
part, the mail carrier has to go only
once a week Tnere are places not
fifty miles from Louisville where mail
Is received only three times a week. The
carrier, however, has one thing TO com
pensate for his small pay where mail is
delivered only once week. He is a
very important parsonage there, out
ranking the country squire except
when the examining trial Of a murderer
is TO be held An eager crowd, who
have not heard from the outer world for
six days, await his arrival The first
sight Of him as his horse turns bend
in the country road, is village sensa-
ton, the greatest probably since he
made his last trip. In addition to the
mail. he carries the gossip of other
reighborhoods and the news from the
entire outer world When he alights
from his horse and stretches his limbs
he is quickly the center Of crowd of
eager inquirers. Thus his small pay
and many privations are not without
their reward -Louisvill Courier-Jour-