The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-08-17
Rural Free Delivery.

The city letter carriers, who Just now
have their minds full of Scranton and
their coming national convention, VIII
soon have professional competition, II
present experiments in rural free mail
delivery indicate correctly According
to First Assistant Postmaster General
Heath rural free delivery is now in
operation in upward of 200 towns In
the United States, every state having
had a trial Of 1t. Mr.. Heath adds:
"In every instance the amount of
mail delivered has been greatly in
creased after the establishment of the
free delivery. In nearly every instance
It has doubled, in most It has trebled,
in many quadrupled and in some quin-
tupled. recall one place in Michigan
in the district of a congressman who
was opposed to the establishment or
the service The thing was done, how
ever. and within three months the
amount of mail delivered to the coun-
try people of that place had more than
quintupled. I showed the report to the
congressman and he said he had no
further opposition to rural free deliV-
cry. Another feature of the system
that will surprise you is that the cost
of delivery TO the rural population is
not more per piece than it is to the
urban population. This is almost too
much to believe, but it is an absolute
fact.
"One of the chief arguments against
the introduction of the system has
Deen the extreme expense estimated.
This has been put by some as
high as S1OO,OOOOOO per annum for the
general establishment But in this
there was no account of returns. We
pay the carriers $40 per annum. This
remuneration being 50 small, we per-
nit the carrier to carry packages, and
thus increase his income. This is not
only benefit to him. but to the whole
community, for the farmer or his wife
often wants some little thing from the
store when no one can go for it con-
veniently, and is willing to pay a small
compensation to have it brought to
them. Speaking of this matter of eX-
pense, it is amusing to look back to
the discussions in congress in the early
days of the republic, when it was
doubted by many whether it was feast
BILE to have a postal system at all.
Presidents Adams and Jackson both
We're impelled to present labored argu-
ments in their messages in support of
a postal system which one day might
give the comforts of friendly cores
pondence and the lights of the perio
dical press to the remotest parts of the
Union at very light expense to the
individual"
We observe in the Chicago Record a
letter from Charlottesville Ind, right
in line with Mr.. Heath's opinions. 1t
describes the operations of the rural
free dlivery system in Montgomery
county, Indiana, and incidentally says
The first month of the delivery each
of the carriers then in the service de-
livered about 1000 pieces of mail mat
ter. At the end of the first year they
are each delivering over 5000 pieces a
month. For the first three months of
operation they would collect along the
route from eight to ten letters a day.
Now the daily collection on each of the
year-old, routes is from fifty to sixty
letters daily besides packages and
newspapers. When rural delivery was
established in Montgomery county not
a single daily paper was taken along
any route. Each carrier now delivers
from 20 to 100 daily newspapers. The
increased subscription to magazines
and other periodicals is just as great.
When the routes We're first established
many of the farmers We're decidedly
opposed to the innovation. Some even
refused to put up boxes. All opposition
has now disappeared however and SO
greatly pleased are the farmers that
AN increased valuation of SO per acre
is given farms lying along rural routes
People living as far from the route as
two miles frequently place lock boxes
at the nearest point on the route and
have their mail delivered there. The
pople living on by roads have in some
instances adopted a novel method OF
obtaining the coveted benefit at small
expense. The mail for all the people
living on a certain by road will be de.
livered a a box placed at the intersec.
tion OF the road with the route and
from this box it will be taken daily ant
delivered for ten or twelve miles bach
in the country by boy paid for the
purpose
Rural delivery is proving a grea'
stimulus to the construction Of gooC
roads and at least two new pixies il
Montgomery country can be attributed
to the hope of securing the service. TIL,
carriers are allowed to deliver pack
ages and to transact business for tn,
people living along their routes and il
this way they manage to supplement il
a very acceptable manner the meagr,
salaries allowed by the department
The carriers wagons on leaving III,
Crawfordsville postolfice each morning
will be seen to be filed with package
of laundry, dry goods, hardware AM
all manner of merchandise. Orders O
all kinds are placed with the carrier
In the busy summer season he is al
especial benefit in this way.
"The practical operation of the rura
free delivery has demonstrated conclu
slvely that many of the objection
made to 1t are uISfounded. 1t ha
been urged that rural delivery woul
be an immense expense to the govern
ment, but its operation in Montgom
cry county proves that 1t will on tn
contrary be a source of considerabl
revenue. Each Of the year-old route
i'm the county is now paying the gov