The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-11-24
Rural Free Del very


Some idea of the immense distances
that the pustufico department covers
for the nominal charge of two cents an
ounce of letter postage is afforded by
First Assistant Postmaste. General
Heath in published interview He
puts it thus you are i'm Key West,
Florida. let us say. and You have heard
that relative or friend of yours has
caught the K1Ondikc fever and is in
Circle City. Alaska. You want To take
a stake i'm his centuries. and YOU write
to him. This is what the government
does 70: YOU for two cents. 1t trans
mits your letter from Key West to
Tampa. Fla. go miles; from Tampa to
Jacksonville. Fla. 2if miles; from
Jacksonville to Atlanta, Ga, 359 miles;
from Atlanta to Chicago, IS1 miles;
from Chicago to san Francisco. 2,3GS
miles: from San Francisco to Seattle,
91S miles; from Seattle to Juneau,
Alaska. M3 miles; from Juneau to
Circle City, 9GS miles; total G,S29 miles,
fer two cents"
This citation is made 10y Mr.. Heath
i'm order to show the fallacv of the
objection which has been made against
rural free delivery, that it would cost
more to deliver letter i'm the country
districts than the postage would
Amount to. As a stout chamrion of
the rural free delivery experiment he
makes in this same interview some
other Interesting statements. on is
trat two governmental routes recently
established in Lancaster county, this
state. prumutly drvcloucd such an in
crease in the uustal business that the
postal author'tirs believe in two years
a the farth,st those routes will, if
continued. be Solf-sustHinng. Similar
reports come from other well-settlcd
sections, notably interior New York.
The records Ot the postal department
show ccaclusrclv that each increase
ia the public postal facilities is fol-
lowed 10y an increase in the amount Of
the postal business done. For instance:
1--WE nut letter boxes on all the street
cars of Dgs Mo!neS, Iowa, and the
amount Of mail handled by the office
nearly doubled. We started an cXperl,
mental postal marine service on the
Detroit river Con the benefit Of pas,
scugors and sailors on the lake steam.
boats, with tac result that nearly 200,
0cO pieces # mail matter were handled
in this way durmg last season at {
cost oc less than $500 a month"
Nj, Heath fully recognizes that tn,
problem Of organizing a mail carrie
service To- traverse daily or at les
frequent intervals the country district
throughout most Of the United state
Is a gigautic one. that would need to b.
approached Win anpl. resources IN,
splendid determination; hut lac ass. rt
that the cluditirs ana Inequalities u
the rural free delivery system are no
nearly as great as those which Wer
encountered when FIRE delivery wa
started in The big cities in 1863, IF
he adds, congress would relieve tn
department Of the OBLIGATION of carry
ing as srcond-class mail matter 10
000 tong a year of advertising stu.
chiefly for the benefit Of private IN
terprisas. ~ Toss Of seven cents
pound. we could give free del very I
AT least 30 pnr cent. more people tha
NOW have it, without mcuring an
deficit, Tho people want r. Wher'vo
il has been tried the advantages AZ
found so great that the ueopl' with
the delivery, with no exception, hay
expressed q Willingness 10 delraN II
cost themselves rather than lose I
~ an