Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-11-22
RURAL MAIL SERVICE
The First Assistant Postmaster Gen.
eral Answers Criticisms.
WHERE TEE GOVERNMENT SAVES
Discontinuance of Fourth-CIass
Offices Made Possible.
OPPORTUNITY FOR REFORM

Yes, / have seen a number of adverse
criticisms-a very few of them somewhat
captiouS criticiSmS-of the rural free de-
livery service said Mr.. Perry S. Heath,
first assistant postmaster general, to a Star
reporter. Il am glad to note them. 1t is
| healthy sign. The object of establishing
the experimental service was to call public
attention to its difficulties and lay basis
for reasonably accurate estimate Of its
cost and usefulness. This is what Congress
wanted and this is what the department. has
been trying to do. All public comment
helps. If it is unjust unreasonable it
will react. Unless rural free delivery is a
good thing and a useful thing far beyond
the expense it involves, it ought not to be
continued. If 1t is good and useful it
should be extended and made permane
Not everywhere nor all at once, but as
suggested in my report, in some gradual
and gradated form. the character of which
might be regulated from the results already
arrived at from the experimental service
Perhaps you have not noticed" con-
tinued Mr.. Heath, "how much the report
OF the first assistant postmaster general
goes into detail on this subject Every
state where the experiment has been tried
is treated separately, and the results are
oispassionately stated, according to the re-
Poi 70 IeCelNeu from experienced post 9th &c
inspectors, many of whom We're sent out
under an administration which was openly
and avowedly hostile to the experiment
think there has never before been such a
complete Baalam and Barak business in
the history of the Post Office Department.
Ihere were then forty-four experimental
districts, in nearly thirty different states
we have increased the number to fifty dis
trlctS since. TO each one categorical uues-
tions were sent: What have been the re-
suits" From every one came back the an
swer, Favorable
Abo1ishfng FOurth-Class Offices.
You can take up any district almost at
random. There is Lancaster county, Pa,
for instance, where there are nearly one
hundred and fifty fourth-class post offices.
every one of which could be abolished if
rural free delivery were put into effect
throughout the entire county And the in
dications are, judging from the results cb-
tained in the Two experimental routes es-
tipiished IN that county, that in a year or
Two the increase of postal business would
pay for the increased facilities Elba
Genesee county, N. Y, is another example
One of our most intelligent post office in
spectorS made report about thai section
or the country, in which he said:
In making the test of the free-delivery
service L have selected a town in which
the conditions are such as are ordinarily
to be found in the average farming COM
munity of New York state. 1t has. been NV
aim to determine whether there was a de-
mand for free delivery by rural inhab-
!tants. whether rural free delivery was
feasible, and what would be the proba hle
expense in the state If it We're established
1T is my opinion that, with the possible
exception of portions of a few counties
where the Typographical conditions coupled
with the Sparsity Of population, are such
as not to warrant the expense necessarily
incidental to its establishment, rural free
delivery is entirely feasible in this state
Genesee county embraces thirteen towns
and contains thirty-nine post Offices Eigh-
teen of these Offices might be discontinued
without the slightest detriment to the sery-
Ice If free rural delivery We're established.
The total cancellations of these offices
(Which form tie basis of compensation in
1896 amounted to $2.21O. 1 am satisfied.
from close study of this matter that ID
per cent, or $1657, of these cancellations
would be saved to the government
With the doing away of these eighteen
offices seven star routes in this county
might also be dispensed with, at an annual
saving of S963, making total net saving
of $2,G2O.
If the same plan were applied to the $50
rural districts in the state where rural free
delivery service is deemed practicable, tie
net results would be: Gross estimated cost
of free rural delivery for $50 towns $685.
900; less saving in cancellations, sos, ,375;
less saving In star routes, $62 ,993. 80; total
saved, $171 ,36S.5O; leaving the estimated
cost of rural free delivery for the entire
state $593 631. So
His estimate does not take into ac-
count the inevitable growth of postal re-
ceipts which has followed increased postal
facilities wherever they have been provid-
ed This is not confined to the rural free
delivery service. We put letter boxes on
all the street cars of Des Mofnes, Iowa.
and the amount of mail handled by the
office nearly doubled. We started an ex-
per1mental postal marine service on the
Detroit river for the benefit of passengers
IN ha laE
the result that nearly 100000 pieces of mail
matter were handled in this way during
last season at cost of less than $500 a
month.
Postmaster General Wanamaker gave
free delivery test in some forty or fifty
villages. and demonstrated that the in
creased business not only paid the extra
cost, but yielded a small profit Just at
this point. however, another administra-
t1on came in and abruptly shut off the sup
plies and stopped the experiment"
But they say this is paternalism," said
the reporter.
"Paternalism." repeated Mr.. Heath, with
an amused smile, why, the whole postal
system is paternalism For reasons of
public policy our government followed the
example of all the nations of Europe and
took the postal system under its own
charge. Instead Of leaving it to corporate
or private enterprise, as we do our tele-
graph and railroad and express service II
said: We will attend to this ourselves. and
moreover We will not allow any one to in
terfere with us. We will make it govern
ment monopoly and provide pains and pen
alties for anybody that infringes on our
rights" va oN-
Serving the Public.
What do you suppose" asked Mr.
Heath. "the first letters cost that we trans
mitted from Juneau, Alaska, to Circle City?
Just one dollar letter, and we got an
average of, say. three cents each for
postage on them. Wasn't that paternal-
ism? But public interests were served.
and the development of the country was
advanced by the opening up of postal COM
munication to this the most distant point of
our great domain.
Has IT ever occurred to you," he con-
tinued, to figure out the immense dis
tances the Post Office Department covers
for the nominal price of two cents an
ounce Of letter postage? You are in Key
West. Florida. let us say. and you have
heard that relative or friend of yours has
caught the Klondike fever and is In Circle
City, Alaska. You want to take stake in
his ventures. and you write to him. This
fu hat ~