The age-herald., 1897-08-15

it is possible for the recipient of letter to deposit his answer in a neighboring mail box for collection on the same day.
 In the towns where this experiment has been made, and the inspectors reports are now in for North Deering ,Sebago Lake, Naples, and Gorham, in Maine, and Grand Isle in eVrmont. the result of the system has been a great increase in the amount of mail business. The farm CTS take good many more daily news papers when they can have them deliver ed at teh door. The volume of letters collected has increased wonderfully. It is said that in the remote districts, with the postoffice a number of miles away, the people get so out of the habit of writ ing letter that it looks like an enor- nous task, and when they receive even business communication of minor im- portance, they make no attempt to an- sWer It, But, with daily visit of a post office representative, supplied with stamps, and pens, and the wherewithal of correspondence, they develop consid- erable- fondness for doing business by mail The increase in newspaper busi- ness, while it will please the press of tn ! country, will not particularly delight the heart of the people who are trying to make both ends meet in the postoffice de- partment. Newspapers pay the govern ment one cent a pound, while in these rural experiments the average cost of delivery of each piece of mail has been 1.52 cents. But if the carrier were to make his trip anyway. it would obviously be of adyantage to have the largest pos ' sibleAs number of pieces
 d. A. bill which was introduced in the last congress by Representative Sperry, of 4Connecticut, for facilitating rural deliv- cry should mot be confused with the ex- .periments just described. MT. Sperry's ' bill passed congress, but reached Presi- , dent Cleveland when so many measures were pressing upon him for consi6era- Stion that he did not get around to sign it, as he doubtless would have done, It will again coms up in the December ses- sion. It provides for a rural delivery as private enterprise, to be paid for by the persons whom it serves at the rate of a cent for each piece of mail matter. In many parts of the country there is a demand for such service and plenty of persons, are willing to undertake it.: In fact, it can be done now. except that the carrier is under no special legal respon- sibility. His patrons must by law give the postmaster written order for the delivery of their mail to him. That makes ths carrier the recipient of the mail so far as the department is con cerned, and with his taking it, the re- sponsibility of the postoffice ends MT Sperry's measure would make this car rjpr ho regular responsibilities of a carrier of United States mail as we'll as entitled to the privileges which go with that ser vice. atits
 Throughout the greater part of Europe free delivery is general, almost univer- sal. In this country the department is authorized to establish such a service in cities having population of 10000, or yielding a gross revenue of $10,000 per annum. The number of cities so enti- tied to free delivery is constantly in ad- vance of congressional appropriations for that service. There are now 125 cit iss, entitled under the law, which are waiting to get it, and of these ninety have met with the requirements of the department, such as the numbering of houses, the naming and marking of streets, and providing sidewalks. The department is about to establish free de- livery in forty more offices
 While the country will doubtless be much interested in the report on tn. rural delivery experiment when submitted in December, there is no likelihood that the system will be generally established by this congress. The outlook for revenues , as compared with expenditures, is bad Many people, moreover, think the de- felt of the apostoffce depaTtms mt is large enough, now. If that great undertaking icouldbe straightened out on business principles, the compensation paid to the railroads cut from 30 to 50 per cent, the rates. On, s=cond-class matter slightly raised, and the kinds of mail entiif>l to its privileges materially restricted, there would be money enough saved to estab- fish many great public Improvements of which this rural delivery would doubt less be one of the first.