The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1899-12-27
Rural Postal Delivery.

The Messenger of St. Adams states
that Representative Powers and Col.
Childs, the St. Adams postmaster, are
endeavoring to establish a rural postal
delivery route to be attached to the
post Office at that place, "and there is
every reason to anticipate their sue
cess" says the Messenger
The maps of the route, which is to
be about twenty miles in length, are in
course of preparation and postal
official from Washington is expected
soon to investigate the situation and
report to the department. 1t is con-
fidently believed at st. Adams that the
official will find the same inducements
to establish the route in question that
he has found elsewhere.
These routes, as we understand the
matter, are experimental, for the pur-
pose of testing the practicability of
general rural delivery system, establish
ed by law, which is much mooted
matter in Congress and in the country
at large. Experimental routes have
been laid out elsewhere in the country,
and, we are informed, at Rutland in
this State. The experiments show
that they have not only brought great
bene fits to the communities directly but
have been at least not Improbable to
the department, as the increase of
business at the offices to which the
routes have been attached has gone far
to pay the additional expense, if not to
cover it entirely.
The advantages to rural populations
of the proposed delivery of postal mat
ter do not need calculating, any more
than do the benefits of free postal de-
livery in the cities and large villages.
As the Messenger says, in its statement
of the movement for rural delivery
route in st. Adams: wherever these
routes have been tried they have been
productive Of great benefit to the CON-
munities, and have done more than
any other agency to obliterate the ira
ditional distance between the town and
the country. BY their means the way.
side farm house is brought within
twenty-four hours of the metropolis
and the farmer can read his daily pa
per after the days work just as hi;
brother in the town is doing at the
same time"
This matter has very obvious loca
application. No locality in the State il
better adapted than is Montpelier to
useful test of the rural delivery scheme
Large sections of the towns of Berlin
Calais, East Montpelier, Moretown anC
Middlesex take their mail from tn,
Montpelier office, and much the great
er part of some of these towns. Route
reaching these towns radiate from
Montpelier like spokes from tn
wheels hub. The territory tributar,
to the Montpelier office has a popula
ton OF exceptional thrift and intelli
gence. The amount of mail delivere,
in it is large. To its inhabitants rura
delivery would be a great boon. Tn
JOURNAL is not aware that an expert
mental route for rural delivery of maj
has been laid out in the second con
gressional district. If it is possible t
get the government interested in tn
establishment of such route, attache
to the Montpelier Office, Postmaste
Shedd may be trusted to employ a
proper agencies to that end. The il
hab.tants of the regions round abol
this city will certainly bespeak h
good offices to bring about trial of th
experiment, and he will succeed if SUI
cess is attainable.