The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-12-10

practical success, and with much dis
enlargement. But within the past
twelve months results of so remarkably
satisfying nature as to astonish even
the best friends and well wishers of a
general rural free delivery system have
been obtained.
Rural free delivery has had few more
ardent advocates than Postmaster Cen
eral Smith. In his report TO the presi-
dent and the Fifty-sixth congress for
this year he gives the matter of rural
free delivery especial attention without
specific recommendations
The postmaster general, however. has
very strong views on the subject. 1t
was out of consideration for the vast
Importance of rural free delivery. af-
fecting directly more than half of the
population of the United States and in
directly the greater prosperity of the
whole country that he consented TO
make the following interesting state
ments to your correspondent, covering
in part his ideas on the subject. The
postmaster general began with pre-
, diction:
The Next Great Step.
THE next great step in the develop
ment of our postal system. a step of
far-reaching importance in the develop
ment of this country, and one directly
in the line of progress and of evolu-
Ilott VIII Dt lllc Wherever
practicable. of a system of free mail
delivery in the rural districts of our
states and territories, said he.
THE postoffice department of the
United States he continued, lis the
greatest business concern in the world.
In many respects it represents the fin
est organization in the world. Today a
Letter is carried from Washington to
Manila for , cents through the agency
of the almost perfect equipment of our
postal department.
Relatively speaking. the daily rise
and fall in the price of wheat is as i'm
portant to the farmer in Kansas as * is
10 the broker in Chicago. A few cents
advance in the price of butter means as
much TO the dairymaa in New York as
it does to the dealer in Philadelphia.
But in neither of the cases mentioned
are the facilities for obtaining this in
formation, SO vital 10 slll those who
would trade successfully in the worlds
great markets. equal. 1t is to be hoped
that a thorough and practicable system
of rural free delivery viii bring about
an equalization of these opportunities
Trials Very Successful.
THE experiments which the postoffice
department has made in this direction
under authorization of congress have
been neither sectional nor isolated
They have embraced every conceivable
condition.
The Dostoffice department has now
demonstrated by free rural delivery of
mail over $50 different routes in forty
states and one territory that such a
system is both economical and exped-
tent. For example, for the fiscal year
ending June 30. 1899 $4,000 were ex-
pended. With this outlay upwards of
5000, 900 pieces of mail matter were COL
lected and distributed. and something
like 275.0e0 people were served. At the
beginning of the present fiscal year an
additional sum of s150. 900 became avail
able, and 243 additional routes. benefit
ing by free delivery about 10000 per-
sons, were established Il * estimated
that the average annual cost per cap
ita fer free delivery is 81 cents. In towns
of 5000 inhabitants. where urban free
delivery is made. the average cost per
capita is estimated at $3.50.
Increases Postal Receipts.
There is one phase of our expert
mental service which is certainly most
encoura ging: that is the largely in
creased postal receipts which follow the
introduction Of the rural free delivery
system. II is noteworthy and re-
rarkable fact that in almost every case
where the service has been established
the postal receipts have increased in a
most marked degree. In many cases
they have doubled, and everywhere
they show a continuous growth from
month to month, thus indicating a.
ready response on the part of the rural
population TO better facilities afforded
by the government for the mailing and