The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1899-05-05
SIX MONTHS OF FREE
RURAL DELIVERY


RURAL DELIVERY.
John Sprague Just Finished What is Prob
ably the Largest Six Months Work Done
by any Rural Mail Carrier in the Country.
The Movement Great Success in This
County.
With the close of last Saturdays bust
ness the first six months of free rural
mail delivery in Shiawassee county
secured last fall largely through the
efforts of Congressman Joseph w. Ford
ney-were completed, and to say that
the experiment has been regarded as
success by the people who have been
served is putting it mildly. The com
pletion of the six months work, how
ever, gives an opportunity for compar-
ing the work done on the Shiawassee
route with the work of other routes
throughout the country, and on making
such comparison it appears that so far
as the number of pieces handled is con-
cerned, there is not route in the
United States, or was not for the year
ending June 80, 1898, which can COM
pare with It, decided compliment to
the ability and judgment of Mr. +. M.
Dice. of Charlottesville, Ind, special
agent of the department, who supervis-
ed the laying out of the district, since it
is the object of the special agents to
recommend only those routes where the
largest number of people will be served
routes which will make as creditable
a showing for the system as possible.
OF the one hundred rty-eight rural
mail carriers who were at work during
the fiscal year ending June S0th, 1898,
there was not one, as nearly as can be
learned from the report of the first
assistant postmaster general, who ham
died anything like the number of pieces
for the same period of time. The aver
age number of pieces handled by the
carriers per six months was but $3.50.
The number carried by Mr. John
Sprague on the Shiawassee route for
the six months just ended was 43,075.
This, too, includes the first month of
the service, when many had not yet
awaited themselves of the privilege, the
number of pieces for that month being
about two thousand less than at any
time since. Thus it will be seen that in
the number of pieces of mail handled
this route far exceeds the average; but
more than that, as nearly as can be told
from the reports. there was not single
carrier during the fiscal year ending
June 80, 1898, who carried within $4,000
pieces, per six months, of the number
carried here. The difference for
the present year may not be so marked,
however, because many mistakes which
were made in the first year of the ex-
detrimental service have been corrected
by the agents of the department. and
others who are interested in. the extern
sion of the rural free mail delivery and
who consequently wish to make as good
a showing as possible in number of
pieces delivered, families served, etc.
This being the case, the Shiawassee car
rier, Mr.. Sprague, has certainly done
his share, whatever the record of others
for the current year has been.
A brief summary of Mr.. Sprague's
work, taken from his official report,
will be of some interest and is here
given. rhe largest number of pieces of
any month were handled during the
month of March, when total aggregate
of 1921 was made up as follows: De-
livered-letters, 1,169; postal cards,
1872; newspapers and circulars, 6,317;
packages, Al; total, 1922 Collected
letters, III; postal cards, 1871; news
papers and circulars. 30; packages, 13;
total, 800. During the whole six months
the following number of different classes
of mail have been handled: There have
been delivered, registered letters, 10;
letters, 1924; postal cards, 1,417; news
papers and circulars, 31,75S packages,
BAT; total delivered 80, 15S There were
collected, letters, 3,S12; postal cards,
SO4; newspapers and circulars, 172;
packages, IL; total collected, 4,917
Total handled, 43,075. BY months the
number of pieces handled were: No
vember, 5,492; December, 1854; Janu-
airy, 1860; February, 6,S22; March,
s 621; April, S.4l5.
Incidentally it might be added that
according to the report above mention
ed there were but five routes in opera
ton during all of the year ending June
30, 1898, which were longer than the
one driven over by Mr.. Sprague.