Blackfoot news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1891-1902, 1893-07-08

sum Of 81, DAT. 81 only was expended.
The free delivery Of mail matter by
carriers took effect July l, 1868, ana
was put In operation at forty-nine
offices with about four hundred and
fifty carriers at an aggregate annual
compensation Of about $780, 600.
In the city Of New York for the first
quarter there were delivered by car
riers ,O69, 4l8 letters and J, sl0,Tl7 col
leeted, or an increase of about 20 per
cent over the preceding quarter. But
the growth Of the service was slow
until 1857 and 1855, when the number
OF offices was nearly doubled. Previous
10 Jan. 3, 1857. the requirement for the
service was that city should have a
population,of 10000 within the deliy-
cry Of its postoffice. The law of Jan.
), 1857, made any place eligible that
had q population OF l0,0OD.or revenue
from lis Pc stoffice for the preceding
fiscal year Of $4,000.
There are over 600 free delivery offices
IN the country. and the letter carriers
attached 10 this service deliver aud col
lect mail from 10000, 900 people. The
annual expense Is between 1000, 900,
and sll 900 600. A law has been re-
peatedly proposed 10 Congress TO c1-
tend the service TO towns OF 5000 pop
ulation or Of Sc, 600 postal receipts for
the last fiscal year. This would add
IFS places or more 10 the number
served with the free delivery, and
!. 500, coo people would be accommo-
dated The annual cost would be per-
haps 500, 900,
When a town becomes entitled 10 the
I free delivery service, either by reason
Of population or revenue and IL is
+ deemed advisable fagorablv 10 consider
/ ifs claims the postmaster is informed
I that before the service can be estab-
lished the sidewalks must tie paved,
streets lighted, houses numbered and
+ names 81 streets placed a. intersections.
u When this Is done an inspector Is sent
I 10 look over the field, lay OF the car.
riers districts, locate the street letter
boxes and instruct the postmaster
as 70 details Letter carriers are APP
Z pointed hy the department on the rec
Z ommendation of the postmaster, ex,
4 ccpt az civil service Offices, Of which
there are forty-ive AT these Offices
they have 20 pass competitive eN'
animation and are selected from the
I list az rligibles in their order. Al
these offices they are appointed as sub
stitutes first and promoted when their
turn Is rearhed.
AZ cities OF $4,000 or more carriers
are paid 5000. $500 and 81 600. In free
delivery cities having populations
smaller than that, carriers are paid
5000 and $3.50 per year.
The Dead Letter, Office is the bust
est bureau Of the entire department
No more earnest and faithful body 81
employees cun be found ia the public
service than the iO7 clerks Of this
Office Three have been connected
with II more than thirty ycars-Mr
a. X. Evans the FIRST woman APP
pointed in this bureau; Mr.. a.. II
Mouldcn, for many years in charge 81
the inquiry branch. and brother" ;.
u. Christie, yer.table father in
Israel
The total number OF errors in the
transmission OF mail matters in the
United States Is very small compared
with the correct deliveries (for letters
alone in the ratio Of about / to 325)
vet 40 long as the laundering public
make voluntary contributions daily q
this Office of over 10000 letters and
packages, just 50 long will IL be neces
ssry for the government TO exercise
paternal functions in the correction
of those blunders, nine-tenths Of which
are made by the people themselves
II those who use the mails would
only be careful to observe \ few
simple requirements, trifies in them
selves, but in the aggregate
Of vast importance, the work
of the Dead Letter Office
would soon be greatly reduced. II all
letter writer's would take the simple
pains to place their names and ad
dresses upon the envelopes, there