The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1900-10-16
FREE R DELIVERY.

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A Durham county correspondent
writes:
"We people can't get u papers
until several days after they are
published. We want free rural mail
delivery and will be pleased if you
will give some information in regard
to it. Do rural carriers have to
stand a civil service examination?
What is Raleigh rural carriers
salary? Can we get a route estab-
lished where it runs in contact with
country postoffices? Who appoints
rural carriers? | have a petition
signed some over one hundred fami-
lies and will be pleased if you will
advise me at once. l am confident if
we a get this proposed route estab-
lished it will be the ean of you
getting more subscribers to The
Progressive Farmer"
Our correspondent has started out
we'll. He has found that his people
want free rural delivery and he has
u petition expressing their desire for
it. The next thing for him to do is
to inform his Congressman of this
fact and get his cooperation. This
official would probably give this o
operation at any time, but he will
certainly de so with especial pleasure
at any time between now and No
vember 9th. The petition should set
forth the character of the country,
the roads, and the number of fami-
lies that can be reached in Il days
drive. Good roads form one of the
strongest arguments in favor of a
community asking for free rural
delivery.
Now, having secured the petition,
forward it to your Congressman and
request him to have the P~OstO1fice
Department send Il special agent to
visit the section and map out a
route. This will be done, of course,
at government expense. If the
agents report is satisfactory, free
rural delivery is assured.
AS to other questions asked by our
correspondent. If the people want
free rural delivery, the question of
whether OF not it will affect country
pOstOfices is not considered. Post
master Bailey at Raleigh tells us
that rural carriers receive $500 per
year out of this amount they must
pay horse hire. Carriers are ap-
pointed by the First Assistant Post
master-General upon recommends
ton of the District Congressman,
and are not required to pass an ex-
animation.
In this connection, the following
paragraphs from Wallace's Farmer
may prove interesting:
Free delivery can be obtained
from almost any railroad p~ostoffice
where one hundred heads of families.
which8can be reached in a twenty to
twenty ight-mile drive in one dav.
will sign a petition setting forth the
character of the country, the roads.
the population, and provide them
selves with the secure metal lock
boxes required by the department.,
Many rural delivery routes fail be-
cause they insist on providing any
kind of a box or tin can for the de-
pOsit Of the mail. The boxes pro-
vided by the government cost So. so
apiece, and could not be provided at
retail for much less than twice the
amount. They have one opening
for the mail carrier, whose kew fits
every box on the route, and another
opening for the farmer to deposit his
mail, money for the purchase of
money orders, stamps, etc.
Money ina box of this kinds Der-
fectly secure, and his mail cannot be
tempered with by anybody. Some
OF our readers seem to have the inn
preston that the agent of the de-
partment has some selfish interest in
insisting on this kind of a box. In
this they are entirely mistaken"