Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1898-03-03
RURAL FREE DELIVERY OF MAILS.

Ths PhilHdelp hia Ledger notes with
much interest the experiment that is
about to be tried in Burlington county,
N. D., and in Bucks county, Pa. The
lostoilice Department, prompted by
the Road Inquiry Bureau of the De.
partment of Agriculture, has fixad upon
certain routes ir tins counties named to
test the feasibility OF free rural de
liveries OF mails with reference to diff
ferent kinds OF roads. Tbs New Jersey
route will he over macadamized sur
face and the Bucks county route will
be confined to ordinary county road
ways. Ii is announced that the routes
in both cases huve been selected also
with references TO schools, from which
mail matter can be distributed by
pupils to families living at some dis
lance from pnstUfiices and from these
experimental free delivery routes. Ac-
cording to estimates Of the department
the proposed nlan OF free rural delivery
would give better results than the ex.
listing star route and messenger service
on these routes, and at very much less
expense. 1t is announced, furthermore,
that the continuance of the now service
will depend upon the proper main
tenance OF The roads. The benefits of
FREQ rural mail delivery are made iu
these instances the incentives TO good
road construction and repair. anu the
operation Of the experiments ia expected
10 throw some light upon tue practica-
bility of free rural mail delivery
throughout the county, or at least in
the more densely settled portions OF the
countryside.
Free delivery has been tested in this
country 10 numerous small towus and
in thickly populated environs of towns
and cities, il ia believed, with favor
able results on tho financial side. and,
of course, to the very great convenience
Of persons who otherwise would he
obliged to make long journeys TO the
nostoflice. But the wide application oI
the system must be postponed until
the enormous annual postal deficit
due TO abuses in the carriage Of second
class matter--is wiped out by coniem.
plated amendments to the postal laws.
The iudicious reformation of the posta
regulations would remove q great bur
den from the department and permit i
to extend free delivery in many portionI
OF the countryside now dependent upur
primitive methods OF mail distribution
We cannot expect, the Ledger con
cludes, to have the almost perfect ays
tenn OF rural delivery 10 use in England
That is comparatively small country
and its population is Of sufficient
density to warrant the delivery of let
ters and newspapers to nearly ever,
household. In the British Postoliic,
report for 1897 it is declared that thu
free and regular delivery Of letters wal
extended TO every hamlet, II not tr
every house, in the Kingdom, and post
offices and letter boxes were promised
for the remotest localities. This ex
tension OF postal facilities directly Il
the homes OF the people stimulates cor
respondBnce ami ia an important facto
in the education and enlightenment O
the British public. We cannot hop
for this detail in postal conveniences il
all our rural communities for man
years to come. We have many broa
reaches of territory tho spRrsely popu
lated to warrant house to. house yisi
from the postman; but there are yer
many rural districts sufficiently popu
lous TO make free delivery feasible.
new method of communication has bee
opened by the electric railways whic
are radiatIng from tho large towns
These railways arc likely tu become i'm
partial factors in displacing the ancien
methods Of mail carriage in the rurt
regions. 1t is possible that the schonl
might be used more methodically q
points for the distribution of mail mai
Ter. If our rural communities desir
to increase their postal facilities the
will urge their representatives in Cor
gress to support all bills tending to re
, move the existing abuses of posts
; priviloges.