The Coconino weekly sun., 1894-02-15
CARRYING THE MAILS.
Many Methods Employed by the
 Post Oflce Department.
Tho Limited Fast Mail Train Is, After All, Hut Feeder for Star Routes, snowshoe Letter Carriers and
 Slow Vessels.
Especial Washington Lcttcr.1


 "The people of this country have no idea by what difficulties and oftentimes dangers the postal service is carried on. Residents of cities are always more or less impatient when letters are little over due," says tho superin- tendent Of the railway mail service.
 The people do not generally know it, but it Is fact that the very great ma jority of our post offices are served not by steam cars but by stage coaches, horse cars and even by foot men who penetrate tho mountains and valleys, the hills and dalcs where it is impossible to urge horse with safety; while in some cases the letter carriers travel on snowshocs or deliver mail on dog sleighs like the EsquimauX. In this age of limited express trains and prompt free delivery service in the cities, people arc always impatient, even when their mail is delayed single hour.
 It is matter of fact not generally known that the railway companies and steamboats which carry mail are under contract to deliver their postal burdens at certain time in each place, and If they are delayed on account of the weather, if there are cyclones, washouts or snow blockadcs, the post office department dcducts just so much money for failure to keep the con tract accurately in every instance. The same is true concerning all star routes which traverse the prairies.
 It is the policy of the post office de- pertinent to deliver mail to the citizens of this country, no matter where they live or how difficult it may be to carry the mail to them. If the cliff-dwcllers, whose deserted homes are found high or the sides of mountains, thousand feet or moro in the air, were living teere to-day as citizens of the United States it would be the duty of the gov ernmcnt to deliver mail to them as freely as it is delivered to the mer- chautS and manufacturers of our large cities; and according to the policy of tho post office department the mail would be delivered, no matter what the cost might be. No question ever arises in the post office department as to the cost of the establishment of new post office at any point, however remote, and thousands of dollars are spent for the delivery of mail to small towns where the annual revenue to the government does not amount to twen- ty dollars per year. Whenever new community is established upon the pub lie domain, and post office is needed, nll the people have to do is to sign a petition to the postmaster general for the establishment of new post office; and upon the certifcation of the post master at the nearest point that new post office is required a post office is established. There is still in the post office department a practice of grant ing to certain new post offices the priv ilege of having postmaster while the people are obliged to pay for carrying their own mail from the nearest post office already established. This prac- ticc. however, is unjust and will soon be obsolete.
 Capt. George Fowler, of California, for. merly post office inspector, narratcs some very interesting experiences of his travels in the remote regions Of the country inspecting post offices. He says that in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and North Dakota when the winter has closed in and the roads be. come drifted with snow, sturoy Ln- dians are taken into the service and