The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1893-05-11
Reforms That Would Reform.

The Providence Or. ~ Telegram Sec
onds our proposal to allow postal cards
to pass through the mails on which are
pasted little newspaper clippings. That
paper well describes the proposal as lone
of those apparently insignificant reforms
which are SO simple that when they are
accomplished we wonder how we got
along without them. This reform is of
that sort exactly. 1t needs only to be
suggested in order to be favored. Con-
gressnen seldom originate postal re-
forms of any kind, but they are not slow
to adopt such measures as they think the
people regard; with friendly eye. In
deed, we cannot conceive it to be posi- :
BILE that Congress would refuse to author
ize the suggested regulation If it were
once pressed upon the attention OF that
body In its operation such regulation
would be contributor to the cause OF
education. But it is for the merits it
would itself develop from the moment
of it's adoption.by the Post-Office De-
partment that we advocate it. Every
day men, and especially women, neglect
to inform their friends scattered through
out the country of little happenings
which they would never fail to bring to
their notice if it could be done in the
way we suggest, but which little hap
penings they do not deem proper sub
ject for formal letter. 1t it not because
it would save cent in postage that the
people would favor such regulation,
but because it would enable them to
keep their friends posted in regard to a
large number of little matters of daily
occurrence which now never reach them.
Another proposed reform which we
have for several years advocated upon
occasion is favored by the Louisville
Courier JonraaGl. We allude to the free
delivery of mail matter in the rural dis
tricts, or at any rate in villages and ham,
lets. This reform, like the one above
named, would have an educating effect
upon the whole body polite. We quote
our Louisville cotemporary as follows:
IA resident in the country goes one,
three, five miles to the post-office after
his mail as his forefathers did, and many
times he is lucky to receive his paper
and letters once a week.
sit is right here that postal reform
ought to begin. The railway station and
the steamboat landing ought to become
the centre of a local postal system whose
ramifcations should reach to the remot-
est farm house, SO that the isolated in
habitants of our country might feel the
thrill of life which the denizen of the
city does when he drops" letter to a
friend around the corner in the assur-
ance that it will be received within the
hour.
Careful reflection will convince al
most any one that free delivery of the
mails in the rural districts is of vastly
more Importance to the country as a
whole than penny postage would be-"
VASTLY MORE" and even demagogues
may find out the fact if they raise the
cry of penny postage as against rura
free delivery. Letter postage is cheal
enough. Let it stand as tit now stands
until the Post Office Department shall
have succeeded in doing as much for the
country people as it has already done fol-
the city people. Let us have rural de-
livery and postalcard transmission OF
notices of deaths, sickness, marriages
&C., before we think of reducing letter
postage. Baltimore Sun.