Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-12-09
MAIL FOR FARMERS
Rural Free Delivery System Has Met
With Great Success.
VIEWS OF THE POSTMASTER GENERAL
Will Prove Of Real Value in an
Educational Way.
GREASE IN RECEIPTS

Written 1of 4He LfeAiAS StoSs
Our postal system has been for over
decade both the wonder and admiration OF
the world. Yet in the matter Of rural free
delivery this country is far behind many
of the nations of the old world-notably
England. 1t Is not commonly known that
a penny stamp will insure the free delivery
by a government carrier Of a letter In any
part, however. remote. of the British Isles.
Yet such IS the case.
For some years past our Post Office De-
partment has been experimenting with
rural free delivery service. At first these
experiments met with little practical
success and with much discourage
ment But within the past twelvemonth
results Of SO remarkably satisfying ma
ture 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 Genera!
Smith. In his report to the President and
the Fifty-sixth Congress for this year ne
gives the matter Of rural free delivery
especial attention without specific recon-
mendationS.
The Postmaster General, however, has
very strong views on the subject. 1t was
out of consideration for the vast impor-
lance Of rural free delivery, affecting d.
rectly more than half of the population OF
the United States and indirectly the greater
prosperity of the whole country that he
consented to make the following interesting
statements, covering in part his ideas on
the subject. The Postmaster General be-
gan with a prediction:
The Next Great Step.
THE next great step in the development
of our postal system, a step of far-reach-
ing Importance in the development of this
country. and one directly in the line of
progress and of evolution. will be the in
PRODUCTION wherever practicable Of sys-
tenn of free mail delivery in the rural dis
tricts Of our states and territories, said he.
THE Post Once Department of the
United States" he continued, sis the great
est business concern in the world. In many
ton in the world. Today a letter is carried
from Washington to Manila for 2 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 important to
the farmer in Kansas as it Is to the broker
in Chicago. A few cents advance In the
price of butter means as much to the
dairyman in New York as 1t does to the
dealer in Philadelphia. But in neither of
the cases mentioned are the facilities for
obtaining this information, so vital to all
those who would trade successfully in the
worlds great markets. equal. 1t is to be
hoped that a thorough and practicable sys-
tenn of rural free delivery will bring about
an equalization of these opportunities.
Trials Very Successful.
1.-The experiments which the Post Office
Department has made In this direction un-
der authorization of Congress have been
neither sectional nor isolated. They have
embraced every conceivable condition
1.-THE Post Office Department has now
demonstrated by free rural delivery of mail
over 1888 different routes in forty states and
one territory that such system Is both
economical and expedient For example,
for the fiscal year ending June 80, 1899,
S150,0O0 were expended. With this outlay
upward of 100000 pieces of mail matter
were collected and distributed and some
thing like 275,O0O people were served. At
the beginning of the present fiscal year an
additional sum of S150.000 became availa-
BILE and 243 additional routes, benef1ting by
free delivery about 10000 persons, were
established. 1t is estimated that the aver.
age annual cost per capita for free delivery
is "a 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 experimental
service which is certainly most encourage
ing; that is the largely increased postal re-
ceipts which follow the introduction of the
rural free delivery system. 1t Is note
worthy and remarkable fact that in almost
every case where the service has been es-
tablished the postal receipts have increased
in a most marked degree. In many cases
they have doubled and everywhere they
show 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 receipt of letters. In fact,
there are cases already where the increase
in the postal business Is paying the entire
expense of the establishment and contin-
uance of the route.
aside from the fact that the difficulties
in a practical way which prevented in
times gone by the installation of such a
service have since been overcome in great
part there are several very good reasons
why the present time would seem propi-
tious for the introduction of rural free de-
livery.
The generation of people that has grown
up in America since the civil war has had
the benefit of an education under the best
public school system in the world. The in
crease in learning among the rural popula-
ton has wi1ened greatly the field of read
ers and writer's. Then more recently the
Spanish-American war has given the pop
ular imagination great stimulus and the
interest of the country people in national
and International affairs has been broad
ened and quickened. The volunteer soldier
returning to the isolated hamlet wants to
be informed daily through the medium of
the press as to the doings in the great
world of which he has but recently learned
that he is part
Farmers Have Been Sighted.
while of course urban free delivery is
one of the indispensable factors in modern
city life. 1t might be urged on good grounds
that the farmer will be saved much more
labor and time through the delivery of his
mail to his home than in the average dwell
eI in the city. A trip to the post Office in the
city is little hardship. 1t is accomplished
generally by few minutes walk over good
pavements In the country such a trip is
a matter of the loss of half days time in
many cases. Often it is necessary to hitch
up a horse and tlavel many miles over bad
roads. 1t Is little wonder then that people
in rural districts carry on no more CORE
spondence under such conditions than Is
absolutely necessary.
In times past the farmer has felt some